'^I'l^zm: 


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AT  AMHERST 


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UNIV.  OF  MASSACHUSETTS/AMHERST 
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S 

411 

D27 

1822 


THE 


Ts^ti/t'^w^ianXf  ffavmtvt 


GEORGICAL  DICTIONARY. 


CONTAINIIVG 


4  COMPENDIOUS  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE 

W*aYS  ^JVD  METHOnS 


IN   WHICH    THE 


IMPORTANT  ART  OF  HUSBANDRY, 

IN  ALL  ITS  VARIOUS  BRANCHES, 

IS,    OR    MAY    BE, 

PRACTISED,  TO  THE  GREATEST  ADVANTAGE. 
JJV  THIS  COUJ^TRT. 

BY  SAMUEL  DEANE,  D.D. 

VICE-PRESIDENT   OF  BDWDOIN    COLI-EGE,   AND    FELLOW   OF   THE 
AMERICAN    ACADEMY    OF   ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 

riitrtr  iStrttiou, 

CORRECTED,    IMPROVED,    GREATLY    ENLARGED   AND  ADAPTED   TO    THE 
PRESENT    STATE   OF   THE   SCIENCE    OF   AGRICULTURE. 


"  Frigoribus  parte  agricolse  plerumque  fruuntur, 

Mutuaque  inter  se  laeti  convivia  curant : 

Invitat  genialis  hyems,  curasque  resolvit." — Virgil. 


BOSTON : 
WELLS  AND  LILLY— COURT-STREET, 

1822. 


DISTRICT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  TO  WIT: 

District  Clerk's  OJice. 

HE  it  remembered,  that  on  the  second  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1822,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Wells  and  Lilly,  of  the  said  District,  have  deposited 
in  this  Office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  Right  whereof  they  claim  as  Proprietors,  in  the  Words  follow- 
ing, to  7Ptt  .— 

'*  The  New-England  Farmer ;  or  Georgical  Dictionary.     Containing  a  Compendious  Account  of  the 
Ways  and  Methods  in  -.vhich  the  Important  Art  of  Husbandry,  in  all  its  Various  Branches,  is,  or  niay  be, 
Practised,  to  the  greatest  Advantage,  in  this   country.    By   Samuel  Deane,   D.D.  Vice-President  of 
Bowdoin  College  and  Fellow  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.     Third  Edition,  correct- 
ad,  improved,  greatly  enlarged  and  adapted  to  the  present  state  of  the  science  of  Agriculture. 
"  Frigoi'ibus  parto  agricolae  pleruroque  fruuntur, 
Mutuaque  inter  se  laeti  convivia  curant : 
Invitat  genialis  hyenis,  curasque  resolvit."— rirftY. 

In  Conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled.  "  An  Act  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps.  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and 
Proprietors  of  such  Copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned  :"  and  also  to  an  Act  entitled,  '*  An 
Act  supplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  bj  securing 
the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  Copies  during  the  times 
therein  mentioned  :  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  Arts  of  Designing,  Engraving  and  Etch- 
ing Historical  and  other  Prints" 

JNO.  W.  DAVIS, 

Ckrk  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


TO    THE    PRESENT    EDITION. 


iSo  work  upon  tlie  subject  of  Agriculture  has,  perhaps, 
ever  been  published  in  the  United  States,  which  has 
sustained  so  great,  and  so  well  deserved  reputation 
as  Dr.  Deane's  Georgical  Dictionary.  And  its  being 
adapted  to  our  own  soil  and  climate,  must  give  it  a 
decided  advantage,  in  point  of  practical  utility,  to  the 
American  Farmer,  over  foreign  publications,  which, 
otherwise,  might  be  of  equal  value. 

The  Compiler  of  the  present  edition  has  made  such 
alterations,  additions,  and  obliterations  only,  as  were 
suggested  by  important  improvements  in  agriculture, 
since  the  publication  (in  1797)  of  the  last  edition  of  the 
original  work ;  and  hopes,  as  it  now  stands,  it  will  be 
thought  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  library  of  the  practical 
as  well  as  the  scientific  agriculturist. 

September,  1822. 


irtitrotrttctCoit 

TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION,  PUBLISHED  IN  1797 


It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  the  most  complicated  of  all 
the  arts,  in  which  the  brightest  genius  may  find  suffi<  ient  r<iom 
to  exert  and  display  itself,  should  be  slighted  and  neglected,  by 
a  people  not  generally  wanting  in  ambition.  And  it  is  equally 
Strange  and  unaccountable,  that  the  most  useful  and  necessary 
of  all  employments  should  have  been  considered,  even  by  the 
enlightened  people  of  New-England,  as  below  the  attention 
of  any  persons,  excepting  those  who  are  in  the  lowest  walks 
of  life  ;  or,  that  persons  of  a  liberal  or  polite  education  should 
think  it  intolerably  degrading  to  them,  to  attend  to  practical 
agriculture  for  their  support. 

Perhaps,  one  occasion  of  the  low  esteem  in  which  husban- 
dry has  been  held,  in  this  country,  may  have  been  the  poor 
success  which  has  most  commonly  attended  the  labours  of  those 
who  have  embraced  the  profession.  Not  only  have  most  of 
them  failed  of  rapidly  increasing  their  estates  by  it,  but  too 
many  have  had  the  mortitication  of  making  but  an  indilFerent 
figure  in  life,  even  when  they  have  used  the  strictest  economy, 
and  worn  out  their  constitutions  by  hard  and  incessant  labour. 
The  misfortune  has  been,  that  a  great  proportion  of  their  toil 
has  been  lost  by  its  misapplication.  To  prevent  this  evil  in 
future  is  a  leading  design  of  the  present  publication.  And 
since  many  among  us  begin  to  be  convinced  of  the  urgent  ne- 
cessity of  having  the  attention  of  the  publick  turned  to  agricui- 
ture,  it  is  hoped  that  the  following  attempt  to  promote  the  know- 
ledge of  its  mysteries,  and  a  spirited  attention  to  theoperalions 
of  it,  will  meet  with  the  greater  approbation  and  success.  And 
as  a  very  respectable  Society  in  the  Commonwealth  of  P»Iassa- 
chusetts  have  undertaken  to  propagate  the  knowledge  of  hui^- 
bandry,  the  day  may  be  at  hand,  when  the  employment  of  the 
farmer  shall  no  more  be  treated  with  contempt ;  when  the  rich, 
the  polite,  and  the  ambitious,  shall  glory  in  paying  a  close  at- 
tention to  their  farms ;  when  respectable  persons  shall  confess 
it  is  one  of  the  noblest  employments  to  assist  nature  in  her 
B 


11  liSTRODUCTlOK. 

bountiful  productions ;  when  it  shall  be  our  ambition  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  first  man  in  the  nation,  who  does  not  think 
an  attention  to  husbandry  degrading ;  and  when,  instead  of 
being  ashamed  of  their  employment,  our  laborious  farmers  shall, 
as  a  great  writer  says,  "  toss  about  their  dung  with  an  air  of 
majesty." 

Amidst  the  laudable  efibrts  that  are  now  making  to  promote 
so  excellent  a  design  as  the  revival  of  agriculture,  the  writer 
of  the  following  sheets  is  humbly  attempting  to  throw  in  his 
mite.  He  has  been  more  prompted  to  engage  in  so  arduous 
an  undertaking,  by  an  opinion  he  has  long  entertained  of  the 
need  of  a  work  of  this  kind,  adapted  to  the  state  and  circum** 
stances  of  this  country,  than  by  any  idea  of  his  being  thorough- 
ly qualified  to  undertake  it. 

European  books  on  agriculture  are  sufficiently  plenty  in  the 
world,  gome  of  which  are  extremely  well  written  ;  and  this 
country  is  not  wholly  unfurnished  with  them.  Bwt  they  are 
not  perfectly  adapted  to  a  region  so  differently  circumstanced. 
Though  the  productions  of  English  writers  may  be  perused  by 
the  judicious  to  great  advantage,  it  would  be  unadvisable,  and 
perhaps  ruinous,  for  our  farmers  to  adopt  the  methods  of  cul- 
ture in  gross,  which  they  recommend  to  their  countrymen. 
Local  circumstances  so  widely  differ  in  the  two  countries,  that, 
in  many  cases,  the  right  management  in  the  one  must  needs 
be  wrong  in  the  other.  Britain,  being  generally  liable  to  too 
much  wetness,  the  English  methods  of  culture  must  in  many 
respects  be  different  from  those  of  a  region  that  is  mostly  an- 
noyed, as  ours  is,  with  the  opposite  extremity  of  drought. 
Difference  of  heat  and  cold  must  require  a  correspondent  va- 
riation in  the  suitable  crops  and  management.  Difference  of 
seasons  and  climates  vary  the  fit  times  for  sowing  the  same 
kinds  of  seed ;  and  the  manures  that  prove  to  be  most  profita- 
ble in  one  country,  cannot  always  be  rationally  expected  to 
prove  so  in  another,  although  they  were  equally  obtainable. 
And  though  Americans  speak  the  English  language,  yet  the 
diction  peculiar  to  different  farmers  on  the  east  and  west 
of  the  Atlantick,  and  the  manner  of  their  communicating  their 
ideas  on  husbandry  are  so  little  alike,  as  to  render  it  highly 
expedient  that  we  should  be  instructed  in  it  by  our  own  coun- 
trymen, rather  than  by  strangers,  if  any  among  us  can  be  found 
capable  of  doing  it  in  a  tolerable  degree. 

The  writer  confesses  he  has  never  had  sufficient  leisure  to 
attend  very  closely  to  the  study  of  agriculture.  But,  having 
always  had  a  high  relish  for  natural  philosophy,  and  particu- 
larly for  this  most  profitable  and  important  branch  of  it,  he 


INTRODUCTION.  Vli 

has  paid  all  possible  attention  to  it  for  a  number  of  years, 
employed  many  of  his  vacant  hours  in  perusing  what  has  been 
published  by  the  best  writers,  and  in  making  useful  experi- 
ments in  husbandry.  He  flatters  himself,  therefore,  that  he 
shall  not  have  the  unhappiness  of  grossly  misleading  any  of 
the  most  ignorant  of  his  readers.  Many  things  are  written  from 
his  own  experience,  and  from  that  of  others  in  this  country, 
on  whose  veracity  in  their  communications  he  can  rely. 
Things  which  are  not  certainly  known  are  mentioned  only  as 
opinion  or  conjecture.  Extracts  are  made  from  some  of  the 
best  authors,  and  marked  as  such.  He  has  not  wilfully  assert- 
ed any  thing  which  he  does  not  know  to  be  fact.  And  though 
he  has  adopted  the  ideas  of  others,  he  has  not  passed  any 
thmg  on  the  publick  as  his  own,  which  has  been  published  by 
others,  unless  it  be  through  inattention  or  mistake.  Whether 
the  reasonings  be  just,  every  intelligent  reader  must  judge  and 
determine  ;  and  to  the  candour  of  such  the  whole  is  submit- 
ted. 

Long  and  particular  accounts  of  experiments,  such  as  abound 
in  many  European  publications,  are  generally  omitted,  lest 
they  should  take  up  too  much  room,  in  a  book  that  is  meant 
to  be  comprehensive,  and  cheap  to  the  purchaser,  at  the  same 
time  that  it  is  designed  to  contain  a  whole  system  of  husban- 
dry. Neither  would  the  intention  of  comprehending  much  in 
a  little  room  permit  the  pages  to  be  filled  with  lengthy  bills  of 
the  cost  of  culture,  and  computations  of  profit,  which  many 
writers  have  too  much  run  into  ;  and  in  which  any  writer  in  this 
country,  where  the  price  of  labour  is  variable,  would  be  in  dan- 
ger of  deceiving  both  himself  and  his  readers.  Our  farmers 
have  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  arithmetick  to  do  these  things 
for  themselves  ;  rtnd  it  would  not  be  amiss  for  them  to  amuse 
themselves  in  this  way,  in  some  of  their  moments  of  leisure. 

That  the  writer  has  been  excited  to  treat  on  the  present  sub- 
ject by  a  tender  concern  for  the  welfare  of  his  country,  more 
than  by  any  selfish  and  sinister  view,  those  who  are  best  ac- 
quainted with  him  are  sufiiciently  convinced.  At  the  same 
time,  he  will  not  pretend  to  deny  his  feeling  of  an  ambition  to 
be  one  of  the  first  of  his  nation,  who  has  thus  endeavoured  to 
lighten  the  labours,  and  promote  the  happiness  of  his  country- 
men. Yet  he  most  sincerely  wishes,  that  other  writers  on  the 
subject  may  soon  carry  the  system  nearer  to  perfection,  as  they 
undoubtedly  will.  But  the  disadvantages  he  is  under  by  being 
so  early,  and  having  an  unbeaten  way  to  explore,  will  doubt- 
less apologize  for  him  with  all  who  are  candid  and  considerate, 
and  partly  atone  for  his  errors  and  imperfections,  from  which 
it  would  be  strange  if  he  were  wholly  free. 


Vni  INTRODUCTION. 

T'hough  agriculture,  strictly  considered,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  breeding  and  managennent  of  tame  animals,  yet  it  i§ 
so  closely  connected  with  those  employments,  in  practice,  ihat 
the  farmer  cannot  be  complete  without  a  considerable  know- 
ledge thereof.  It  is  by  the  assistance  of  labouring  beasts,  such 
as  horses  and  oxen,  that  he  must  carry  on  his  tillage,  and  send 
the  produce  of  his  lands  to  market.  By  the  help  of  milch 
kine  his  grass,  hay,  and  other  fodder,  are  to  be  converted  into 
butter  and  cheese.  Bullocks,  poultry  and  swine  must  be  fed 
and  fattened  with  the  produce  of  his  farm,  that  he  and  his 
family  may  be  fed  with  their  flesh,  and  the  markets  supplied 
with  meat.  And  the  sheep  must  assist  him  in  the  transmuta- 
tion of  the  fruits  of  his  ground  into  materials  for  clothing  and 
food.  Therefore  the  rearing,  tending,  and  whole  management, 
of  all  these  sorts  of  animals,  are  attended  to  in  the  following 
work;  including  the  methods  of  preventing  and  curing  the  most 
common  distenij-ers  to  which,  in  this  climate,  they  are  liable. 

iS^oxious  anin)als.  such  as  beasts  of  pre),  ravenous  birds,  and 
devourmg  insects,  have  too  much  connexion  with  agriculture, 
as  the  farmer  knows  b)  his  sorrowful  experience.  He  ought 
therefore  to  be  instructed  in  the  most  effectual  methods  of  de- 
fending his  property  against  them.  This  arduous  task,  to  which 
no  one  perhaps  can  pretend  to  be  fully  equal,  the  reader  will 
find  attempted,  and  it  is  hoped,  in  some  good  degree  peiformedj 
in  the  following  pages. 

As  fruit  trees  are  of  essential  importance  to  the  farmer, 
the  rearing  of  them  from  seeds  an^l  otherwise,  as  also  the 
grafting,  transplanting  and  pruning  them,  are  attended  to  in  this 
work. 

And  as  agriculture  cannot  be  carried  on  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, without  a  variety  of  suitable  tools  and  machines ;  the 
most  important  and  useful  of  farming  implements  are  treated  of. 
Much  of^  the  ease  and  comfort  of  tiie  labourer,  as  well  as  the 
profit  oi  the  farmer,  depends  upon  their  being  well  constructed. 
Their  construction,  therefore,  is  minutely  attended  to,  al- 
though the  art  of  the  mechanic  is  the  branch  to  which  it  most 
properly  belongs. 

'J'he  author  attempted  to  arrange  the  parts  of  his  subject 
analytically.  But  the  variety  of  the  materials  he  had  collected 
was  so  great,  and  their  heterogeneousness  so  obvious,  that  he 
found  it  not  easy  to  do  it  to  his  own  satisfaction ;  which  is  one 
of  the  reasons  why  the  book  makes  its  appearance  in  the  lexi- 
cographical form.  And  when  he  considers  that  what  he  is 
doing  is  not  principally  for  the  instruction  of  critical  scholars, 
but  for  the  direction  of  the  common  people,  it  appears  that  the 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

want  of  a  systematical  arrangement  is  a  matter  of  no  great  conse- 
quence. Oil  the  present  plan,  he  has  saved  himself  the  trou- 
ble of  writing  a  long  index,  which  must  have  added  several 
pages  to  the  volume,  and  increased  its  price  to  the  purchasers, 
which  he  wishes  may  be  as  low  as  possible,  for  their  encour- 
agement. Perhaps  it  need  not  be  added,  that  the  fashiona- 
bleness  of  an  alphabetical  method  is  a  further  apology  for  the 
form  in  which  this  book  appears  ;  nor  the  advantage  the  most 
illiterate  reader  will  have  of  readily  turning  to  any  particular 
part  of  the  general  subject. 

It  is  hoped  that  an  acquaintance  with  this  volume,  if  it 
should  be  perused  by  the  generality  of  our  farmers,  will  enable 
them  to  communicate  their  ideas  to  each  other,  and  to  learners 
in  husbandry,  with  the  greater  perspicuity  and  propriety,  and 
lead  theni  to  use  nearly  the  same  language  in  doing  it,  in  the 
Various  parts  of  the  country.  For  the  writer  has  endeavoured 
that  his  diction  should  not  only  be  concise,  but  plain  and  intel- 
ligible to  ordinary  readers ;  such  as  is  most  suitable  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  not  adapted  to  lead  any  into  the  use  of  absurd  and  un- 
grammatical  language.  How  far  these  designs  are  accomplish- 
ed the  learned  and  judicious  reader  will  be  able  to  determine. 

As  a  number  of  vulgar  errors  and  prejudices  are  detected, 
and  new  methods  of  management  proposed,  it  is  expected  that 
what  is  written  will  be  censured  by  many,  who  have  confirmed 
themselves  in  wrong  practices  by  inveterate  habits.  But  if 
persons  will  only  be  so  fair  as  to  allow,  that  there  is  a  possibi]i» 
ty  of  some  want  of  perfection  in  their  present  established  prac- 
tice ;  which  is  at  least  highly  probable,  as  this  is  a  country 
where  husbandry  as  an  art  has  not  been  taught,  nor  much  at- 
tended to;  they  will  tl:|en  see  it  is  reasonable  to  give  a  candid 
hearing  to  any  new  scheme  of  improvement  suggested,  and  to 
plausible  arguments  offered  in  support  of  its  utility  ;  and  allow 
themselves  to  be  influenced  by  them.  If  those  who  are  in  low 
circumstances  should  fear  they  may  sutler  loss,  by  trying  any 
new  practice  in  husbandry,  it  is  hoped  the  richer  sort  will  be 
inclined  to  do  it  by  love  of  their  country.  For  others  will 
undoubtedly  inquire  concerning  their  success;  and  when  they 
are  convinced  by  experiments  made  by  their  neighbours  of  the 
advantage  of  any  new  practice,  one  would  think  they  can  need 
no  other  motive  to  induce  them  to  adopt  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  not  the  book  be  reprobated  for  con- 
taining so  many  things  as  it  does,  which  are  already  well  known 
to  farmers.  The  farmer  may  find  reasons  for  his  good  practice 
which  he  has  not  before  thought  of,  and  be  induced  to  per- 
severe in  it.      And  besides,  all  useful  knowledge  ought  to  be  re 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

corded,  that  it  may  be  retained,  and  be  in  no  danger  ot"  being 
lost,  as  a  great  deal  has  been  in  the  world.  It  should  also  be 
remembered  that  things  which  are  well  known  by  some  may 
be  quite  new  to  others  ;  especially  to  young  persons,  and  to 
all  those  who  have  newly  turned  their  attention  to  husbandry. 

The  writer  has  had  more  zeal  and  courage  in  attempting  to 
promote  improvements  in  agriculture,  since  the  happy  termi- 
nation of  the  late  struggle  for  independence  than  before.  Our 
holding  the  rank  of  a  free  and  independent  nation  allows  us  to 
consider  the  country  as  indisputably  our  own,  and  ourselves  as 
monarchs  over  our  farms.  Nor  does  it  appear  probable,  that 
we  shall  soon  meet  with  any  thing  that  will  give  us  a  material 
interruption,  in  pursuing  the  arts,  or  enjoying  the  blessings  of 
peace.  If  great  improvements  were  now  to  be  made,  we 
might  have  reason  to  hope  we  should  enjoy  the  benefits  of  them 
through  life,  ai>d  that  posterity  would  not  be  deprived  of 
them. 

But  the  most  forcible  reason  for  our  cultivating  this  art,  is  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  it,  to  enable  us  to  live  as  becomes  an 
independent  people.  The  alarming  effect  of  the  present  low 
state  of  husbandry  is,  that  we  are  necessitated  to  import  much 
of  our  food,  and  clothing,  while  we  are  incapable  of  making 
proportionable  remittances  in  the  produce  of  the  soil,  or  in 
any  thing  else.  As  a  good  system  of  national  government  is 
now  established,  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  but  that  a  spirited 
attention  to  husbandry  and  manufactures,  accompanied  with  a 
more  general  practice  of  frugality  and  economy,  would  put  us 
on  a  respectable  footing  ;  so  that  such  a  foundation  would  be 
laid  for  our  increasing  wealth,  that  we  should  be  able,  in  a 
short  time,  to  cancel  our  publick  debts  ;  and  might  reasona- 
bly hope  ere  long  to  become  an  opulent,  respectable  and  very 
powerful  nation. 

As  to  the  present  edition,  its  appearing  so  soon  after  the 
first  is  occasioned  by  the  rapid  sale  of  the  book,  arising  from 
the  general  acceptance  it  has  obtained  ;  and  the  increasing  de- 
mand could  not  otherwise  be  supplied. 

The  author  has  taken  the  opportunity  to  correct  a  great 
number  of  small  errors.  Some  few  things  are  suppressed  in 
this  publication.  The  diction  in  many  parts  is  much  improv- 
ed. iVTany  articles  are  more  largely,  and  more  accurately 
treated  of  than  they  were  before  ;  and  a  number  of  new  and 
important  ones  are  added,  with  a  view  to  render  the  work  a 
more  complete  directory  for  husbandmen.  And  that  the  vege- 
tables that  are  treated  on  may  be  known  to  persons  in  other 
countriee,  as  well  as  in  remote  parts  of  our  own,  where  they 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

are  probably  called  by  different  names  from  those  English  ones 
he  had  given  them,  he  has  now  added  the  botanical  names, 
which  are  extensively  known  by  persons  of  erudition.  On 
the  whole,  he  thinks  the  book  is  far  more  increased  in  value 
than  in  size.  If,  in  its  present  improved  state,  it  shall  be  found 
to  contribute  towards  reviving  and  continuing  the  spirit  of  hus- 
bandry, and  towards  the  increasing  advantage  of  those  who  are 
employed  in  it,  he  will  consider  it  as  the  most  happy  reward 
he  can  have  for  his  labour. 

WoRCESTBB,  MARCH,   1797 


TH£ 


J\EJV'EJVGL^JVD  FARMER; 


OR 


GEORGICAL    DICTIONARY. 


AG  R 

AGRICULTURE  is  the  most 
ancient,  the  most  honourable  and 
the  most  useful  of  the  arts.  Its 
origin  was  prior  to  the  invention 
of  letters,  and  in  attempting  to 
trace  it,  we  are  lost  in  the  fables 
which  obscure  the  annals  of  anti- 
quity. The  most  wise  and  most 
powerful  nations  have  ever  been 
the  most  assiduous  in  their  atten- 
tion to  this  art,  and  the  degree 
of  estimation  in  which  it  has  been 
held,  has  ever,  we  believe,  pre- 
sented an  accurate  criterion  of  the 
morals,  prosperity  and  civilization 
of  any  age  or  country.  The 
Chaldeans,  the  Egyptians,  the 
Phoenicians,  the  Carthaginians,  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans,  were  as 
greatly,  and  much  more  honoura- 
bly distinguished  by  their  atten- 
tion to  agriculture  than  by  their 
military  achievements.  Mago,  a 
Carthaginian,  wrote  books  on 
agriculture,  which  were  not  more 
1 


AGR 

highly  prized  by  his  own  country- 
men than  by  their  conquerors. 

The  ancient  Romans  venerated 
the  plough,  and  their  greatest  ge- 
nerals and  most  illustrious  sena- 
tors guided  it  with  their  own  hands, 
Cato,  Varro,  Virgil,  Pliny  and  Co- 
lumella wrote  upon  agriculture, 
and  Cicero  has  bestowed  the  high- 
est eulogies  on  this  art.  But  hus- 
bandry declined  with  the  decline 
of  the  empire,  and,  as  was  well 
observed  by  an  able  Writer,  "  In 
the  Campania  of  Rome,  where,  in 
the  time  of  Pliny  were  counted 
twenty-three  cities  the  traveller  is 
astonished  and  depressed  by  the 
desolation  that  surrounds  him." 

In  some  parts  of  continental 
Europe  the  science  of  agriculture 
is  taught  in  universities,  and  a 
regular  education  is  thought  to  be 
as  necessary  to  qualify  a  man  to 
become  a  complete  farmer  as  it  is 
to  lit  him  for  the  practice  of  law  or 


AGR 


AGR 


physic.  In  Great  Britain  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  vveahh,  the 
talents  and  the  influew:e  of  men 
who  occupy  the  fust  ranks  in  s'o- 
ciety,  is  directed  to  agricultural 
improvements,  and  the  munifi- 
cence of  the  government  encou- 
rages and  rewards  the  patriotic 
exertions  of  individuals. 

h)  the  United  States  a  spirit  has 
of  late  j-ears  been  exerted,  which 
has  produced  a  new  era  in  the  an- 
nals of  American  agriculture  ;  and 
the  most  fortunate  results  do  not 
rest  altogether  in  anticipation,  but 
have  been  already  in  some  mea- 
sure realized. 

AGRICULTURAL  SOCIE- 
TIES are  now  becoming  common 
in  the  United  States,  and  {l^e  pre- 
judices which  existed  against  these 
institutions  are  subsiding,  as  the 
benefits  resulting  from  them  are 
too  obvious  not  to  be  generally 
acknowledged  and  highly  appre- 
ciated. Probably  the  wisdom  of 
man  could  not  devise  means  more 
effect. sal  than  those  presented  by 
these  societies,  for  stimulating  and 
rewarding  (hat  skill  and  industry, 
which  are  the  corner  stones  of  na- 
tional as  well  as  individual  pros- 
perity. The  follov^ing  sketches, 
which  we  have  extracted  from 
",/^r?  Address  dflivered  before  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Socie- 
/?/,"  may  serve  to  exhibit  some  of 
the  advantages  which  have  ac- 
crued, and  may  be  anticipated 
from  these  institutions. 

"  The  first  public  society  of 
this  description,  we  believe,  was 
founded  in  Great  Britain  ;  where 
agriculture,  even  at  the  time  of 
its  foundation,  was  in  a  more  im- 
proved state  than  that  of  any  other 
European  nation,  except,  perhaps. 


Flanders.  The  Bath  and  West  of 
England  Society,  had  the  honour 
of  leading  the  van  in  this  generous 
attempt  to  improve  and  elevate 
the  most  important  and  interest- 
ing, as  well  as  most  innocent  hu- 
man art.  That  art,  which  free 
from  vice  or  a  tendency  to  pro- 
duce it,  is  productive  of  none  of 
the  injurious  effects,  from  which 
not  many  other  extensive  human 
arts  are  wholly  exempt.  The 
British  nation  soon  became  awak- 
ened to  (he  importance  and  value 
of  &uch  institutions,  and  by  a  par- 
liamentary provision,  with  noble 
munificence,  founded  a  National 
Society.  The  state  of  Massachu- 
setts had  the  glory  of  early  appre- 
ciating the  value  of  such  institu- 
tions, and  this  society  can  trace  its 
origin  to  a  period,  when  those  of 
Europe  were  still  in  their  infan- 
cy." 

In  speaking  of  the  advantages 
which  result  from  these  societies, 
the  writer  observed  ; 

"  Men  and  their  feelings  and 
motives  are  the  same  in  whatever 
situation  they  may  be  placed. 
They  may  be  taught  to  encourage 
the  ferocious  passions,  or  to  culti- 
vate the  kindly  affections.  It  de- 
pends on  rulers  and  on  the  laws  to 
give  them  a  virtuous  and  useful, 
or  vicious  and  pernicious  direc- 
tion. The  plain  and  too  much 
forgotten  and  neglected  husband- 
man, contributes  directly  or  indi- 
rectly  more  than  seven-eighths  of 
all  that  is  effected  towards  the  sup- 
port and  prosperity  of  a  state.  In- 
deed, their  number,  in  this  happy 
country  is  nearly  in  that  ratio.  It 
cannot  be  questioned,  unless  the 
laws  of  nature  are  reversed  as  to 
this   great  mass   of   society,   our 


AIR 


AIR 


chief  stay  and  support,  that  atten- 
tion to  their  profession,  the  hold- 
ing it  in  deserved  respect,  the  re- 
warding examples  of  successful 
and  peculiar  industry  in  indivi- 
duals must  have  an  influence  on 
the  advancement  and  progress  of 
the  art.  The  spirit  of  emulation 
is  as  capable  of  being  excited  in 
this  art,  as  in  the  calamitous,  and 
what  we  all  acknowledge  to  be 
the  unprofitable  one  of  War.  A 
farmer's  breast  is  as  open  to  ge- 
nerous feelings,  is  as  alive  to  ap- 
plause and  approbation,  and  as 
much  chilled  by  neglect,  as  that  of 
the  proudest  spirit  that  ever  wore 
a  sword.  Our  defence  then  of 
these  exhibitions  and  these  re- 
wards, rests  on  the  immutable  laws 
which  regulate  the  human  heart." 
See  Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  vol.  V.  p.  85. 
92.  215.  237.  374. 

AIR.  Since  the  time  in  which 
Mr.  Deane  wrote,  great  discove- 
ries, relative  to  the  constituent 
parts,  and  essential  qualities  of  at- 
mospheric air  have  been  made  by 
Scheele,  Priestley,  Lavoisier,  Da- 
vy and  others.  These  celebrated 
men  have  proved  that  its  principal 
elements  are  two  gases,  oxygen  and 
azote,  or  nitrogen  ;  and  that  it  like- 
wise contains  small  quantities  of 
aqueous  vapour  and  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  ;  and  Lavoisier  proved 
that  this  last  body  is  itself  a  com- 
pound elastic  fluid,  consisting  of 
charcoal,  dissolved  in  oxygen. 

Oxygen  gas  is  necessary  to 
some  functions  of  vegetables,  as 
well  as  indispensable  to  animal 
life.  If  a  seed  germinates  in  con- 
fined air,  the  oxygen,  or  a  part  of 
it,  is  absorbed.  The  azote,  or  nitro- 
gen remains  unaltered.  But  as 
vegetation  proceeds  in  the  open 


air,  oxygen  gas  is  given  off,  and 
the  carbon,  or  charcoal  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  is  absorbed,  and 
becomes  a  part  of  the  organized 
matter  in  the  vegetable. 

The  effects  of  nitrogen  in  vege- 
tation are  not  exactly  known. 
It  is  ascertained,  however,  that 
it  prevents  the  oxygen  from  act- 
ing with  too  much  violence,  and  is, 
perhaps  absorbed  by  some  vege- 
tables. 

Carbonic  acid  gas  combines 
with  many  different  bodies,  and 
furnishes  vegetables  and  animals 
with  carbon  or  charcoal.  When 
a  growing  plant,  the  roots  of  which 
are  supplied  with  proper  nourish- 
ment, is  exposed  in  the  sunshine  to 
atmospheric  air,  containing  its  due 
proportion  of  carbonic  acid, the  car- 
bonic acid,after  a  time,  is  destroyed, 
and  a  certain  quantity  of  oxygen  is 
found  in  its  place.  "  Carbonic  acid 
gas,"  says  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
"  is  formed  in  a  variety  of  process- 
es of  fermentation  and  combus- 
tion, and  m  the  respiration  of  ani- 
mals. And  as  yet  no  other  pro- 
cess is  known  in  nature,  by  which 
it  can  be  consumed,  except  by  ve- 
getation. Animals  produce  a  sub- 
stance, which  appears  to  be  a  ne- 
cessary food  of  vegetables  :  vege- 
tables evolve  a  principle  necessa- 
ry to  the  existence  of  animals  ; 
and  these  different  classes  of  be- 
ings seem  to  be  thus  connected  to- 
gether, in  the  exercise  of  their  liv- 
ing functions,  and  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent made  to  depend  on  each  other 
for  their  existence." 

Water,  likewise  always  exists  in 
the  atmosphere  ;  and  the  quantity 
is  greater  or  less  in  proportion  to 
the  heal  of  the  weather.  When 
the  thermometer  stands  at  50^  of 


AIR 


ANT 


Fahrenheit,  according  to  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Davy,  air  contains  about 
one  fiftieth  of  its  volume  of  va- 
pour or  raretied  water  ;  and  as  the 
specific  gravity  of  vapour  is  to 
that  of  air,  nearly  as  10  to  15,  this 
is  about  one-seventy-fifth  part  of 
its  weight.  At  100°  if  there  is  a 
free  communication  with  water, 
air  contains  about  one-fourteenlh 
part  in  volume,  or  aone-and-twen- 
tieth  part  of  its  weight.  It  is  the 
condensation  of  vapour  by  the  di- 
minution of  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere,  which  is  probably  the 
principal  cause  of  the  formation  of 
clouds,  and  of  the  deposition  of 
dew,  mist,  snow  or  hail. 

The  leaves  of  plants  and  many 
other  substance?  have  a  power  of 
absorbing  moisture  from  the  at- 
mosphere. In  some  vegetables, 
such  as  the  house-leeU,  and  diffe- 
rent kinds  of  the  aloe,  this  power 
is  so  great  (hat  they  will  increase 
in  weight,  when  suspended  in  air, 
and  unconnected  with  the  soil. 
Water  is  likewise  absorbed  from 
the  atmosphere  by  the  soil,  and 
that  soil  is  said  to  be  most  fertile, 
which  has  the  greatest  power  to 
absorb  water.  See  Davy^s  Ele- 
ments of  Agricultural  Chemistry. 

Air  and  earth  mutually  transmit 
fertility,  like  the  transmission  of 
heat  and  cold  in  all  bodies  in  con- 
tact ;  or  at  least  there  is  a  certain 
point  of  saturation  of  fertility,  be- 
yond which  exposure  to  the  air 
carries  off  the  overplus.  In  the 
case  of  fresh  dung,  exposure  soon 
lowers  the  fertility  of  its  surface 
down  to  the  point  of  saturation  ; 
and  the  process  of  the  transmission 
of  some  volatile  substance  is  disa- 
greeably sensible  to  the  nostrils. 
On  the  other  hand,  air  is  a  cause 


of  fertility,  and  in  general  it  is  said 
that  the  greatest  quantity  of  the 
beneficial  influence  of  air  will  be 
imbibed  by  the  poorest  mould,  and 
that  which  has  been  least  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere. 
Hence  the  utility  of  deep  plough- 
ing, which  increases  the  quantity 
of  soil  fit  for  cultivation,  by  expos- 
ing the  lower  and  more  barren 
strata  to  imbibe  fertilizing  princi- 
ples from  the  atmosphere. 

ANTICOR,  "  a  swelling  in  the 
gullet  and  throat  of  a  horse,  and  is 
the  same  which  in  man  is  called 
angina.  It  proceeds  from  the 
same  causes  that  bring  on  many 
other  diseases  on  horses,  from  hard 
riding,  exposing  a  horse  to  the 
cold,  giving  him  cold  water  to 
drink  when  he  is  hot,  full  feeding, 
and  whatever  else  may  cause  a 
stagnation  of  the  blood. 

"The  signs  of  this  disorder  are 
all  those  that  accompany  a  fe- 
ver ;  for  an  Anlicor,  while  it  is 
internal,  is  never  without  fever: 
but  when  it  shews  itself  external- 
ly, the  fever  begins  to  abate,  un- 
less it  continue  to  be  both  exter- 
nal and  internal. 

"So  long  as  the  inflammation 
continues  in  the  gullet,  the  horse 
forsakes  his  food  :  and  though  he 
has  frequent  inclinations  to  drink, 
the  first  gulp  deters  him  from  med- 
dling with  it  again,  until  he  has 
forgotten  the  pain  and  agony  it  put 
him  into.  And  the  pain  in  the 
gullet  is  yet  more  manifest  from 
this,  that  whenever  a  drench  is 
given  him,  he  staggers  and  seems 
as  if  he  would  fall  down,  and 
makes  short  interrupted  groans, 
and  sometimes  will  have  a  cold 
clammy  sweat  about  his  ears. 


ANT 


ANT 


"  The  cure  must  be  begun  by 
bleeding,  and  that  needs  not  be 
very  sparing  :  for  this  disease  sel- 
dom happens  to  horses  that  are 
poor  and  low.  And  here  we  also 
approve  of  sticking  one  or  other 
of  the  veins  in  the  hind  parts,  to 
snake  revulsion. 

"  After  bleeding,  the  following 
clyster  may  be  given  : 

"  Take  two  handfuls  of  barley, 
two  ounces  of  sal  polychrest,  re- 
duced to  fine  powder  :  boil  them 
in  two  quarts  of  water  for  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  :  add  to  the  decoc- 
tion a  pint  of  wine,  four  ounces  of 
fresh  butter,  and  two  ounces  of 
oil  of  rue.  Let  this  be  given 
bloodwarm,  and  repeated  twice  a 
day,  or  ofteuer. 

"  If  he  takes  to  food,  nothing 
must  be  given  him  but  moistened 
hay,  and  scalded  bran  ;  or  what- 
ever else  must  be  chiefly  such 
things  as  are  proper  to  keep  down 
the  heat  and  inflammation,  and 
abate  the  feverish  symptoms;  for 
which  purpose  we  recommend, 
after  blooding,  those  things  that  are 
proper  to  promote  sweat.  There- 
fore, let  the  following  drench  be 
prepared  for  him  : 

"  Take  treacle  water  and  car- 
duus  water,  of  each  one  pint;  dis- 
solve in  these  two  ounces  of  Ve- 
nice treacle  :  and  after  this  has 
been  given,  clothe  him  well,  and 
give  him  a  little  warm  water  to 
drink.  Instead  of  the  treacle  and 
carduus  water,  a  pint  of  stale 
beer,  mixed  with  small  beer,  may 
be  used.  Nothing  is  so  effectual 
to  remove  inflammation,  especial- 
ly after  bleeding,  as  sweating : 
therefore,  if  you  find  it  difficult  to 
promote  sweat,  you  may  give  the 
following  ball  > 


"  Take  old  Venice  treacle  two 
ounces,  volatile  salt  of  hartshorn 
fifteen  grains,  Mathews'  pill  one 
drachm,  camphor  in  powder  six 
grains,  powder  of  liquorice,  or 
sassafras  in  powder,  as.  much  as  is 
sufticient  to  make  it  into  a  paste. 
Let  this  be  given  after  the  opera- 
tion of  the  clyster  is  over. 

'-  If  the  symptoms  begin  to  abate, 
you  may  venture  to  give  your 
horse  a  gentle  purge. 

"  If  the  swelling  appears  out- 
wards, and  if  the  other  symptoms 
abate,  you  may  leave  off  purging: 
for  what  is  intended  by  that  eva- 
cuation, is  chiefly  to  disperse  the 
inward  disorder.  Next,  you  are 
only  to  apply  ripening  cataplasms, 
allowing  him  sal  prunellse,  nitre, 
or  the  sal  polychrestum,  dissolv- 
ed in  his  drink. 

"  Cow's  dung  alone,  applied 
warm  to  the  part,  with  lard  or  oint- 
ment of  marsh  mallows,  may  be 
suflicient  to  bring  the  swelling  to 
maturity. 

"  When  the  matter  seems  ready 
for  a  discharge,  it  may  be  opened 
in  the  dependent  lowermost  part, 
by  the  application  of  a  hot  iron  ; 
afterwards  keeping  a  dossel  in  the 
mouth  of  the  wound  till  the  run- 
ning abates  ;  and  applying  com- 
presses and  convenient  bandage  to 
keep  the  elevated  skin  close  to  the 
flesh,  that  it  may  be  the  sooner 
united.  But  if  the  cavity  of  the 
imposthumation  be  large,  it  will 
not  be  amiss  to  lay  it  open  an  inch 
or  more. 

"  The  cure  may  be  finished  with 
applying  only  the  unguentum  ba- 
silicum  ;  or  a  digestive  made  with 
turpentine,  the  yolks  of  eggs,  or 
honey,  with  a  moderate  mixture 
of  brandy,  or  spirit  of  wine.     And 


ANT 


ANT 


if  any  foulness  appears,  or  if  it 
heal  too  fast,  or  if  spungy  soft  flesh 
arise,  pledgets  dipped  in  copperas 
water,  or  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol, 
uiay  be  applied,  which  will  keep 
it  snmooth  and  even. 

"  But  if  the  swelling  increase 
fast,  with  no  tendency  to  digestion, 
and  if  it  rise  up  towards  the  neclc, 
affecting  all  the  muscles  of  the 
part,  the  horse  will  be  in  danger  ! 
of  suffocation,  unless  a  course  dif-  { 
ferent  from  the  former  be  taken,  i 
"  Besides  repeated  bleeding,  if 
he  is  not  too  much  worn  out,  take 
a  hot  searing  iron,  and  apply  it 
to  five  or  six  places  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  swelling,  cauterizing 
those  parts,  that  they  may  be 
speedily  brought  to  matter,  which 
may  be  dressed  with  flax  dipped 
in  tar  and  turpentine,  mixed  be- 
fore the  fire,  and  applied  warm. 
For  by  giving  pain  in  those  de- 
pendent and  inferior  parts,  you 
cause  the  humours  to  flown  down- 
wards from  the  swelling ;  and  by 
making  vents  you  prevent  exces- 
sive violence  of  pain.  Nor  need 
you  be  afraid  of  the  swelling  that 
may  happen  in  the  fore-legs,  &c. 
by  cauterizing;  for  that  cannot 
be  of  so  ill  consequence  as  when 
it  is  upon  the  neck  and  throat ; 
nor  will  it  be  of  any  consequence, 
if  care  be  taken  of  the  vents. 

"  Solleysell  recommends  the 
making  of  small  incisions  with  a 
fleam  or  lancet,  in  eight  or  ten 
places,  on  the  swelling ;  and  to 
thrust  into  the  holes,  between  the 
skin  and  the  flesh,  pieces  of  the 
root  of  black  hellebore :  and  if 
the  tumour  be  very  large,  he  re- 
commends the  use  of  white  helle- 
bore ;  at  the  same  time  chafling 
the  part    with   the    ointments  of 


agrippa  and  marsh  mallows.  The 
root,  by  their  hot  quality,  draw 
down  and  increase  the  swelling ; 
and  the  ointments  are  (o  ripen 
;  the  inclosed  matter,  and  fit  it  for  a 
I  discharge. 

"■  The  same  author  also  recom- 
mends the  use  of  Ruptories,  for 
drawing  an  immediate  flux  of  mois- 
ture from  the  diseased  part.  These 
are  ointments  of  the  same  nature 
as  those  made  to  draw  blisters  on 
the  human  body,  and  composed  of 
the  same  materials.  The  way  to 
apply  them  is,  to  spread  them  by 
little  at  a  time  on  the  part  affect- 
ed, holding  a  bar  of  hot  iron  to 
make  them  sink  in."  Gibson's 
Farriery. 

ANTS,  an  insect,  which  some- 
times annoys  fields.  "They  will 
destroy  barley,  rye,  hemp  seed, 
flax  seed,  and  rape  seed.  Other 
grain  is  either  too  large,  double 
skinned,  or  too  bitter  and  ill  tast- 
ed for  them.  When  yoxi  find 
them  in  quantities  near  home,  pour 
hot  water  upon  them.  The  far- 
mer, when  he  dungs  his  land,  if  he 
uses  ashes,  lime,  or  salt  sand,  he 
may  be  certain  no  ant  will  ever 
stay  upon  the  ground  where  any 
of  the  three  is  spread."  Scof's 
Farmer. 

"  The  ant  is  very  destructive  to 
fruit,  especially  the  peach  when 
ripe  ;  you  will  frequently  see  these 
insect  travelling  all  over  the  trees, 
and  sometimes  the  fruit  will  be 
filled  with  them.  The  best  me- 
thod that  I  have  found  to  destroy 
them  is,  to  get  a  sharp  pointed 
wooden  stake,  or  an  iron  crow,  if 
the  ground  be  hard,  and  with  it 
bore  a  hole  not  far  from  the  stem 
of  the  tree,  and  as  deep  as  the 
ground  will  permit.     By  stirring 


ANT 


APP 


the  earth,  you  will  set  the  ants  in 
motion  :  then  work  your  stake  or 
crow  round  the  sides  of  the  hole, 
making  them  as  smooth  as  you 
can  ;  the  ants  will  come  to  the 
mouth  of  the  hole  and  tumble  in, 
and  by  the  shape  of  the  hole  and 
smootjiness  of  its  sides  will  be 
prevented  from  climbing  up  again. 
When  you  see  a  great  many  in  the 
bottom  of  the  hole,  pour  in  some 
water  from  a  watering  pot ;  and 
thus  you  may  drown  thousands  of 
them. 

'^  You  may  likewise  destroy  ma- 
ny of  them  by  mixing  quick  lime 
with  soot,  and  laying  it  along  their 
roads,  where  you  see  them  thick- 
est j  but  where  you  can  come  at 
their  nesi?,  the  best  way  is  to  put  a 
piece  of  quick  lime  into  it,  and  pour 
as  much  water  over  the  lime  as  will 
slake  it.  the  best  of  which  will  de- 
stroy them:  when  you  have  pour- 
ed in  the  water,  cover  the  lime 
with  a  turf  or  a  little  earth,  which 
will  render  it  more  effectual  by 
contiiiii  g  the  heat.  You  may 
slake  the  lime  with  a  mixture  of 
urine  and  soap  suds,  which  will 
render  it  still  more  effectual." 
Forsyth^s  Treatise  on  Fruit  Trees. 

The  small  garden  ants,  it  is  said 
may  be  destroyed  by  placing  among 
them  a  number  of  large  ants,  com- 
monly found  in  woods,  which  fall 
upon  and  destroy,  or  drive  from 
their  neighbourhood,  the  smaller 
kinds.  If  the  walls  of  an  apart 
ment  arc-  washed  with  a  painter's 
brush,  dipped  in  a  solution  made  of 
four  ounces  of  sublimate,  in  two 
gallons  of  water,  both  the  ant  and 
the  red  spider  will  be  dislodged. 
See  article  Ant  in  the  Domestic 
Encyclopaedia,  2d  American  edi- 
tion. 


APPLES.  Mr.  Forsyth's  Trea- 
tise on  the  Culture  and  Manage- 
ment of  Fruit  Trees  gives  a  list  of 
44  difl'erent  kinds  of  apples  which 
had  come  to  the  author's  know- 
ledge, with  a  description  of  the 
qualities  of  each,  and  the  author 
has  added  several  lists  besides 
from  the  catalogues  of  nursery 
men  in  England  and  Scotland. 
See  p.  49,  American  edition. 
The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  vol.  iii.  p.  95,  gives 
the  following.  The  Rhode  Island 
Greening,  a  good  fall  and  early 
winter  apple.  The  Nonsuch,  a  red 
apple,  very  late  keeping  apple. 
The  Konpareil,  a  Russet  apple 
early  in  wmter.  The  J^ezvtown 
pippin,  a  good,  hard,  late  keeping 
fruit.  The  Spiizenberg,  a  line 
fruit,  which  keeps  sound  till  May 
or  June.  The  Roxbury  Russeting. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  known,  and 
most  valuable  of  fruits.  It  is  not 
fit  to  eat  till  February,  and  is  very 
easily  preserved  till  June.  The 
Baldwin  apple,  a  very  valuable 
fruit,  beautiful,  fine  flavoured,  and 
will  keep  to  the  last  of  March. 

Apples  keep  best  in  a  low  tem- 
perature, and  may  be  well  pre- 
served in  an  ice  house. 

An  English  Journal  recommends 
the  use  of  dry  pit  sand,  for  pre- 
serving pears  and  apples.  Glaz- 
ed earthen  jars  are  to  be  provided, 
and  the  sand  to  be  thoroughly 
dried.  A  layer  of  sand  an  inch 
thick,  is  then  placed  in  the  bottom 
of  the  jar ;  above  this  a  layer  of 
fruit,  to  be  covered  with  a  layer  of 
sand  an  inch  thick  ;  then  lay  a  se- 
cond stratum  of  fruit,  covering 
again  with  an  inch  of  sand.  An 
inch  and  an  half  of  sand  may  be 
placed  over  the  yppermost  row  of 


8 


APP 


APP 


fruit.  The  jar  is  now  to  be  clos- 
ed and  placed  in  a  dry  situation, 
as  cool  as  possible,  but  entirely 
free  iVotn  frost.  Some  assert  that 
apples  may  be  kept  in  casks 
through  the  winter  in  a  chamber 
or  garret,  by  being  merely  cover- 
ed with  linen  cloths.  Apples 
which  are  intended  to  be  preserv- 
ed for  winter's  use  should  be  suf- 
fered to  hang  on  the  tree  as  long 
as  they  are  safe  from  frosts. 

A  letter  from  Ebenezer  Preble, 
Esq.  published  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  Repository,  Vol. 
iv.  No.  I.  p.  84,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing instructions,  relative  to 
gathering  and  preserving  fruit. 

"  The  general  method  of  gather- 
ing apples  for  cider,  is,  shaking  the 
tree,  and  thrashing  the  branches 
with  poles.  The  former  will  an- 
swer when  the  fruit  is  at  maturity  ; 
they  will  then  drop  without  injury 
to  the  buds.  Poles  should  never 
be  used,  but  with  a  hook  at  the 
end  covered  with  cloth  or  matts  to 
prevent  wounding  the  bark  ;  they 
then  serve  to  shake  the  small 
limbs.  Particular  attention  is  re- 
quired in  gathering  winter  fruit. 
They  should  be  taken  in  the  hand, 
the  fingers  placed  at  the  foot  stalk, 
and  by  bending  it  upwards  the 
fruit  is  gathered  with  ease,  and 
without  injury ;  they  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  gathering  baskets 
with  great  care,"  &c.  The  same 
writer  says,  "The  injudicious  me- 
thod practised  in  gathering  fruit  is 
more  destructive  in  its  consequen- 
ces, than  is  generally  understood  ; 
the  blossom  buds  of  the  succeed- 
ing year  are  placed  at  the  side  of 
the  foot  stalk  of  the  fruit,  and  if 
the  spurs  are  broken,  no  fruit  on 


that  part  will  be  produced  the  next- 
season."     See  Orchard. 

APPLE  TREE,  pyrus  malus,  a 
well  known  fruit  tree  of  great  im- 
portance to  mankind.  The  way 
to  propagate  them  is,  by  sowing 
the  pomace  from  cydermills,  dig- 
ging, or  hoeing  it  into  the  earth  in 
autumn.  The  young  plants  will 
be  up  in  the  following  spring,  and 
the  next  autumn,  they  should  be 
transplanted  from  the  seed  bed  into 
the  nursery,  in  rows  from  two  to 
three  feet  apart,  and  one  foot  in 
the  rows  where  the  ground  has 
been  fitted  to  receive  them.  The 
ground  for  a  nursery  should  not  be 
very  rich,  but  mellow,  and  well 
pulverized,  and  cleared  of  the  roots 
and  seeds  of  weeds.  It  is  a  good 
rule.  That  the  young  trees,  at  their 
final  transplanting  into  orchards, 
should  not  be  put  into  poorer,  but 
rather  into  richer  ground,  than 
that  to  which  they  have  been  ac- 
customed. For  by  not  finding 
their  usual  supply  of  nourishment, 
they  will  be  stinted  in  their  growth, 
and  never  become  good  trees. 

It  is  said,  that  when  an  apple- 
tree  has  become  barren,  its  fruit- 
fulness  may  be  renewed  by  strip- 
ping off  all  the  bark  from  its  body, 
and  from  some  part  of  the  largest 
limbs ;  and  that  this  operation 
must  be  performed  at  the  time  of 
the   summer   solstice. 

The  following  has  been  found 
by  experience  to  be  an  excellent 
mode  of  setting  out  apple  trees, 
and  other  fruit  trees  on  a  light 
soil. 

Dig  a  hole  sufficiently  large  to 
prevent  the  root  of  the  tree,  when 
it  is  to  be  transplanted  from  being 
doubled  or  placed  in  an  unnatural 


APP 


ASH 


position,  and  to  give  room  for  the 
young  shoots  to  extend  Ihemstdves. 
Place  about  the  roots  of  each  tree, 
tog'-ther  with  the  mould,  about 
half  a  bushel  of  small  stones,  the 
size  of  an  ordinary  apple,  or  less, 
which  will  give  stability  to  the  soil, 
and  prevent  the  roots  from  being 
loosened  by  the  wind.  See  Fruit 
Trees,  Orchards,  and  Transplant- 
ing. 

Rotten  leaves  of  trees  are  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Forsyth,  as  the  best 
manure  for  frnif  trees,  which,  he 
says,  is  "much  better  than  dung, 
which  I  by  no  means  approve  of  tor 
trees,  unless  it  be  perfectly  rotten, 
and  mixed  up  with  mould."  It  is 
better,  however,  not  to  make  use 
of  such  leaves  as  manure  for  fruit 
trees,  till  they  are  rotted  to  a  fine 
black  vegetable  mould.  See  For- 
sytli's  Treatise  on  Fruit  Trees,  p. 
62,  63.  American  Edition. 

"  It  is  a  general  complaint,  that 
the  finest  apple  trees  of  this  coun- 
try have  degenerated,  and  that  ma- 
ny of  the  best  sorts  have  entirely 
disappeared  from  our  gardens  and 
orchards.  It  would  not  be  ditficult 
to  show  that  every  successive  graft- 
ing deteriorates  the  part  engrafted ; 
or  10  point  out  an  effectual  method 
of  retaining  good  apples  in  this 
country  without  the  trouble  of 
grafting,  as  in  every  perfectly  ripe 
apple  there  will  be  found  one  and 
sometimes  two  round  seeds  ;  the 
others  will  have  one  or  more  flat- 
ted sides.  The  round  ones  will 
produce  the  improved  fruit  from 
which  they  are  taken,  and  those 
with  the  flatted  sides  will  produce 
the  fruit  of  the  crab  upon  which  the 
graft  was  inserted.     It  requires  not 


a  long  time  to  ascertain  the  differ- 
ence ;  for  if  a  circle  is  drawn  in 
rich  ground,  aiid  the  flat-sided  seeds 
planted  therein,  and  ihe  round 
seeds  in  the  centre,  the  variation 
of  quality  will  be  discovered  in  two 
or  three  years.  The  first  will  throw 
out  the  leaves  of  a  crab,  and  ihe 
latter  the  leaves  of  an  improved 
tree,  distinguished  in  shape  and  fi- 
bre,and  with  a  woolly  appearance  ; 
and  ii)  due  time  the  fruit  of  each 
will  put  every  thing  beyond  doubt. 
It  is  observed  that  the  seeds  of 
crabs  (being  originals)  are  mostly 
if  not  altogether  round,''''  EurO' 
pean  Alagazine. 

APPLE  TREE.  The  laws, 
which  govern  the  alternate  or  an- 
nual productivenessof  apple  trees, 
and  other  fruits,  are  dependent  up- 
on and  connected  inseparably  with 
the  varieties — some  kinds  are  full 
bearers  only  every  alternate  year. 
Others  bear  every  year,  nearly  a- 
like,  with  occasional  ditferences, 
dependent  on  the  seasons. 

ASHES,  a  dust,  consisting  of  the 
earthy  and  saline  parts  of  wood, 
and  other  combustibles,  which  re- 
mains after  burning. 

Ashes  are  commonly  accounted 
a  manure  most  suitable  for  low  and 
moist  lands.  A  cold  and  sour  spot 
certainly  needs  them  more  than 
any  other.  But  1  have  found  them 
to  be  good  in  all  sorts  of  soil. 

They  are  not  only  a  valuable  ma- 
nure, but  an  excellent  antidote  to 
the  rapaciousness  of  worms  and 
other  insects.  Therefore  they  are 
a  more  proper  manure  for  all  those 
plants,  which  are  liable  to  suffer  by 
worms  and  insects  ;  such  as  cab- 
bages, turnips,  cucumbers,  melonsj 


10 


ASH 


ASP 


peas,  and  other  pulse.  They  should 
be  spread  evenly,  and  not  in  too 
great  quantity. 

Wood  ashes  is  an  excellent  nour- 
ishment for    the  roots    of    trees. 

Ashes  of  all  kinds  are  a  good  in- 
gredient in  composts  which  are 
kept  under  cover.  But  when  they 
are  laid  upon  land  unmixt,  they 
should  be  spread  as  evenly  as  pos- 
sible. They  are  thought  to  do  bet- 
ter on  the  top  of  the  surface  than 
when  buried  in  the  soil ;  for  there  is 
nothing  in  them  that  will  evapor- 
ate. Their  tendency  is  only  down- 
wards ;  and  their  salts  will  soon 
sink  too  low,  if  they  be  put  under 
the  surface.  If  they  be  spread 
upon  ground,  which  has  tender 
plants,  it  should  be  done  just  before 
a  rain,  which  will  dissolve  and  soft- 
en their  acrimony  :  For  tender 
plants,  when  the  weather  is  dry, 
will  be  apt  to  be  injured  by  them  ; 
at  least,  if  they  are  in  contact  with 
the  stems  or  leaves. 

Ashes  in  their  full  strength  are 
certainly  best  for  manure  5  and 
they  will  not  be  in  full  strength,  un- 
less they  be  kept  dry  ;  nor  will  it 
be  easy  to  spread  them  properly. 
And  they  should  not  be  laid  on 
lands  long  before  there  are  roots  to 
be  nourished  by  them,  lest  the  rains 
rob  them  of  their  salts,  by  washing 
them  into  the  hollows,  or  by  sink- 
ing them  to  too  great  a  depth  in 
the  soil.  A  few  bushels  on  an  acre 
are  a  good  dressing  for  grass  lands 
that  are  low,  and  inclining  to  be 
mossy.  But  ashes  from  which  lie 
has  been  drawn  have  no  small  de- 
gree of  virtue  in  them.  The  earthy 
particles  are  but  little  diminished ; 
and  some  of  the  saline  particles 


remain  in  them,  especially  in  soap- 
er',9  waste  which  has  lime  mixed 
with  it. 

A  handful  of  ashes,  laid  about 
the  roots  of  a  hill  of  Indian 
corn,  is  good  to  quicken  its 
vegetation.  But  it  should  not 
much  if  any  of  it  be  in  contact  with 
the  stalks.  The  best  time  for  giv- 
ing corn  this  dressing,  is  thought  to 
be  just  before  the  second  or  third 
hoeing  :  But  some  do  it  before  the 
first,  and  even  before  the  plants  are 
up.  Like  other  top  dressings,  it  is 
of  most  service  when  applied  at  the 
time  when  plants  need  the  greatest 
quantity  of  nourishment.  This 
happens,  in  Indian  corn,  at  the 
time  when  the  plants  are  just  going 
to  send  out  ears  and  spindles. 

ASPARAGUS,  a  valuable  plant, 
the  young  shoots  of  which  are  a 
pleasant  and  wholesome  food  ;  of 
more  account  for  the  table  than 
any  other  greens  which  the  spring 
produces.  They  come  up  early, 
and  are  consequently  of  the  greater 
importance.  The  fruit  is  a  spheri- 
cal, red  berry,  which  ripens  in  au- 
tumn, containing  two  black  seeds. 

The  root  of  this  plant  is  esteem- 
ed in  medicine,  as  an  opener  and 
diuretic. 

To  cultivate  asparagus  in  the 
best  manner,  open  a  trench  three 
feet  wide,  and  twelve  inches  deep. 
If  it  be  close  to  the  south  side  of  a 
garden  wall5it  will  be  up  the  earlier 
in  the  spring.  Fill  the  trench  half 
full  of  good  dung  ;  make  it  level, 
and  sprinkle  a  little  rich  earth  over 
it,  and  lay  on  the  roots,  in  their 
natural  position,  eight  or  nine  in- 
ches apart.  Or,  if  you  cannot  get 
roots,  place  the  seeds  at  half  the 


ASP 


ASP 


11 


distance  from  each  other.  Cover 
(hem  by  tiliing  up  the  trench  with 
the  blackest  of  the  earth  which 
was  taken  out.  If  you  plant  roots, 
the  shoots  may  be  cut  the  second 
year  after  ;  if  seeds,  they  will  not 
be  fit  to  cut  till  the  third  year. 
All  the  shoots  which  come  up  be- 
fore the  middle  of  June,  may  be 
cut  off  without  injuring  the  roots  : 
After  which  time,  the  late  shoots 
should  be  left  to  run  up,  and  seed  ; 
otherwise  the  roots  will  be  weak- 
ened. The  seeds  may  be  well  pre- 
served on  the  branches  through  the 
winter,  hung  up  in  a  dry  situation. 

This  plant  grows  well  in  ground 
that  is  shaded.  The  sprouts  will  be 
very  large  and  tender ;  but  they  will 
not  be  so  early.  It  is  not  amiss  to 
have  one  bed  in  a  shady  place,  to 
supply  the  table,  after  the  season 
is  over  for  cutting  the  first.  In 
autumn,  after  the  tops  are  turned 
white  by  the  frost,  they  should  be 
cleared  off,  and  a  layer  of  dung,  or 
rich  soil,  an  inch  thick,  laid  over 
the  bed.  This  should  be  done 
yearly,  and  the  bed  kept  clear  of 
vreeds.  If  the  bed  should  get  too 
high  by  this  management,  the  sur- 
face may  be  taken  otf  with  a  spade 
early  in  the  spring,  to  the  depth  of 
two  inches,  before  the  young 
shoots  are  in  the  way.  But  when 
this  is  done,  a  thin  dressing  of  rotten 
dung  or  compost  should  be  laid  on. 

The  soil  for  asparagus  should  be 
the  best  which  the  garden  alfords, 
not  wet  nor  too  strong  and  stub- 
born, but  such  as  is  moderately 
light  and  pliable,  and  will  readily 
fall  to  pieces  in  digging  or  raking, 
&c.  Mr.  M'Mahon  recommends 
the  dividing  of  a  plantation  of  as- 


paragus into  beds  four  feet  and  an 
half  wide,  with  alleys  two  feet  wide 
between  each  bed.  And  at  each 
corner  of  every  bed,  let  a  firm 
stake  be  driven  into  the  ground,  to 
serve  as  a  mark  for  the  alleys. 

Four  rows  of  asparagus,  accord- 
ing to  this  writer,  are  to  be  plant- 
ed in  each  bed,  and  ten  or  twelve 
inches  distance  to  be  allowed  be- 
tween plant  and  plant  in  the  row; 
and  the  outside  rows  of  each  bed 
should  be  eight  inches  from  the 
edge.  The  plants  should  not  be 
more  than  two  years  old,  and  most 
good  gardeners  prefer  those  of 
one,  and  Mr.  M'Mahon  recom» 
mends  the  latter  in  preference  to 
the  former,  from  experience. 

Tlie  following  is  Mi'.  M'Mahon's 
method  of  planting  asparagus. 

"  Strain  your  line  along  the  bed 
eight  inches  from  the  edge  ;  then 
with  a  spade  cut  out  a  small  trench 
or  drill  close  to  the  line,  about  six 
inches  deep,  making  that  side  next 
the  line  nearly  upright;  and  when 
one  trench  is  opened,  plant  that 
before  you  open  another,  placing 
the  plants  upright  ten  or  twelve  in- 
ches distance  in  the  row. 

"  In  planting  these  plants,  ob- 
serve that  they  must  not  be  placed 
flat  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  but 
nearly  upright  against  the  bank  of 
the  trench  or  drill,  and  so  that  the 
crown  of  the  plants  may  also  stand 
upright,  and  two  or  three  inches 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground  ; 
let  them  be  all  placed  an  equal 
depth,  spreading  their  roots  some- 
what regular  against  the  back  of 
the  trench,  and  at  the  same  time 
drawing  a  little  earth  up  against 
them  with  the  hand  as  you  place 


12 


ASP 


AXE 


them,  just  to  fix  the  plants  in  their 
due  position,  till  the  row  is  plant- 
ed ;  when  ojse  row  is  thus  finished, 
immediately  with  a  rake  draw  the 
earih  into  a  drill  over  the  plants, 
and  then  proceed  to  open  another 
drill,  or  trench,  as  before  directed  ; 
plant  it  in  the  same  maimer,  and 
cover  in  the  plants  as  above,  and 
so  on  till  the  whole  is  planted  ; 
then  let  the  surface  of  the  bed  be 
raked  smooth  and  cleared  from 
stones." 

The  plant?  should  be  kept  free 
from  weeds,  and  no  early  crops 
sowed  amofig  them,  as  has  been 
sometimes  injudiciously  practised. 
A  plantation  of  asparagus,  with 
p"Oj>cr  management,  will  continue 
to  produce  iiood  buds  ten  or  twelve 
years,  or  longer. 

Mr.  M*i>1ahon  says  asparagus' 
seeds  may  be  sown  about  the  mid- 
dl«>  or  towards  (he  latter  end  of 
March,  calculating  probably  for 
the  latitude  of  Philadelphia.  In 
the  n  ore  northern  States,  perhaps 
a  somewhat  later  period  would  be 
proper  for  that  purpose. 

Asparagus  beds  should  be  com- 
pletely loosened  to  a  moderate 
depth  every  spring,  as  soon  as  the 
frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  with  a 
proper  fork,  having  three  short 
tines,  six  to  eight  or  nine  inches 
long.  But  care  must  be  taken  not 
to  go  too  deep,  so  as  to  wound  the 
crowns  of  the  roots.  The  beds, 
being  loosened  in  every  part  to  a 
moderate  depth,  should  be  raked 
even,  before  the  buds  begin  to  ad- 
vance. 

In  the  13th  vol.  of  the  "  Reper- 
tory of  Arts,''"'  &c.  a  new  method 
of  rendering  asparagus  more  pro- 


ductive,  is  communicated  by  Mr. 
Richard  Weston,  who  observes  that 
the  male  plants  yield  a  greater 
number  of  shoots  than  the  female 
ones  ;  though  the  former  are  of  an 
inferior  size.  He  consequently 
advises  that  males  only  be  selected 
for  the  formation  of  beds  ;  and  to 
prevent  mistakes,  they  should  not 
be  planted  from  the  seed  bed,  till 
they  have  flowered.  After  liaving 
grown  twelve  months,  Mr.  W.  di- 
rects them  to  be  removed  into 
beds,  at  the  distance  of  six  inches 
from  each  other,  where  they  ought 
to  remain  another  year,  in  which 
they  generally  flower  ;  a  small 
stick  must  then  be  driven  into  the 
ground,  contiguous  to  each  of  the 
male  plants,  in  order  to  separate 
them  from  the  females,  the  latter 
of  which  are  then  to  be  pulled. 

This  plant  is  found  growing  na- 
turally on  the  borders  of  salt 
marshes,  and  even  upon  such 
marshes.  This  is  considered  to  be 
its  natural  situation  ;  and  this  fact 
has  led  to  the  employment  of  salt 
as  a  manure  to  it  with  very  good 
etfect.  To  a  bed  50  feet  by  6,  a 
bushel  of  salt  may  be  safely  appli- 
ed before  the  plants  start  in  the 
spring. 

AXE,  a  necessary  tool  for  farm- 
ers. A  narrow  axe  is  meant  ;  for 
a  broad  axe  is  a  carpenter's  tool. 
A  narrow  axe  should  have  a  thick 
poll,  as  in  that  part  it  commoidy 
fails  soonest.  It  should  be  made 
of  the  best  of  iron  and  steel,  be 
quite  free  from  cracks  and  flaws, 
and  nicely  tempered  ;  not  so  soft 
as  to  bend,  nor  so  hard  as  to  break. 

Take  care  that  you  do  not  grind 
your  axes  thin  at  first,  till  you  learn 


BAR 


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13 


by  using  them   what  their  temper 
is,   asici    uhethfT  tlicy  will  bear  it. 
A   rouiidi'ig  edge  is  best  for  chop 
ping  large  log?,  a  straighter  one 
for  smaller  wood. 

Let  the  helve  of  an  axe  be  made 
of  the  toughest  of  wood,  either  wal- 
nut or  white  oak.  Let  it  bt  set  in 
the  centre  ofthe  eye,  and  at  right 
angles  with  the  outer  side  of  the 
axe  ;  let  it  be  small  near  the  eje, 
that  the  haiids  may  not  be  too 
muchjnrred  by  the  strokes  in  chop- 
ping, and  gradually  larger  towards 
the  other  end.  Three  feet  is  the 
greatest  length  that  almost  ever 
will  be  needful  :  Shorter  for  chop- 
ping sticks  not  uncommonly  large. 
It  should  never  be  less  than  32  in- 
ches. 

A  good  deal  of  rubbing  with  a 
whetstone,  (after  an  axe  is  ground 
on  a  coarse  grindstone,)  is  best  ; 
not  only  to  bring  it  to  a  good  edge 
that  will  not  crumble,  but  chieil) 
to  make  the  blade  very  smooth, 
that  it  may  enter  the  wood  easily, 
and  not  stick  too  fast  when  entered. 


B. 


BARLEY,  Hordeum,  a  well 
known  grain  of  which  malt  is  made. 
In  some  countries,  it  is  also  much 
used  for  bread.  If  it  be  kept  long 
before  grinding,  it  will  be  the  bet- 
ter for  this  use,  as  a  certain  bitter 
taste,  which  it  has  when  new,  is 
abated  by  age.  Barley  is  account- 
ed cooling  and  detersive  ;  a  broth 
of  it  is  therefore  given  to  persons 
in  fevers  :  But  it  must  be  hulled 
before  it  is  fit  for  this  use. 

It  is  a  sort  of  corn  very  suitable 
for  cultivation  in  this  region,  as  it 


seems  liable  to  no  distemper,  in  our 
noi-therly  part  of  Massachusetts 
especially  ;  bears  the  drought  well, 
and  never  fails  of  yielding  a  crop. 
1  have  commonly  gained  40  bush- 
els per  acre,  without  any  extraor- 
dinary tillage,  and  without  much 
manuring.  It  will  grow  in  any 
soil  :  Even  a  soil  so  clayey  that  it 
is  tit  for  scarcely  any  other  grain, 
will  answer  well  for  this,  as  1  have 
found  by  long  exp»,'rience.  But  it 
does  better  on  some  other  soils. 

It  should  be  sowed  as  early  as 
the  season  and  soil  will  admit. — 
About  the  begiiming  of  May  is  a 
suitable  time.  The  quantity  of 
seed  for  an  acre  is  two  bushels,  if 
the  grain  be  small  ;  if  larger,  moife 
in  proportion.  A  correspondent 
of  the  Bath  Agricultural  Society 
writes  :  '"The  last  spring  (1783) 
being  remarkably  dry.  1  soaked  my 
seed  barley  in  the  black  water, 
taken  from  a  reservoir,  which  con- 
stantly receives  the  draining  of  my 
dung  heap  and  stables.  As  the 
light  corn  floated  on  the  top,  I 
skimmed  it  off,  and  let  the  rest 
stand  24  hours.  On  taking  it  from 
the  water,  I  mixed  the  grain  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  sifted  wood 
ashes,  to  make  it  spread  regularly, 
and  sowed  three  fields  with  it. — 
The  produce  was  60  bushels  per 
acre.  I  sowed  some  other  fields 
with  the  same  seed  dry  ;  but  the 
crop,  like  those  of  my  neighbours, 
was  very  poor,  not  more  than  20 
bushels  per  acre,  and  much  mixed 
with  green  corn  and  weeds,  when 
harvested.  I  also  sowed  some  of 
my  seed  dry  on  one  ricige  in  each 
of  my  former  fields,  but  the  pro- 
duce was  very  poor  in  comparison 


14 


B  A  R 


BAR 


of  the  other  parts  of  llic  field." 
The  ground  should  have  two 
ploughings  at  least.  It  sliould  be 
well  harrowed  after  sowing  ;  and 
then  a  roller  passed  over  it  to  close 
the  soil  about  the  corns,  that  they 
may  not  fail  of  vegetating.  And 
rolling  prepares  the  surface  for 
mowing  the  crop,  and  raking  it  up 
clean,  which  is  a  matter  of  great 
importance.  For  it  is  impossible 
to  rake  it  up  clean,  when  the 
ground  has  been  laid  rough  at 
sowing. 

In  Scotland,  after  the  grain  is 
up,  the  farmers,  near  the  sea  coast, 
give  it  a  top  dressing  of  sea  weeds, 
which  has  an  excellent  effect.  This 
practice  I  would  recommend  to 
those  of  my  countrymen  who  farm 
near  the  sea. 

1  should  have  observed,  that  bar- 
ley must  be  sowed  soon  after 
ploughing,  lest  the  moisture  of  the 
soil  be  too  much  evaporated.  It 
being  a  dry  husky  grain,  a  consid- 
erable degree  of  moisture  is  requi- 
site to  make  it  vegetate.  If  the 
ground  should  be  very  dry  at  sow- 
ing time,  and  the  season  late,  steep- 
ing the  seed  in  lie  would  not  be 
amiss.  Steeping  it  in  the  wash  of  a 
barn  yard  has  an  excellent  effect. 

Some  have  got  an  opinion,  (hat 
barley  should  be  harvested  before 
it  is  quite  ripe.  7'hough  the  flour 
may  be  a  little  whiter,  the  grain 
shrinks  so  much,  that  the  crop 
seems  to  be  greatly  diminished  and 
wasted  by  early  cutting.  No  grain, 
I  think,  requires  more  ripening  than 
this  ;  and  it  is  not  apt  to  shatter 
out  when  it  is  very  ripe.  It  should 
be  threshed  soon  after  harvesting  : 
And  much  beating,  after  it  is  clear- 


ed from  the  straw,  is  needful  to 
get  off  the  beards.  Let  it  lie  a 
night  or  two  in  the  dew  after  it  is 
cut,  and  the  beards  will  come  off 
the  more  easily. 

I  had  gained  the  idea  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  barley's  being  well  rip- 
ened before  cutting,  from  my  own 
experience.  I  have  been  more 
confirmed  in  the  opinion,  by  the 
following  passage  in  an  English 
writer,  who  appears  to  have  been 
well  acquainted  with  the  culture  of 
this  corn.  "  This  grain,"  says  he, 
"may  be  greatly  damaged,  or 
spoiled,  by  being  mown  too  soon  ; 
which  may  afterwards  be  discov- 
ered by  its  shrivelled  and  lean 
body,  that  never  will  make  good 
malt.'' 

The  same  writer  says,  "This 
grain  I  annually  sow  in  my  fields  on 
different  soils,  whereby  i  have 
brought  to  my  knowledge,  several 
differences  arising  therefrom.  On 
our  red  clays,  this  grain  generally 
comes  off  reddish  at  both  ends,  and 
sometimes  all  over,  with  a  thick 
skin  and  tough  nature,  somewhat 
like  the  soil  it  grows  in  ;  and, 
therefore,  is  not  so  valuable  as  that 
of  contrary  qualities.  Nor  are  the 
biack,  bluish,  marly  clays,  of  the 
vale  much  better  :  But  loams  and 
gravels  are  better.  On  these  two 
last  soils  the  barley  acquires  a 
whitish  body,  a  thin  skin,  a  short 
plump  kernel,  and  a  sweet  flour." 

Barley  is  a  corn  that  is  very  apt 
to  degenerate,  unless  prevented  by 
a  frequent  changing  of  the  seed. 

If  ever  so  few  oats  are  sown 
among  barley,  the  crop,  in  a  few 
years,  will  come  to  be  mostly  oats  ; 
because  oats  increase  more  than 


BAR 


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15 


barley.  Swimming  the  barley  be- 
fore it  is  sown,  will  in  great  mea- 
sure prevent  this  inconvenience. 
Almost  every  oat,  and  a  few  of  the 
worst  of  the  barley  corns,  will  be 
on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
may  be  taken  off. 

But  the  speedy  degeneration  of 
barley  is  a  good  reason  for  chang- 
ing the  seed  very  frequently.  In 
some  parts  of  the  country,  the  bar- 
ley, for  want  of  changing,  has  come 
to  pifdace  liltle  or  nothing. 

Not  o.ily  ci^anging  seed,  but  sorts 
of  barley,  should  be  attended  to. 
Some  sorts  are  at  least  more  pro- 
ductive than  others,  if  not  of  a  bet- 
ter quality.  The  two  rowed  bar- 
ley has  seldom  more  than  32  corns 
on  an  ear  :  The  six  rowed  has 
sometimes  72,  that  is  12  in  a  row. 
0/ the  lattersort  one  pint  produced 
me  three  pecks  in  a  single  drill 
row.  It  was  at  the  rate  of  about 
three  pecks  of  seed,  and  forty 
bushels  crop  to  the  acre,  on  a  poor 
gravelly  soil.  This  sort  is  called 
Bear,  Bere,  or  Barley  big.  It  is  a 
winter  grain  in  England  and  Ire- 
land. But  I  must  mention  one  in- 
convenience attending  the  six 
rowed  barley,  which  is,  that  the 
seeds  are  apt  to  break  off  and  fall, 
if  the  corn  stands  till  it  is  fully  ripe. 
I  now  cultivate  a  four  rowed  barley, 
which  has  not  this  inconvenience 
attending  it  :  And  it  yields  as 
plentifully  as  any  other. 

I  would  recommend  the  drill 
and  horse  hoeing  method  of  rais- 
ing barley,  when  it  is  designed  for 
hulling,  as  the  corns  will  be  the 
more  full  and  plump,  and  have  a 
less  quantity  of  hull  in  proportion 
to  the  flour. 


Sir  John  Sinclair,  in  speaking  of 
the  agricultural  practice  of  Mr. 
Coke,  of  Holkham,  says,  •' He  uses 
the  R.ev.  Mr.  Coke's  drill,  which 
sows  six  rows  at  a  time,  and  an 
acre  an  hour,  drawn  by  a  single 
horse.  His  wheat  he  sows  at  nine 
inches  asunder,  his  barley  at  six  in- 
ches three  quarters.  He  consid- 
ers any  attempt  to  save  seed  by 
drilling  founded  on  erroneous  prin- 
ciples ;  and  the  quantity  of  seed 
he  sows  per  acre  is  four  bushels  of 
wheat,  three  of  barley,  and  six  of 
oats.  On  his  farm  it  is  a  practice, 
not  generally  known,  but  which 
ought  to  be  attended  to,  on  rich 
soils,  to  draw  the  drills  from  north 
to  south  (if  the  nature  of  the  ground 
will  admit  of  it),  and  on  poorweak 
soils  from  east  to  west.'' 

The  author  of  the  '  Synopsis  of 
Husbandry,  an  English  publication, 
observes  that  it  is  improper  to  sow 
clover  among  barley  on  rich  land, 
because  the  natural  fertility  of  the 
soil  hastens  on  the  vegetation  of 
the  grass,  which  will,  before  har- 
vest have  advanced  to  a  considera- 
ble height  among  the  corn,  and  oc- 
casion a  longer  time  to  be  necessa- 
ry for  drying  the  swath.  But  on 
lands  where  there  is  not  the  dan- 
ger of  so  luxuriant  an  increase, 
clover  and  other  grass  seeds,  he 
thinks,  may  often  be  sown  among 
barley  ;  and  if  a  favourable  time 
can  be  procured  for  harvesting  it, 
the  straw  may  be  greatly  improved 
by  the  mixture  of  clover  or  other 
grasses,  and  become  then  a  valua- 
ble fodder  in  the  winter  ;  but  bar- 
ley straw  simply  is,  he  says,  the 
most  ordinary  cattle  food  of  any. 

The  following  has  been  rccom- 


16 


BAR 


BAR 


mended  as  a  proper  steep  for  seed 
barley  :  Dissolve  three  pounds  of 
copperas  in  a  pail  of  boiling  water. 
Add  to  this  as  much  dung  puddle 
water  as  will  cover  three  or  four 
bushels  of  barley.  Stir  it,  and  let 
it  steep  twenty-four  hours  ;  when 
the  seed  is  drained  and  spread,  sift 
on  fine  lime,  which  fits  it  for  sow- 
ing. 

BARN,  a  sort  of  house  used  for 
storing  unthreshed  grain,  hay  and 
straw,  and  all  kinds  of  fodder.  But 
the  other  uses  of  barns  in  this  coun- 
try are,  to  lodge  and  feed  beasts 
in,  to  thresh  grain,  dress  flax,  Sic. 
A  barn  should  be  large  enough  to 
serve  the  farmer  for  all  these  pur- 
poses :  For  there  is  always  more 
lost  by  stacking  of  hay  and  grain, 
than  enough  to  balance  the  expense 
of  barn  room. 

Regard  must  be  had  to  the  situ- 
ation of  a  barn.  It  should  be  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  the  dwel- 
ling house,  and  other  buildings  ; 
but  as  near  as  may  be  without 
danger  of  fire,  if  the  shape  of  the 
ground  permits.  Too  low  a  spot 
will  be  miry  in  spring  and  fall. 
Too  high  an  eminence  will  be  bad 
for  drawing-  in  loads,  and  on  ac- 
count of  saving  and  making  ma- 
nures. If  other  circumstances 
permit,  it  may  be  best  to  place  a 
barn  in  such  a  manner  as  to  defend 
the  dwelling  house  from  the  force 
of  the  coldest  winds. 

The  most  considerable  parts  of 
a  barn  are,  the  floor,  the  bay,  the 
cow  house,  the  scaffolds,  the  sta- 
ble. See  Cozo  House,  and  Stable. 
The  threshing  floor  should  be  laid 
on  strong  and  steady  sleepers,  well 
supported     beneath  ;      otherwise 


carting  in  loads  upon  it  will  soon 
loosen  it,  and  render  it  unfit  for 
the  operation  of  threshing.  It 
should  be  made  of  planks,  well 
seasoned,  and  nicely  jointed  ;  and 
care  should  be  taken  to  keep  it 
very  tight.  If  it  should  be  so  open 
as  to  let  grain,  or  any  seeds,  pass 
through,  the  grain  will  be  worse 
than  lost,  as  it  will  serve  lo  feed 
and  increase  vermin.  A  floor  of 
boards  should  therefore  be  laid  un- 
der the  planks. 

The  sills  of  a  barn  should  be 
made  of  the  most  durable  kind  of 
timber,  as  they  are  more  liable  to 
rot  than  those  of  other  buildings, 
on  account  of  the  dung  lying  about 
them.  White  oak  is  very  fit  for 
this  use.  The  sills  must  be  laid 
rather  low,  not  only  for  the  conve- 
nient entrance  of  cattle  and  carts, 
but  because  the  ground  will  be 
lowered  round  barns,  by  the  year- 
ly taking  away  of  some  of  the  sur- 
face with  the  dung.  They  should 
be  well  underpinned  with  stones 
laid  a  little  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground  ;  and  well  pointed  with 
lime,  to  prevent  loss  of  manure. 
And  dung  should  not  lie  fermenting 
against  the  sides  of  a  barn  ;  but  be 
speedily  removed  when  warm 
weather  comes  on. 

In  order  to  prevent  hay  or  grain 
from  heating  in  a  large  mow, 
the  farmers  in  Pennsylvania  set 
up  four  poles  or  pieces  of  tim- 
ber in  the  middle,  so  as  to  form 
within  them  a  square  space  of  a- 
bout  two  feet.  The  poles  are  bra- 
ced by  cross-pieces  at  certain  dis- 
tances. Through  the  aperture, 
thus  made,  the  extra  moisture  in 
the  hay  or  grain  will  evaporate  so 


BAR 


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17 


as  lo  prevent  its  being  mow  burnt. 
BARN  YARD,  a  small  piece  of 
inclosed  ground,  contiguous  to  a 
barn,  in  which  cattle  are  usually 
kept.  It  should  have  a  high,  close, 
and  strong  fence,  both  to  shelter 
the  beasts  from  the  force  of  driv- 
ing storms,  and  to  keep  the  most 
unruly  ones  from  breaking  out.  By 
the  help  of  this  yard,  a  farmer  may 
prodigiously  increase  his  quantity 
of  manure,  if  he  will  be  careful  to 
take  the  right  methods. 

The  ground  of  a  yard  for  this 
purpose  should  be  of  such  a  shape 
as  to  retain  all  the  manure,  or  pre- 
vent its  being  washed  away  by 
rains.  It  should  be  lowest  in  the 
middle  ;  or  at  least  so  high  on  all 
the  sides,  that  even  the  greatest 
rains  shall  not  carry  away  any  of 
the  manure.  This  is  a  matter  of 
so  much  importance,  that  it  may 
be  well  worth  while  to  form  the 
ground  to  the  right  shape,  where 
nature  has  not  done  it. 

A  yard  should  be  larger  or  smal- 
ler in  proportion  to  the  stock  that 
is  kept  in  it.  A  small  one  is  bad, 
as  the  cattle  will  be  more  apt  to 
push  and  hurt  one  another.  A 
large  one  is  more  favourable  to  the 
design  of  making  abundance  of 
manure.  Not  only  should  the 
yard  be  contiguous  to  the  barn,  but 
as  many  of  the  otlier  out  houses  as 
conveniently  may  be  should  be 
placed  on  the  sides  of  the  yard, 
especially  those  of  them  which  af- 
ford manure  or  rubbish,  as  the  hog- 
sty,  &LC. 

Many,  who  have  good  farm  yards, 
are  not  so  careful  as  they  should 
be  to  make  the  greatest  advantage 
3 


by  them,  by  confining  the  cattle 
continually  in  them,  during  the 
foddering  season.  The  practice 
of  driving  cattle  to  water,  at  a  dis- 
tance, is  attended  with  great  loss 
of  manure.  Instead  of  continuing 
in  this  absurd  practice,  the  well 
that  serves  the  house,  or  one  dug 
for  the  purpose,  should  be  so  near 
the  yard,  that  a  watering  trough 
may  reach  from  it  into  the  yard. 
Some  have  a  well  in  the  yard  ;  but 
this  is  not  so  advisable,  as  the  wa- 
ter may  become  impregnated  with 
the  excrements  of  the  cattle,  and 
rendered  less  palatable.  He  that 
has  a  large  stock,  may  save  enough 
in  manure  in  this  way,  in  one  year, 
to  pay  him  for  making  a  well  of  a 
moderate  depth  :  Besides  secur- 
ing the  advantage  of  having  his 
cattle  under  his  eye  ;  and  of  pre- 
venting their  straggling  away,  as 
they  sometimes  do.  Innumerable 
are  the  accidents  to  which  a  stock 
are  exposed,  by  going  to  watering 
places,  in  winter,  without  a  driver, 
as  they  commonly  do.  And  often- 
times, by  means  of  snow  and  ice, 
the  difficulty  is  so  great,  as  to  dis- 
courage them  from  going  to  the 
water;  the  consequence  is,  that 
they  suffer  for  want  of  drink,  and 
the  owner  is  ignorant  of  it.  All 
these  things  plead  strongly  in  fa- 
vour of  the  mode  of  watering  I  have 
here  recommended.  They  should 
not  be  let  out,  even  when  the 
ground  is  bare  :  For  what  they 
get  will  make  them  to  winter  the 
worse  ;  and  they  will  damage  the 
fields. 

There  should   be    mere   yards 
than  one  to  a  barn,  where  divers 


18 


BAR 


BAR 


sorts  of  cattle  are  kept.  The  sheep 
should  have  a  yard  by  themselves, 
at  least  ;  and  the  young  stock  an- 
other, that  they  may  be  wholly 
confined  to  such  fodder  as  the  farm- 
er can  afFard  them.  But  the  prin- 
cipal yard  may  be  for  the  cows, 
oxen,  calves  and  horses.  And  the 
water  from  the  well  may  be  led  in- 
to each  of  these  yards  by  wooden 
gutters. 

If  the  soil  of  the  yard  be  clay,  or 
a  pan  of  very  hard  earth,  it  will  be 
the  more  fit  for  the  purpose  of 
making  manure,  as  the  excrements 
of  the  cattle  will  not  be  so  apt  to 
soak  deep  into  it.  Otherwise 
a  layer  of  clay  may  be  laid  on 
to  retain  the  stale,  and  the  wash 
of  the  dung,  which  otherwise  would 
be  almost  entirely  lost. 

Some  farmers  seem  well  pleased 
to  have  a  wash  run  away  from  their 
barns  upon  the  contiguous  sloping 
lands.  But  they  are  not  aware 
how  much  they  lose  by  it.  A  small 
quantity  of  land,  by  means  of  it, 
may  be  made  too  rich.  But  the 
quantity  of  manure  that  is  ex- 
pended in  doing  it,  if  otherwise 
employed,  might  be  vastly  more 
advantageous  •,  especially  if  it  were 
so  confined  as  to  be  incorporated 
with  a  variety  of  absorbent  and 
dissolvable  substances ;  and  after- 
wards laid  on  those  parts  of  the 
farm  where  it  is  most  wanted. 

It  is  best,  in  this  climate,  that  a 
barn  yard  should  be  on  the  south 
side  of  a  barn.  It  being  less  shad- 
ed, the  manure  will  make  the  fast- 
er, as  it  will  be  free  from  frost  a 
greater  part  of  the  year,  and  con- 
sequently have   a  longer  time  to 


ferment  in.  The  feet  of  the  cattle 
will  also  mix  the  materials  the 
more,  which  are  thrown  into  the 
yard,  and  wear  them  to  pieces,  so 
that  they  will  become  short  and 
fine. 

After  the  yard  is  cleaned  in  the 
spring,  the  farmer  should  embrace 
the  first  leisure  he  has,  to  store  it 
with  a  variety  of  materials  for 
making  manure.  For  this  purpose, 
he  may  cart  into  it  swamp-mud, 
clay,  brick  dust,  straw,  thatch,  fern, 
weeds,  leaves  of  trees,  turfs,  marsh 
mud,  eel  grass,  flats,  or  even  sand 
and  loam.  If  he  cannot  get  all 
these  kinds  of  rubbish,  he  may 
take  such  of  them  as  are  the  most 
easily  obtained.  Any  of  these  sub- 
stances, being  mixed  with  the  dung 
and  stale  of  cattle,  will  become 
good  manure.  But  some  regard 
may  be  had  to  the  nature  of  the 
soil  on  which  the  manure  is  to  be 
laid.  If  it  be  clay,  the  less  clay 
and  the  more  brick  dust  and  sand 
will  be  proper  :  If  a  sandy  soil, 
clay,  pond  mud,  and  flats,  will  be 
better  ingredients. 

All  the  materials  above  men- 
tioned, and  many  more  that  might 
be  named,  will  in  one  year  become 
good  manure,  by  being  mixed  with 
the  excrements  of  the  cattle,  and 
prevent  the  waste  of  them.  And 
this  is  thought,  by  the  best  writers 
on  husbandry,  to  be  the  cheapest 
method  a  farmer  can  take  to  ma- 
nure his  lands,  considering  the 
small  cost  of  the  materials  made 
into  manure. 

If  water  should  stand  long  in  any 
part  of  the  yard,  the  manure  must 
be  raked  out  of  the  water,  and 


BE  A 


BEA 


19 


heaped  round  the  borders  of  the 
puddle,  that  it  may  be  dry.  For 
there  will  be  no  fermentation 
where  there  is  too  much  wetness  : 
The  materials  will  not  dissolve, 
but  turn  sour.  As  these  heaps 
grow  dry,  the  water  should  be 
scooped  up,  and  thrown  upon  them 
from  time  to  time.  This  will  in- 
crease the  fermentation  in  the 
heaps,  and  they  will  grow  mellow 
the  faster.  It  will  be  of  service  to 
shovel  the  whole  of  the  manure 
into  heaps,  a  few  days  before  it  is 
carted  out,  as  it  will  bring  on  a 
brisk  fermentation,  and  make  it 
fitter  to  be  laid  upon  the  land.  Or 
if  shovelling  be  thought  too  labori- 
ous, turning  it  up  with  a  plough 
will  be  advantageous.  Or  if  there 
be  not  a  deep  layer,  tearing  it 
with  a  harrow  may  be  sufficient. 

Some  modern  agriculturists  of 
eminence,  with  Sir  Humphrey  Da- 
vy,are  of  opinion,  that  unfermented 
manure  is  most  profitable.  If  so, 
manure  in  a  yard  need  not  be  stir 
red  unless  it  be  necessary  to  pre- 
vent fermentation,  or  what  is  call- 
ed the  dry  rot.  The  best  part  of 
the  manure  it  is  said  is  dissipated, 
and  goes  off  in  gas,  during  fermen- 
tation. See  Dung,  Manure,  and 
IStercorary. 

BEANS.  The  following  mode 
of  planting  beans  has  been  recom- 
mended by  an  English  writer. 
The  rows  are  marked  out  one  foot 
asunder,  and  the  seed  planted  in 
holes  two  inches  apart  :  the  lines 
are  stretched  across  the  lands, 
which  are  formed  about  six  feet 
over,so  that  when  one  row  is  plant- 
ed, the  sticks  to  which  the  line  is 
fastened,  are  moved  by  a  regular 


measurement  to  the  distance  re- 
quired, and  the  same  method  pur- 
sued till  the  field  is  completed. — 
The  usual  price  for  this  work  is 
dd,  sterling  per  week,  and  the  al- 
lowance two  bushels  per  acre. 

Sir  John  Sinclair,  in  "The  Code 
of  Agriculture"  recommends  cut- 
ting the  tops  of  beans  in  order  to 
accelerate  their  podding.  This 
eminent  writer  states  that  "it  was 
begun  about  the  year  1804,  and 
has  already  been  tried  on  more 
than  200  acres.  The  operation  is 
performed  by  means  of  a  sharp 
edged  instrument  or  knife,  12  or 
14  inches  long  exclusive  of  the 
handle  ;  but  it  may  be  done  by  a 
sickle  or  reaping  hook.  The  ex- 
pense has  never  exceeded  3s.  per 
acre,  and  it  is  done  by  contract. — 
At  a  certain  stage  of  its  growth  the 
head  of  the  bean  stalk  does  not 
seem  essential  to  the  purpose  of 
vegetation,  but  by  its  luxuriance  to 
exhaust  the  strength  of  the  plant. 
The  proper  time  to  cut  them  off  is 
when  the  first  blossoms  begin  to 
drop  :  if  done  sooner,  a  fresh  shoot 
will  put  forth.  As  soon  as  the 
tops  are  cut  off,  the  pods  rapidly 
increase  in  size,  and  the  period  of 
ripening  is  accelerated.  The  time- 
ly removal  of  these  parts,  where 
the  insects  chiefly  lodge,  material- 
ly contributes  to  the  health  and 
vigour  of  the  plant,  and  probably 
increases  the  weight  of  the  crop. 
The  harvest  is  by  this  means  ad- 
vanced at  least  a  fortnight.  In 
the  ordinary  mode  of  managing  a 
bean  crop,  their  tops  are  green 
when  reaped,  consequently  they 
absorb  and  retain  moisture,  and 
require  a  considerable  exposure  in 


20 


BE  A 


BEE 


the  field  to  prepare  them  for  the 
stack  ;  whereas  without  their  tops, 
the  crop  is  sooner  in  a  conditioi)  to 
be  carried,  and  less  risk  is  incurred 
from  the  effects  of  frost  and  wet 
seasons.  The  tops  are  left  to  rot 
on  the  ground." 

The  following  is  taken  from  Mr. 
M'Mahon's  Treatise  on  Garden- 
ing, &c.  "  The  early  Mazagan, 
Jong  podded  Windsor,  and  all  the 
varieties  of  that  species  of  bean, 
should  be  topped,  when  arrived  at 
full  bloom,  and  the  lower  pods  be- 
ginning to  set  ;  this  will  greatly 
promote  the  swelling  of  the  pods, 
as  well  as  their  early  maturity  ;  for 
having  no  advancing  tops  to  nou- 
rish, their  whole  efforts  must  go  to 
the  support  of  the  fruit. 

This  should  be  performed  on  the 
beans  in  general  when  in  full 
blossom  ;  "  observing  to  let  the 
stems  be  first  advanced  to  such  a 
due  height,  as  to  have  a  snjfficient 
quantity  of  pods  ;  the  early  Maza- 
gan bean  may  be  topped  when 
about  two  feet  high,  and  the  larger 
sorts  when  from  about  two  feet  and 
a  half  or  yard,  to  three  and  a  half 
high,  according  to  the  growth  of 
the  different  varieties,  and  may  be 
done  with  the  finger  and  thumb. 

But  with  respect  to  the  small 
early  beans,  if  you  would  have 
them  come  in  as  soon  as  possible, 
you  should  top  them  when  the 
blossoms  at  the  bottoai  of  the  stalks 
begin  to  open."  American  Gard- 
ener''s  Calendar. 

A  gentleman  who  is  a  practical, 
as  well  as  a  scientific  farmer,  is  of 
Opinion,  after  repeated  experi- 
ments, that  the  Field  White  Bean 


is  the  only  kind,  which  can  be  cul- 
tivated in  this  country  on  a  great 
agricultural  scale. 

BEER.  Much  has  been  published 
forthe  direction  of  those  who  under- 
take large  brt  weries.  It  is  much  to 
be  wished  that  many  such  wen-  car- 
ried on  in  this  country,  where  bar- 
ley for  making  malt  can  be  so  easi- 
ly raised.  The  use  of  ardent  spir- 
its, which  are  most  costly,  and  less 
wholesome  than  beer,  might  thus 
be  lessened.  They  who  are  dis- 
posed to  undertake  brewing,  may 
supply  themselves  with  volumes  on 
the  subjfct.  1  shall  only  under- 
take to  direct  farmers,  who  may  be 
disposed  to  brew  beer  for  their 
own  consumption. 

Almost  any  householder  may 
brew,  without  putting  himself  to 
much  if  any  charge  for  an  appara- 
tus. Instead  of  a  large  copper, 
which  is  necessary  in  a  brew 
house,  a  large  kettle  or  two  may 
answer  the  purposes  of  heating  the 
water,  and  boiling  the  wort.  Hogs- 
head and  barrel  tubs,  and  other 
vessels,  may  serve  for  mashing 
tubs,  backs,  coolers,  and  tuns. 

The  water  used  for  making  beer 
or  ale,  should  be  soft,  and  such  as 
is  fit  for  washing.  For  this  will 
better  penetrate  the  malt,  and 
cause  it  to  discharge  its  spirituous 
virtue.  Some  recommend  throw- 
ing a  spoonful  of  salt  into  a  kettle- 
full,  which  will  cause  any  foulness 
contained  in  the  water  to  rise  to 
the  surface  when  it  boils,  which 
may  be  skimmed  off.  When  the 
water  is  very  good  this  will  be 
needless.  But  let  the  water  be 
ever  so  pure,  a  little  bran,  or  malt, 


BEE 


BEE 


21 


should  be  thrown  upon  Ihe  top,  j 
while  it  is  heating  ;  to  be  taken 
off  when  the  water  begins  to  boil. 
If  malt  be  used,  throw  it  into  the 
mash  tub.  The  design  of  thus  cov- 
ering the  water  is,  to  prevent  the 
best,  moat  subtil  and  volatile  par- 
ticles of  the  water  from  evapora- 
ting, or  going  otf  in  steam.  The 
water,  for  the  same  reason,  should 
but  just  boil ;  after  which  it  should 
not  be  left  to  cool  gradualy,  as  the 
evaporation  would  be  too  great  : 
But  as  much  cold  water  should  be 
thrown  in,  and  mixed  with  it  in 
the  mash  tub,  as  will  bring  it  to  the 
right  temper,  perhaps  about  three 
gallons  to  half  a  barrel.  For  the 
malt  should  not  be  scalded,  but 
steeped  in  water,  as  warm  as  it  can 
be  without  scalding  ;  because  the 
scalding  of  the  malt  would  rather 
close  up  its  pores,  and  prevent  its 
impregnating  the  water  with  its 
virtue,  so  much  as  it  will  in  a  tepjd 
menstruum.  It  will  also  render  it 
glutinous  and  adhesive,  so  that  the 
water  will  not  have  a  free  passage 
through  it.  The  cold  water  should 
be  put  tirst  into  the  mash,  and  the 
hot  after  it. 

The  mash-tub  should  have  a 
cock,  or  a  tap  and  faucet,  fixed  in- 
to its  bottom,  and  the  hole  cover- 
ed within  with  a  little  flat  shaped 
inverted  basket,  fastened  with 
nails,  that  it  may  not  get  out  of 
place  by  the  mashing,  and  a  close 
straining  cloth  may  be  put  over  it, 
and  fastened  in  the  same  manner. 

The  water  being  in  the  mash 
tub,  one  person  should  put  in  the 
malt  by  little  and  little,  and  anoth- 
er should  stir  it  about  with  a  stick 


or  paddle,  that  it  may  not  remain 
in  lumps,  or  fail  of  being  thorough- 
ly wetted.  This  is  all  the  stirring 
that  is  needful.  For  too  much 
stirring  would  cause  the  malt  to 
thicken,  so  as  not  to  give  a  free 
passage  to  the  water  that  is  to  pass 
through  it. 

Some  of  the  last  of  the  malt,  in- 
stead of  being  stirred  into  the  wa- 
ter, should  be  strewed  loosely  over 
the  surface,  to  serve  as  a  coat  for 
the  rest,  and  prevent  the  copious 
passing  away  of  the  spirit  in  steams. 
Besides,  the  tub  should  be  closely 
covered  with  sacks,  or  other  cloths, 
that  none  of  the  steam  may  escape. 
In  this  situation  it  should  stand  for 
two  or  three  hours.  Then  with  a 
small  stream  draw  offthe  wort,  up- 
on a  handful  or  two  of  hops,  into 
the  back,  which  is  placed  under 
the  mash  tub.  Fill  with  water 
again,  and  mash  ;  in  half  an  hour 
run  it  off;  in  the  mean  while  be 
pouring  hot  water  into  the  mash  as 
it  is  running.  It  should  be  poured 
in  on  that  side  of  the  tub  which  is 
most  distant  from  the  cock,  or  so 
that  all  the  malt  may  be  washed 
with  it  as  equally  as  possible.  This 
water  may  be  almost  or  quite  boil- 
ing hot,  as  mixing  it  with  that  in 
the  tub  will  so  cool  it  as  to  prevent 
scalding.  Continue  thus  to  pour 
in  water  and  run  it  off,  till  you 
have  the  quantity  in  the  back 
which  you  design  for  your  strong 
ale  or  beer.  Then  stop  the  cock, 
and  fill  the  grains  with  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  cold  water,  for  small 
beer,  or  it  may  be  hot  if  the  weath- 
er is  cold,  so  that  there  be  no  dan- 
ger of  souring.     Let  it  stand,  cov- 


22 


BEE 


BEE 


ered  as  before,  and  boil  your  first 
run.  When  it  has  boiled  smartly 
for  half  an  hour,  put  in  your  hops, 
and  boil  it  another  half  hour,  or  till 
it  breaks  or  curdles,  as  it  will  when 
it  is  sufiiciently  boiled.  Or  you 
may  put  ^lour  hops  into  a  thin 
coarse  linen  bag,  leaving  room  for 
them  to  swell,  and  boil  them  the 
first  half  hour  in  the  wort,  which  I 
take  to  be  a  better  method. 

When  your  wort  is  boiled  enough, 
strain  it  into  your  coolers,  in  which 
the  thinner  it  lies  the  better,  as  it 
will  cool  the  faster. 

The  next  thing  is  to  put  the  wort 
into  the  tun,  an  open  vessel,  to  fer- 
ment. If  very  fine  and  clear  drink 
is  desired,  the  sediments  in  the 
coolers  should  be  left  behind,  and 
strained  through  a  flannel  bag  :  For 
the  less  of  the  grounds  go  into  the 
tun,  the  purer  the  beer  may  be  ex- 
pected to  be  in  the  cask,  and  the 
more  easily  fined. 

That  which  is  intended  for  long 
keeping,  should  be  almost  or  quite 
cold  before  it  is  put  into  the  tun, 
because  a  slow  fermentation  will 
be  most  proper  for  it.  But  ale,  or 
small  beer,  for  speedy  use,  may  be 
put  up  a  little  warm. 

Then  stir  in  your  barm,  or  yest, 
a  pint  of  which  is  enough  for  a  bar- 
rel. If  the  fermentation  be  too 
slow,  beat  in  the  yest  once  or 
twice,  but  not  oftener,lest  the  drink 
should  be  injured  by  it. 

In  two  or  three  days  the  beer 
will  purify  itself  by  throwing  up 
the  lighter  parts  to  the  top  in  a 
white  curled  foam,  and  precipita- 
ting the  heavier  and  fouler  parts  to 
the   bottom.     It  should    then  be 


tapped  just  above  the  lees,  and, 
having  taken  off  the  yest,  the  beer 
must  be  drawn  off  into  the  casks 
in  which  it  is  to  be  kept  :  Which 
should  stand  with  the  bungs  open, 
till  the  fermentation  ceases,  and  be 
kept  constantly  full,  not  by  pouring 
in  that  which  runs  over  with  the 
yest  at  the  bung  hole;  but  with 
some  of  the  same  beer  kept  in  a 
vessel  by  itself.  Thus  it  will  throw 
off  the  yest,  and  deposit  a  dreggy 
part  sufficient  for  the  beer  to  feed 
upon  in  the  cask.  Reserving  the 
yest  for  use,  bung  the  casks  close 
as  soon  as  the  working  ceases.  If 
the  brewing  be  done  in  October, 
the  bungs  should  not  be  taken  out 
till  spring.  Then  open  the  vent 
holes  :  For  the  coming  of  warm 
weather  will  cause  a  new  fermen- 
tation. This  being  over,  keep  the 
casks  well  stopped  till  September 
following  :  Then  fine  it  with  isin- 
glass, first  racking  it  off,  if  it  be  not 
pretty  fine. 

But  for  ales  and  small  beers,  it 
may  answer  well  enough,  to  omit 
the  tunning,  and  remove  the  wort 
from  the  coolers  directly  into  the 
casks ;  observing  to  keep  them 
full,  that  they  may  purge  them- 
selves of  the  yeast. 

Butt  beer  of  the  strongest  kind, 
takes  eight  bushels  of  malt  for  a 
barrel.  But  a  smaller  quantity 
will  make  a  pleasanter  and  whole- 
somer  drink.  The  same  quanti- 
ty will  make  a  barrel  and  a  half 
of  good  strong  ale ;  or  six  barrels 
of  small  beer. 

Receipt  for  brewing  for   a  pri- 
vate family* 

Take  four  bushels  of  malt,  and 


BEE 


BEE 


23 


from  ten  ounces  to  a  pound  of 
hops,  as  you  wish  your  beer  to  be 
more  or  less  bitter.  Brew  accord- 
ing to  the  above  method.  You 
will  have  one  barrel  of  good  ale, 
and  another  of  small  beer.  For 
the  small  beer  half  a  pound  of 
hops  will  be  enough.  Some  use 
the  hops  that  have  been  boiled 
before :  But  fresh  hops  will  be 
far  better  and  wholesomer. 
Spruce  Beer. 

Take  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
spruceboughs ;  boil  them  in  water 
about  half  an  hour,  or  till  the  out- 
ward skin,  or  rind,  peels  off:  Strain 
the  liquor,  and  stir  in  at  the  rate  of 
two  quarts  of  molasses  to  half  a 
barrel.  Work  it  with  beer  grounds, 
or  emptyings  ;  or  rather  with  yest. 

Instead  of  spruce,  some  use  ju- 
niper, and  prefer  it.  It  is  the  low 
species,  commonly  called  savin. 
A  little  wheat  bran  should  be  boil- 
ed in  this  beer  to  give  it  a 
briskness. 

Molasses  Beer  ; 
according  to  a  method  said  to  be 
practised  in  Philadelphia. 

"  Take  five  pounds  of  molasses, 
half  a  pint  of  yest,  and  a  spoon- 
full  of  powdered  race  ginger  :  Put 
these  ingredients  into  your  ves- 
sel, and  pour  on  them  two  gal- 
lons of  scalding  hot,  soft  and 
clear  water  :  Shake  them  well 
till  it  ferments  ;  and  add  thirteen 
gallons  of  the  same  water  cold, 
to  fill  up  the  cask  :  Let  the  liquor 
ferment  about  twelve  hours,  then 
bottle  it  off,  with  a  raisin  or  two 
in  each  bottle." 

A  good  Household  Beer. 

Take   a  heaped  half  peck  of 


wheat  bran,  and  three  or  four 
ounces  of  hops  :  Boil  them  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  in  fifteen  gallons  of 
clear  water :  Strain  it  through  a 
close  sive,  and  sweeten  it  with 
two  quarts  of  molasses  :  Cool  it 
quick  till  it  is  no  warmer  than  new 
milk,  and  fill  your  half  barrel. 
Warm  water  may  be  used  to  fill 
up  the  cask  if  needful.  Leave 
the  bung  out  for  24  hours,  that  the 
drink  may  work,  and  throw  off  the 
yest,  and  it  will  be  fit  for  use. — 
About  the  fourth  or  fifth  day,  bottle 
off  what  remains  in  the  vessel,  es- 
pecially if  the  weather  be  hot, 
that  it  may  not  turn  sour  or  stale. 
If  the  cask  be  new,  or  not  before 
used  for  beer,  apply  yest  or  beer 
grounds  to  ferment  it :  Otherwise 
it  will  not  be  necessary. 

The  practice,  which  is  common 
in  this  country,  of  fermenting  our 
small  drinks,  with  the  sediments, 
or  dregs  of  the  same,  ought  to  be 
laid  aside.  For  this  is  undoubt- 
edly the  foulest,  and  most  un- 
wholesome excrement  of  liquor. 
Practice  is  apt  to  reconcile  the 
minds  of  people  to  the  most  ab- 
surd and  unwholesome  things. 
Would  not  a  man  be  considered 
as  insane,  who  should  take  the 
emptyings  of  cyder,  and  put  it 
into  his  new  cider  to  ferment  it  ? 
But  how  much  better  a  practice  is 
it,  to  ferment  our  small  beers  in 
this  manner,  with  the  sediments  of 
small  beer  ?  It  is  true,  that  yest 
is  also  an  excrementitious  part ; 
but  that  which  is  white,  is  evident- 
ly far  lighter,  and  freer  from  filth, 
and  contains  much  of  the  volatile 
and  spirituous  parts.     As   I  had 


24 


BEE 


BEE 


rather  receive  the  breath  or  pers- 
piration of  cattle  into  my  body, 
than  their  dung,  or  stale,  so  I  pre- 
fer the  white  scum  in  my  drink  to 
the  ponderous  dregs  of  liquors. 
These  observations  will  as  well 
supply  to  the  fermenting  of  dough. 

To  mend  disorders  in  beer,  and 
improve  it,  the  London  and  coun- 
try brewer  gives  the  following  di- 
rections. 

To  cure  a  hull  of  ropy  beer. — 
Mix  two  handfuls  of    bean    flour 
with  one  handful  of  salt,  and  stir 
it  in.      " 

To  feed  a  butt  of  beer, — Bake  a 
rye  loaf  well  nutmeged,  put  it  in 
pieces  into  a  narrow  bag  of  hops 
with  some  wheat,  and  put  the  bag 
into  the  cask  at  the  bung  hole. 

To  cure  musty  drink. — Run  it 
through  some  hops  that  have  been 
boiling  in  strong  wort,  and  after- 
wards work  it  with  two  parts  of 
new  beer,  to  one  of  the  musty 
old.  This  is  called  vamping,  and 
is  a  cure  for  musty,  or  drinking 
beer. 

To  feed  and  give  a  fine  flavour 
to  a  barrel  of  beer. — Put  six  sea 
biscuits  into  a  bag  of  hops,  and 
put  all  into  the  cask. 

To  fine  or  clarify  beer  in  twen- 
ty four  hours. — Put  in  a  piece  of 
soft  chalk  burnt,  about  the  big- 
ness of  two  hen's  eggs,  which 
will  disturb  the  liquor,  and  cause 
it  afterwards  to  be  fine,  and  draw 
off  brisk  to  the  last,  though  it 
were  flat  before.  This  will  do  for 
a  kilderkin,  or  half  barrel. 

To  fine  and  feed  butt  beer. — Cut 
isinglass  into  s»Tiall  pieces,  and 
soak  it  in  some  stale  beer ;  then 
boil  sugar  in  small  beer  or  ale  to 


a  thin  syrup,  and  mix  it  with  some 
of  the  isinglass  beer,  which  put 
into  a  butt  of  beer,  stirring  it  brisk- 
ly together.  It  will  fine  and  pre- 
serve the  drink  well. 

To  recover  a  kilderkin  of  stale 
small  beer. — Put  two  ounces  of 
good  hops,  and  one  pound  of  mel- 
low fat  chalk,  broke  into  a  dozen 
pieces,  in  at  the  bung  hole,  and 
stop  it  up  close.  It  will  prove 
sound  and  pleasant  to  the  last. 

To  fine  a  kilderkin  of  ale  or 
beer,  and  preserve  the  same  sound 
and  pleasant  for  a  long  time. — 
Take  a  large  handful  of  hops, 
boiled  in  a  first  wort  only  half  an 
hour,  and  dried  ;  half  a  pound  of 
loaf  sugar  dissolved  in  some  of  the 
ale  or  beer;  one  pound  of  chalk 
broke  in  six  pieces ;  the  white 
part  of  oystershells,  calcined  in 
a  clear  charcoal  fire  to  a  white- 
ness, and  the  stems  of  tobacco 
pipes,  that  have  been  used  and  are 
burnt  again,  of  each  in  powder 
four  ounces.  Put  in  your  hops  first, 
with  the  pieces  of  chalk  ;  and  then 
mix  your  two  powders  and  loaf 
sugar  in  some  pf  the  ale  or  beer, 
and  pour  all  in  immediately  after 
the  hops  and  chalk,  stirring  them 
well  about  with  a  staff,  and  bung 
down. 

Some  put  these  into  ale  quickly 
after  it  has  done  working;  others 
will  rack  off  their  October  or 
March  beer  into  another  cask,  and 
then  put  in  these  ingredients,  and 
stir  it  well  with  a  staff:  Or  give 
the  vessel  a  roll  or  two,  that  the 
bottom  may  be  turned  up.  You 
may  tap  it  at  a  week's  end :  You 
will  have  a  clear  wholesome  ale  or 
beer. 


BEE 


BEE 


25 


It  is  said  that  beer  tasting  of  the 
cask  may  be  freed  from  it,  by  put- 
ting a  handful  of  wheat  in  a  bag, 
and  hanging  it  in  the  vessel.    Rees'^ 
Ci/clopcedia. 

The  pods  of  green  peas,  after 
being  dried,  are  likewise  recom- 
mended as  ingredients  in  beer  to 
which  they  afford  spirit,  and  an 
agreeable  flavour. 

BEES,  an  industrious  and  pro- 
fitable species  of  insects.  Rural 
economy  is  incomplete  where 
bees  are  wanting.  The  cost  of 
keeping  them  is  nothing,  after  the 
house  and  boxes  are  made  ;  and 
the  care  that  is  required  about 
them  is  but  trifling,  affording  an 
agreeable  amusement. 

There  are  three  sorts  of  bees 
in  a  hive:  1.  The  queen  bee, 
which  is  larger,  and  of  a  brighter 
red,  than  the  rest.  Her  business 
is  to  conduct  the  new  swarm,  and 
lay  eggs  in  the  cells  for  a  new 
brood  :  And  her  fertility  is  so 
great  that  she  brings  forth  many 
thousands  of  young  ones  in  a  year. 
2.  The  drones,  which  have  no 
stings,  are  of  a  darker  colour  than 
the  rest,  and  are  supposed  to  be 
the  males.  3.  The  honey  bees, 
or  working  bees,  which  are  by  far 
more  numerous  than  the  other 
two  kinds. 

A  bee-house  should  be  situated 
at  a  good  distance  from  places 
where  cattle  are  kept,  especially 
from  hogsties,  hen  and  dove 
houses,  and  remote  from  filth  and 
dunghills.  It  should  be  defended 
from  high  winds  on  all  sides,  so 
far  as  may  be,  consistently  with 
admiting  the  heat  of  the  sun.  The 
house     should    be    open   to    the 

4 


south,  or  southwest,  and  the  back- 
side should  be  very  tight ;  with  a 
tight  roof  projecting,  that  driving 
rains  may  not  injure  the  bees.  \[ 
snow  lodges  upon  or  about  the 
hives,  it  should  be  brushed  off 
without  delay.  The  bench  on 
which  the  hives  stand,  should  be  a 
little  canting  outwards,  that  if  wet 
should  fall  on  it,  it  may  run  off 
without  entering  the  hives.  Mr. 
Bromwich  proposes,  ''  that  a  bee- 
house  be  boarded  in  front:  And 
that  the  backside  should  consist  of 
three  doors,  which,  opened,  give 
a  full  view  of  the  hives,  and  give 
opportunity  to  assist  or  lift  them. 
All  seams  are  to  be  stopped,  which 
would  admit  insects,  from  which 
the  house  is  often  to    be  brushed. 

"  If  the  house  should  be  in 
danger  of  being  too  hot,  when 
thus  inclosed,  it  may  be  occasion- 
ally shaded  with  boughs  of  trees. 
As  winter  approaches,  all  the 
seams  of  the  house  are  plaistered 
with  clay.  In  very  cold  climates, 
the  house  should  be  filled  with 
straw,  to  keep  the  bees  warm, 
watching  against  njice,  and  re- 
moving the  straw  in  the  spring. 

"  Cut  a  hole  through  the  front, 
of  the  same  size  as  the  mouth  of 
the  lower  hive,  and  directly  a- 
gainst  it.  Under  this  passage, 
on  a  level  with  the  floor,  is  a 
lighting  board,  at  the  mouth  of 
each  hive,  of  about  five  inches 
long,  and  three  wide.  !t  is  a  lit- 
tle shelf  for  the  bees  to  land  upon 
after  their  excursions.  These  be- 
ing separate,  not  in  one  piece  of 
the  length  of  the  house,  is  to  pre- 
vent intercourse  between  colony 
and  colonv  :  but  is  more  essential 


26 


BEE 


BEE 


to  prevent  mice,  snails,  and  other 
intruders.  These  ahghting  boards 
are  sometimes  painted  of  different 
colours,  to  direct  each  bee  to  his 
home  more  readily. — A  long  shelv- 
ing board  should  be  placed  over 
the  alighting  boards,  to  shelter  the 
bees  in  a  rainy  time.  It  should 
be  twelve  inches  wide,  and  placed 
nine  inches  above  the  mouths  of 
the  hives." 

Broom,  clover,  and  mustard, 
are  said  to  afford  bees  an  excel- 
lent pasture ;  and  they  appear 
very  fond  of  the  flowers  of  pop- 
pies. Gardens,  and  any  places 
where  flowers  abound,  and  espe- 
cially where  there  is  a  succession 
of  flowers  through  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  are  most  favourable 
to  them :  For  they  undoubtedly 
draw  the  principal  part  of  their 
honey  from  the  nectaria  of  -flow- 
ers. Fields  of  buck-wheat  are 
good,  as  they  continue  in  bloom 
fora  long  time.  In  Germany  they 
move  their  bee  hives  in  boats  (o 
the  neighbouring  fields  of  buck 
wheat. 

Bees  are  wont  to  send  out  new 
swarms  in  iVlay  and  June.  Much 
has  boen  written  concerning  the 
management  of  them  on  these  oc- 
casions.  But  the  new  mode  of 
managing  them  renders  all  this 
less  necessary.  It  is  this  :  Let  the 
bee  house  be  made  so  tall  as  to 
admit  three  tier  of  hives,  or  boxes, 
one  above  another.  The  hives 
should  not  be  tall,  but  rather 
broad  and  short,  that  they  may 
take  up  less  room.  A  hive  of 
such  dimensions  as  to  be  equal 
to  a  cube  of  13  inches,  will  be 
sufticiently  capacious,     Mr.  Thor- 


ley  directs  that  they  should  be  10 
inches  deep,  and  from  12  to  14 
inches  broad  in  the  inside.  If 
hives  be  made  larger,  the  swarms 
will  not  multiply  so  fast.  An  un- 
der hive  is  made  with  a  round  hole 
through  the  top  of  three  inches 
diameter,  covered  with  a  sliding 
shutter.  Each  hive  or  box  should 
have  a  passage  at  the  bottom  for 
the  bees  to  pass  in  and  out,  four 
or  five  inches  long,  and  about  one 
third  of  an  inch  deep.  One  of 
these  hives  should  be  placed  di- 
rectly under  an  inhabited  hive, 
before  they  are  disposed  to  send 
out  a  new  swarm.  This  will  pre- 
vent the  going  out  of  a  swarm,  and 
save  trouble  and  watching:  For 
instead  of  swarming,  when  the 
upper  hive  is  full,  they  will  build 
and  deposit  their  honey  in  the 
one  that  is  below :  and  when 
that  is  full,  let  them  find  another 
beneath  it;  they  will  take  pos- 
session of  the  lowermost.  It  is 
their  manner  always  to  begin  at 
the    top,    and    build    downwards. 

When  the  top  hive  is  well  filled 
with  honey,  it  may  be  discovered 
by  lifting  it,  or  more  accurately 
by  weighing  it  gently  with  a  steel- 
yard, in  a  cool  morning,  when  the 
bees  are  stiff,  and  not  apt  to  come 
out. 

When  a  hive  is  taken  up,  there 
is  no  need  of  murdering  the  poor 
insects  with  fire  and  brimstone,  as 
has  been  the  usual  practice.  Only 
drive  in  the  shutter,  and  run  a  thin 
long  knife  round,  to  part  it  from 
that  which  is  below  it ;  slip  the 
hive  off  upon  a  smooth  piece  of 
board,  or  slide  the  board  under, 
and    carry    the    hive    into    your 


BEE 


BEE 


27 


dwelling  house,  which  you  may  do 
in  a  cool  morning  without  any 
danger  from  their  stings.  Lay 
the  hive  upon  its  side,  and  have  a 
window  of  the  room  open.  As 
the  sun  gets  up,  and  the  air  grows 
warmer,  they  will  quit  the  hive, 
and  go  into  the  hive  next  to  the 
place  whence  they  were  taken. 
When  you  take  out  the  honey, 
which  should  be  done  speedily, 
the  bees  that  are  found  among  the 
honey,  stiff  and  unable  to  fly, 
should  be  thrown  into  a  tub  of 
water.  They  will  soon  recover 
their  activity,  and  go  after  their 
companions. 

Some  practice  feeding  bees. 
But,  says  one,  "  There  is  but  little 
use  in  it,  because  those  which  have 
not  a  gpod  stock  of  honey  to  serve 
them  through  the  winter,  are  not 
fit  to  keep.' — He  adds,  "  There 
are  some  stocks  of  bees  in  the 
spring  time,  that  may  seem  worthy 
of  our  care  to  preserve  ;  such  as 
have  but  little  honey,  and  a  good 
number  of  bees,  by  means  of  a 
cold  and  dry  spring,  yet  in  all 
probability  may  prove  an  excellent 
stock,  and  may  be  worth  con- 
sideration.'' 

"  The  best  method  of  supplying 
bees  with  food,  is  by  small  canes, 
or  troughs  conveyed  into  their 
hives  and  beginning  in  March, 
when  they  begin  to  breed  and  sit 
on  their  young,  it  must  be  daily 
continued,  till  the  season  affords 
them  ease  and   provision  abroad. 

"  Honey  is  not  only  the  best, 
but  the  most  natural  of  all  food, 
and  will  go  much  farther  mixed 
well  with  a  moderate  quantity  of 
good  sweet  wort.     Some  prescribe 


toasts  of  bread  sopped  in  strong 
ale,  and  put  into  the  hive,  where- 
of they  will  not  leave  one  crumb 
remaining.'' 

Mr.  Thorley  advises  when  stocks 
of  bees  are  weak,  to  double  them, 
which  he  thinks  the  most  effectual 
way  of  preserving  them  in  com- 
mon hives.  He  does  it  by  the 
help  of  a  fume,  or  opiate,  which 
will  so  stupify  them  for  a  time 
that  they  may  be  handled  at 
pleasure.  Having  done  this,  the 
queen  must  be  searched  for  and 
killed.  And  examine  whether 
the  stock  to  which  you  intend  to 
join  the  bees  of  another,  have 
honey  enough  to  maintain  the 
bees  of  both :  It  should  weigh 
20  pounds. 

"The  narcotic,  or  stupifying 
fume,  is  made  with  the  large  mush- 
room, commonly  known  by  the 
name  bunt,  pucktist,  orfrog  cheese. 
It  is  of  a  brown  colour,  turns  to 
powder,  and  is  exceeding  light. — 
Put  one  of  these  pucks  into  a  large 
paper;  press  it  therein  to  two  thirds, 
or  half  its  former  bulk,  and  tie  it 
up  very  close  :  Then  put  it  into  an 
oven,  after  the  bread  has  been 
drawn,  and  let  it  remain  there  all 
night  :  When  it  is  dry  enough  to 
hold  fire,  it  is  fit  for  use.  The 
manner  of  using  it  is  thus  : 

"Cut  off  a  piece  of  the  puck,  as 
large  as  a  hen's  egg,  and  fix  it  in 
the  end  of  a  small  stick  slit  for  that 
purpose,  and  sharpened  at  the  oth- 
er end,  which  place  so  that  the 
puck  may  hang  near  the  middle  of 
an  empty  hive.  This  hive  must 
be  set  with  tlie  mouth  upwards, 
near  the  stock  you  intend  to  take. 
This  being  done,  set   fire   to  the 


28 


BEE 


BEE 


puck,  and  immediately  place  the 
stotk  of  bees  over  it,  tying  a  cloth 
around  the  hives,  that  no  smoke 
may  come  forth.  In  a  minute's 
time,  you  will  hear  the  bees  fall 
like  drops  of  hail,  into  the  empty 
hive.  You  may  then  beat  the  top 
of  the  hive  gently  with  your  hand, 
to  get  as  many  of  them  as  you  can : 
After  this,  loosing  the  cloth,  lift  the 
hive  ofTto  a  table,  knock  it  sever- 
al times  against  the  table,  several 
more  bees  will  tumble  out,  and 
perhaps  the  queen  among  them. 
She  often  is  one  of  the  last  that 
falls.  If  she  is  not  there,  search 
for  her  among  (he  main  body  in  the 
empty  hive,  spreading  them  for 
this  purpose  on  a  table. 

"  You  must  proceed  in  the  same 
manner  with  the  other  hive,  with 
the  bees  of  which  these  are  to  be 
united.  One  of  the  queens  being 
secured,  you  must  put  the  bees  of 
both  hives  together,  mingle  them 
thoroughly,  and  drop  them  among 
the  combs  of  the  hive  which 
they  are  intended  to  inhabit. — 
When  they  are  all  in,  cover  it 
with  a  packing  or  coarse  cloth, 
which  will  admit  air,  and  let  them 
remain  shut  up  all  that  night,  and 
the  next  day.  You  will  soon  be 
sensible  they  are  awaked  from  their 
sleep. 

"  The  second  night  after  their 
union,  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
gently  remove  the  cloth  from  off 
the  mouth  of  the  hive,  and  the  bees 
will  immediately  sally  forth  with  a 
great  noise  :  But  being  too  late 
they  will  soon  return.  Then  keep 
them  confined  for  three  or  four 
days  ;  after  which  the  door  may 
be  left  open." 


it  is  convenient  to  have  a  pane 
of  glass  in  each  hive,  in  order  to 
watch  the  motions  of  the  bees,  and 
to  know  by  inspection  when  is  the 
right  time  to  take  up  a  hive.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  White  says,  "In  the 
back  part  you  must  cut  a  hole  with 
a  rabbit  in  it,  in  which  you  are  to 
fix  a  pane  of  the  clearest  and  best 
crown  glass,  about  five  inches  in 
length,  and  three  in  breadth,  and 
fasten  it  with  putty.  Let  the  top 
of  the  glass  be  placed  as  high  as  the 
roof  within  side,  that  you  may  see 
the  upper  part  of  the  combs,where 
the  bees  with  their  riches  are 
mostly  placed.  You  will,  by  this 
means,  be  better  able  to  judge  of 
their  state  and  strength,  than  if 
your  glass  was  fixed  in  the  middle. 

The  glass  must  be  covered  with 
a  thin  piece  of  board,  by  way  of 
shutter,  which  may  be  made  to 
hang  by  a  string,  or  turn  upon  a 
nail,  or  slide  sideways  between  two 
mouldings.  Such  as  are  desirous 
of  seeing  more  of  the  bees'  works, 
may  make  the  glass  as  large  as  the 
box  will  admit,  without  weakening 
it  too  much.  Or  they  may  add  a 
pane  of  glass  on  the  top,  which 
must  likewise  be  covered  with  a 
shutter,  fastened  down  with  pegs 
to  prevent  accidents. 

"  Be  careful  to  fasten  the  shutter 
so  close  to  the  glass,  that  no  light 
may  enter  ;  for  the  bees  seem  to 
look  upon  such  light  as  a  hole  or 
breach  in  their  house,  and  on  that 
account  may  not  so  well  like  their 
habitation." 

"  It  is  no  unusual  circumstance 
for  one  colony  of  bees  to  attack 
and  plunder  the  hive  of  another. — 
This  happens  chiefly  in  the  spring 


BEE 


BEE 


29 


and  autumn.  The  most  effectual 
way  to  guard  against  their  incur- 
sions, is  to  lessen  the  entrance  into 
the  hive,  so  as  to  leave  room  for 
only  two  or  three  bees  to  pass 
abreastjOr  to  stop  up  the  hives  that 
are  attached,  till  the  rovers  disap- 
pear."    Rees'^  Cyclopvedia. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository  for  May,  1812,  Vol. 
HI.  No.  2,  contains  a  valuable 
'■^Memoir  on  the  Management  of 
Bees  ^  by  Rev.  Thomas  J^ot/es,''^ 
from  svhich  the  following  is  extract- 
ed. 

"  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  state 
from  actual  experiment,  a  simple 
and    safe  process,    which  I  have 
adopted,  of    making  my  bees  pay 
an  annual  tribute,  without  waging 
an  exterminating  war  upon  them. 
In  order  to  effect  this,  I  tind  it  ne- 
cessary to  construct  my  hives  very 
differently  from  what  has  been  the 
general  plan  of  their  formation.     I 
have  substituted  boxes,  and  give 
each    swarm  two,  three,    or  four 
boxes,  as  I  find  their  situation  re- 
quires.    Their  introduction   from 
one  box  to  another  is  easy,  and  the 
removal  of  either  of  the  boxes  is 
safe  and  practicable,  at  any  season 
of  the  year,  or  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  when  they  are  most   active. 
With  very  little  injury  to  them,  I 
can  take  their  hive  into  as  many 
parts  as  it  consists  of  boxes,  put  it 
together  in  the  same,  or  different 
order  ;  take  which  box  I  please  ; 
avail  myself  of  its  contents,  without 
injuring  the  bees  ;  give  them  an- 
other box,    or    return  the    same 
empty  ;  place  it  at  the  top,  bot- 
tom, or  centre,  at  pleasure.     And, 
in  this  way  make  them  more  indus- 


trious, by  affording  them  constant 
employment,and  com[)letely  reme- 
dy their  necessity  for  idleness, 
which  is  sometimes  the  case,  when 
they  have  filled  their  hives,  and 
have  no  where  to  bestow  their 
goods. 

''  The  boxes,  which  I  use,  are 
constructed  in  the  following  man- 
ner.      1  take  a  clean  inch  board, 
six  inches  wide,  and  saw  it  into 
pieces  fifteen  inches  long.       Four 
of  these  pieces,  when  put  together 
at  right  angles,  will  form    a  box, 
whose  dimensions  within    will  be 
fourteen  inches  square  and  six  in- 
ches deep.     At  the  centre  of  the 
bottom  of  that  side  which  I   design 
for  the  front,  I  make,  for  a  door  or 
passage  for  the  bees,  an  opening, 
one  and  an  half  inch  long,  and  one 
third  of  an  inch  deep.     Then  cov- 
er the  top  and  bottom  with  pieces 
of  boards,  whose  thickness  does  not 
exceed  one  sixth  or  one  eighth  of 
an  inch.     These  covers  ought  to 
project  in  the  front  about  one  inch 
to  accommodate  the  bees  with  a 
place  or  stage,  on  which  they  may 
alight  and  rest.     They    serve  as 
partitions  between  the  boxes,  and 
the  lower  cover  ought  to  be  con- 
fined with  small  screws,  that  it  may 
be  easily  removed,  when  the  honey 
is  to  be  taken  from  the  box.     The 
door  or  passage  for  the  bees  being 
already  made,  I  proceed  to  open 
a  large  hole  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
troducing the  bees  into  the  box, 
and  as  a  communication  from  one 
box  to  another.     For  this  purpose 
I  cut  two  holes,  between  three  aod 
four   inches    square,  through    the 
centre  of  the  two  thin  covers. — 
Having  all  my  boxes  made  in  the 


30 


BEE 


BEE 


same  form  and  size  ;  with  holes 
corresponding  when  placed  one 
above  another  ;  it  is  immaterial 
which  is  used  for  the  top,  bottom, 
or  centre  one,  as  in  every  position 
there  will  be  a  correspondence  and 
uniformity. 

"  The  top  box  is  always  to  be 
covered  with  a  board  not  less  in  its 
dimensions,  than  the  top  surface  of 
the  hive  ;  with  a  weight  upon  it  to 
keep  it  in  its  place,  and  prevent  its 
warping.  By  having  these  parti- 
tions thin,  the  bees  in  each  box 
come  nearer  in  contact  ;  and  by 
having  the  boxes  so  completely 
closed,  united  only  by  a  communi- 
cation in  the  centre,  they  can  be 
separated  by  a  very  little  breakage 
of  the  comb  and  honey,  as  all  the 
cells  are  parallel  with  the  surface 
of  the  boxes  ;  and  in  separating 
them  they  are  cut  horizontally  and 
not  transversely. 

"  When  my  bees  swarm,  and 
having  alighted  on  some  branch  of 
a  tree,  and  become  quiet,  I  am 
generally  ready  to  receive  them  ; 
but  am  careful  to  introduce  them 
into  a  clean  box,  which  is  prepared 
by  faithfully  rubbing  the  inside  with 
the  leaves  of  sweet  balm,  hazel 
nut,  or  balm  of  gilead  ;  moistened 
in  a  strong  brine,  made  by  the  so- 
lution of  clean  salt.  Having  pre- 
pared two  boxes  in  this  way  for 
their  reception,  I  place  a  clean  ta- 
ble in  the  shade  ;  and  with  a  knife 
or  saw  cut  otf  the  branch  on  which 
the  bees  have  alighted,  and  place 
them  on  the  table,  and  having  uni- 
ted two  boxes,  place  the  hole  in 
the  lower  box  directly  over  the 
centre  of  the  bees  ;  with  care  that 
it  does  not  press  so  hard  as  to  in- 


jure them.  They  generally  indi- 
cate,  by  their  movements,  that  they 
know  what  is  designed,  and  take 
possession  of  their  new  habitation, 
if  they  do  not  immediately  retire 
to  their  provided  tenement,  1  take 
a  small  branch  of  a  tree  that  is 
clothed  with  leaves,  and  gently 
thrust  it  in  among  (hem,  and  they 
will  leave  the  branch  of  which 
they  first  took  possession,  and  re- 
treat into  the  box  for  protection 
without  offering  to  resent  any  want 
of  civility  towards  them.  1  gradu- 
ally lower  the  box,  as  they  retire 
into  it,  till  it  comes  in  contact  with 
the  (al)le,  and  leaves  them  no  com- 
munication to  pass  out  of  the  box, 
but  by  the  door. 

"  If  my  bees  alight  on  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  or  on  a  branch  that  is  too 
unwieldly  to  move,  or  too  valua- 
ble to  be  cut,  1  set  a  table  under 
them.  If  they  are  high,  I  suspend 
a  table  between  ladders,  put  my 
boxes  on  it,  elevated  a  little  so  as 
to  give  them  a  passage  between 
the  lower  box  and  the  table  ;  and 
with  a  clean  wing  or  something 
that  is  soft,  brush  the  bees  in  the 
direction  of  the  table,  and  they  will 
not  fail  to  take  possession  of  the 
tenement  provided  for  their  recep- 
tion. Proceeding  in  this  way,  I 
meet  with  no  difficulty  in  introduc- 
ing my  bees  into  my  new  construct- 
ed hives.  The  bees  ou<iht  to  be 
removed  as  soon  as  they  are  quiet, 
to  the  place  where  they  are  to  re- 
main, before  they  go  abroad,  or  at 
evening  when  they  are  all  in  their 
habitation  ;  or  else  many  of  them 
will  be  lost  and  never  again  join 
the  swarm.  In  hiving  and  moving 
bees,  particular  care  ought  to  be 


BEE 


BEE 


31 


taken  not  to  irritate,  or  injure  them 
by  wounding  or  killing  them. 

''  Bees  require  particular  atten- 
tion during  the  season  in  which 
they  usually  swarm  ;  and  at  every 
season,  they  ought  to  be  secured 
from  wet,  and  kept  remote  from 
swine,  geese,  and  fowls,  that  no 
disagreeable  stench  arise  from  any 
thing  among  them.  Their  house 
ought  to  be  so  constructed  and  sit- 
uated that  the  rising  sun  may  ani- 
mate them  to  early  industry,  and 
at  the  same  time  shield  them  from 
his  meridian  beams  during  the 
warmest  of  the  season,  for  too 
much  heat  is  unfriendly  to  their 
comfort  and  activity.  When  the 
season  is  nearly  past  for  collectmg 
honey,  the  doors  of  the  hive  must 
be  contracted,  to  enable  them  bet- 
ter to  defend  themselves  against 
invaders.  When  the  resources  of 
nature  fail  they  sometimes  invade 
other  hives  with  a  view  to  make 
conquest  ;  but  in  doing  this  they 
not  unfrequently  attack  a  late 
swarm,  that  has  not  a  sufficient 
store  of  provision  to  preserve  them 
through  the  winter.  In  this  case 
their  conquest  seems  to  be  humane, 
for  they  receive  the  vanquished  in- 
to their  own  dominions,  and  incor- 
porate them  with  all  the  privileges 
of  their  own  subjects. 

"  By  contracting  the  aperture 
of  the  hive  in  the  autumn,  the  bees 
can  not  only  defend  their  territo- 
ries against  their  enemies,  but  their 
hive  will  be  rendered  more  com- 
fortable for  winter.  The  extremes, 
cold  and  heat,  are  unfavourable  to 
the  prosperity  of  bees.  Before 
cold  weather  commences  enclose 
the  hivei  on  every  side,  except  the 


front,  with  straw  to  defend  them 
against  the  piercing  cold.  In  the 
month  of  February,  when  the 
weather  is  moderate,  the  bees  will 
leave  their  hive,  and  many  of  them 
light  on  the  snow,  and  unless  straw 
be  spread  in  front  of  the  hive  on 
the  snow,  many  of  them  will  never 
rise  again.  They  will  soon  chill 
and  die,  unless  they  find  souk  thing, 
by  which  thc_y  may  crawl  from  the 
snow,  and  so  rise  and  return  to 
the  hive.  It  will  be  necessary 
to  spread  straw  every  new  snow, 
or  else  their  numbers  will  be  great- 
ly diminished  by  chilling  and  dying 
on  the  snow  in  front  of  the  hive. 

"The  process  of  diminishing  or 
increasing  the  number  of  boxes,  is 
both  simple,  easy  and  safe.  In  col- 
lecting their  tribute  or  enlarging 
their  habitation,  two  things  I  care- 
fully observe  ;  one  is  not  to  kill  or 
wound  them  ;  the  other  is  to  put 
it  out  of  their  power  to  injure  me. 
For  this  purpose,  if  it  be  in  the 
morning  before  they  have  left  their 
habitation,  1  close  the  door  upon 
them,  and  confine  them  at  home. 
If  it  be  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
when  the  bees  arc  most  active,  I 
approach  them  with  the  smoke, 
that  arises  from  burning  leather, 
which  has  the  best  effect.  This 
will  make  them  retreat  into 
their  hive  at  any  time,  or  leave  the 
branch  or  trunk  of  a  tree  when  hiv- 
ing them,  should  they  attempt  to 
regain  the  place  they  at  first  occu- 
pied. Besides,  by  this  act  of  fu- 
migation another  important  advan- 
tage results.  It  will  disarm  them 
of  all  resentment,  and  render  them 
harmless.  Whenever  they  assume 
a  hostile  attitude  in  hiving  them, 


32 


BEE 


BEE 


I  first  fumigate  them,  and  they  are 
immediately  transformed  into 
peaceful  subjects,  and  my  recep- 
tion is  friendly.  But  to  return  to 
the  process  of  collecting  their 
tribute. 

"  I  have  already  observed  that 
the  bees  are  confined  in  the  hive. 
Supposing  the  hive  to  consist  of 
three  boxes,  and  I  wish  to  avail 
myself  of  the  honey  in  the  middle 
box.  I  approach  them  with  four 
sheets  of  tin,  on  sliders  made  of  a 
board  one  eighth  of  an  inch  thick, 
twelve  inches  wide,  and  eighteen 
inches  long — made  sharp  at  one 
end,  and  the  other  secured  by  a 
narrow  piece  of  board  to  prevent 
its  warping  and  as  a  handle  to  the 
slide.  I  raise  the  upper  box  in  front 
a  little,  and  insert  one  of  the  slides, 
which  cuts  off  all  communication 
between  the  two  upper  boxes  ; 
then  insert  another  slide  directly 
under  the  first.  This  being  done, 
take  the  top  box  off,  lifting  it  by 
the  upper  slide,  which  will  prevent 
the  bees  escaping  out  of  the  top 
box,  and  the  other  slide  remaining 
on  the  top  of  the  second  will  con- 
fine them  in  the  other  boxes.  I 
then  insert  two  more  slides  between 
the  two  remaining  boxes,  in  the 
same  manner,  and  the  hive  is  pre- 
pared to  be  separated  into  three 
parts.  I  then  raise  the  middle  box 
by  lifting  it  by  the  slide  immediate- 
ly under  it,  carry  it  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  others,  place  it  on  a 
little  carriage  made  with  four  low 
wheels,  or  trundles,  simply  con- 
necting the  two  axles  by  the  two 
side  pieces,  of  such  dimensions  as 
to  receive  the  box  and  confine  it, 
when  the  carriage  is  in  motion. 


Then  put  the  two  remaining  boxea 
together,  insert  an  empty  one  in 
the  middle  or  on  the  top  ;  remove 
the  slides,  let  the  boxes  come  in 
contact  ;  open  the  doors  and  give 
them  their  liberty.  Remove  the 
slides  from  the  box  on  the  carriage, 
stand  at  a  distance  and  draw  it  by 
a  cord  ;  and  the  gentle  motion  will 
not  break  the  comb,  but  will  cause 
the  bees  to  come  out  and  return  to 
the  hive,  for  the}'  will  not  long 
pursue  the  box  that  is  continually 
receding  from  them.  In  this  way, 
I  have  taken  a  box  of  honey  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  without  injury, 
when  the  bees  are  the  most  ac- 
tive, and  most  susceptible  of  re- 
sentment. The  process  of  remov- 
ing the  top  or  bottom  box,  requires 
but  two  slides,  and  is  much  more 
simple,  and  does  not  render  it  ne- 
cessary to  cut  off  the  communica- 
tion between  the  two  remaining 
boxes. 

"  In  putting  in  the  slides,  the 
boxes  must  not  be  raised  so  high 
as  to  have  the  bees  escape  ;  and 
in  selecting  a  box,  if  the  one  that 
contains  the  monarch  of  the  king- 
dom be  taken,  the  bees  will  not  so 
willingly  relinquish  their  habita- 
tion, unless  she  take  her  departure 
from  it.  They  will  appear  to  be  un- 
willing to  leave  her  without  some 
attendants.  Experience  has  con- 
vinced me  of  this.  I  removed  a 
box  last  July,  from  the  hive  which 
was  filled  with  the  choicest  honey  ; 
but  on  removing  the  honey  from 
the  box,  I  found  at  one  corner  of 
it  about  forty  or  fifty  bees  collected 
ed  together,  and  they  appeared 
unwilling  to  separate,  yet  as  harm- 
less as  though  they  possessed  no 


BEE 


BEE 


33 


weapon  of  defence.  I  suspected 
that  the  monarch  was  a  prisoner. 
With  a  spoon  I  took  out  the 
bees  and  soon  found  evidence  to 
confirm  my  supposition.  The  mon- 
archs  of  these  well  regulated  king- 
doms, I  had,  in  several  instances 
before,  been  favored  with  opportu- 
nities to  inspect.  1  found  that  she 
was  much  longer  than  the  other 
bees.  Her  wings  were  of  a  lighter 
hue,  and  the  rest  of  her  much 
darker  colour.  Her  motions  were 
nimble,  and  she  displayed  an  activi- 
ty not  common  to  her  subjects. — 
After  having  inspected  her  to  my 
own  satisfaction,  and  exhibited  her 
to  the  view  of  my  family,  I  return- 
ed her  safe  to  her  own  dominions. 
In  doing  this  1  placed  her  several 
inches  from  the  door  of  the  hive  to 
ascertain  whether  any  particular 
attention  would  be  paid  their  sove- 
reign on  her  return.  To  my  as- 
tonishment I  beheld  several  bees 
crawl  to  her,  and  with  evident 
marks  of  joy  and  congratulation  at- 
tended her  to  the  hive.* 

"  I  shall  now  attempt  a  numeri- 
cal statement  of  the  advantages, 
which  result  from  the  method  pro- 
posed of  managing  these  industri- 
ous insects,  superior  to  that  which 
is  generally  practised. 

"  First.  It  contributes  to  their 
preservation.  Bees  are  profitable 
insects.  They  richly  reward  us 
for  all  our  attention  to  them,  and 

*  It  is  remarked  b)^  the  editors  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Repository,  that 
"  Mr.  Noyes,  following  Virgil,  seems  to  con- 
sider the  monarch  of  the  bees  a  male.  There 
is  no  point  more  clearly  settled  than  that  the 
monarch  is  a  female,  and  the  mother  of  the 
whole  new  swarm  or  progeny."  We  have 
therefore  altered  Mr.  Noyes's  text  to  con- 
form to  received  opinion. 


whatever  they  collect  that  is  useful 
and  pleasant,  adds  so  much  to  the 
real  wealth  of  the  community  ;  for 
the  sweets  they  extract  would  eva- 
porate in  the  air,or  decline  with  the 
fading  blossoms.  Surely  then,  we 
have  motives,  arising  from  interest 
to  spare  and  protect  the  industrious 
bee,  whose  honey  is  not  only  grate- 
ful to  the  taste,  pleasant  and  whole- 
some for  food,  but  highly  valuable 
in  a  medicinal  point  of  view  ;  and 
whose  wax,  when  extracted  from 
the  comb  is  valuable  for  light,  is 
almost  indispensable  in  some  arts, 
and  is  highly  beneficial  in  medi- 
cine.* 

"Secondly.  Another  advantage 
arising  from  my  mode  of  managing 
bees,  is  that  you  can  draw  from  the 
hive  what  is  more  than  necessary 
to  supply  them  during  the  winter. 
Instead  of  leaving  them  honey  to 
remain  in  their  cells  year  after  year 
in  a  candied  state,  you  may  take 
annually  what  you  deem  superflu- 
ous. Besides,  if  you  find  there  is 
a  deficiency  in  some  of  your  hives, 
and  you  are  apprehensive  their 
stock  of  provisions  will  not  supply 
them  through  the  season,  in  which 
they  cannot  find  resources  abroad, 
you  may  give  them  a  box  of  honey 

*  The  generality  of  mankind  appear  not 
to  be  sensible  how  much  they  are  indebted 
to  this  insect  for  many  of  their  comforts  and 
luxuries,  in  the  ample  supply  of  the  various 
kinds  of  fruit  to  regale  them.  1  believe  it  is 
well  ascertained,  that  unless  the  bee  or  oth- 
er insects  visited  the  flowers,  the  whole  class 
of  vines,  fruit  trees,  and  many  culinary 
plants  would  be  unproductive.  There  evi- 
dently appears  to  be  two  kind  of  blossoms, 
which  may  be  distinguished  by  the  terms 
male  and  female.  Insects,  by  visiting  both 
the  male  and  female  flowers,  convey  the  fa- 
rina, or  subtle  particles  to  the  stigma,  which 
impregnates  the  flower,  and  tluis  it  is  render- 
ed fruiti'iil 


34 


BEE 


BEE 


from  a  hive  that  can  spare  it  ;  and 
in  this  way  make  up  the  deficiency 
of  ouc  hive  from  the  redundancy 
of  another. 

"Thirdly.  A  small  swarm  of 
bees  put  into  a  larger  hive  than 
they  can  fill,  appear  to  be  discour- 
aged, and  will  not  be  so  industrious, 
as  they  would  be,  were  they  put 
into  a  single  box,  and  then  anoth- 
er added  when  their  situation 
should   require  it. 

"  Bees  put  into  a  larger  hive 
than  they  can  fill  in  the  season  will 
not  keep  warm  in  the  winter  ;  and 
should  they  fall  down  when  the 
weather  is  cold,  which  is  often  the 
case,  they  would  be  likely  to  chill 
and  become  inactive,  and  so  be 
unabie  to  regain  the  place  they 
left.  The  comh  not  extending  to 
the  bottom  of  the  hive  would  not 
afford  them  a  conductor  to  re- 
ase(M)d  ;  they  would  be  under  the 
necessity  of  climbing  by  the  sur- 
face of  the  hive.  It  is  a  fact  that 
a  hive  of  bees  thus  situated,  gener- 
ally lose  double  the  number  of  bees 
during  ihe  waiter,  that  a  swarm 
does,  whose  comb  affords  them  a 
conductor  to  re-ascend  when  they 
meet  with  this  misfortune.  Be- 
sides the  bees  have  further  to  trav- 
el after  entering  ihe  hive  to  reach 
the  repository  of  their  treasures, 
for  they  carefidly  avoid  thai  con- 
fusion, which  flying  would  create 
in  the  hive.  Neither  can  the  bees 
•work  to  so  good  advantage  in  a 
large  hive,  as  they  can  in  one  that 
is  smaller.  I  find  from  several 
years  inspecting  them  through  glass 
windows,  and  the  hole  at  the  top  of 
the  upper  box,  that  they  always 
keep  in  the  hive   bees  enough  to 


cover  the  surface  of  their  work,  in 
order  to  keep  their  wax  warm 
enough  to  mould  it  into  their  sex- 
angular  cells  ;  besides  a  number  of 
bees  are  generally  employed  as  a 
chain  for  the  others  to  ascend  and 
descend.  In  a  large  hive,  the  sur- 
face of  their  work  is  more  exten- 
sive than  it  could  be  in  a  small 
one.  The  consequence  is,  more 
bees  must  be  kept  at  home,  and  a 
less  number  spared  to  collect  the 
sweet  vegetable  juice,  or  other 
necessary  materials  to  enrich  and 
adorn  their  hive.  Neither  can  the 
bees  so  effectually  defend  them- 
selves against  the  attacks  of  law- 
less invaders,  when  their  residence 
is  so  remote  from  the  entrance  of 
their  camp. 

"Fourthly.  Honey  deposited  in 
boxes  is  not  so  liable  to  melt,  waste, 
and  destroy  the  lives  of  no  incon- 
siderable proportionof  the  bees,  as 
that  which  is  laid  up  in  large  hives. 
The  comb  in  large  hives  is  sus- 
pended from  the  top,  and  forms  a 
contact  by  the  sides,  and  does  not 
rest  on  the  bottom,  even  when  the 
bees  have  filled  the  hive  as  full  as 
they  ever  do.  They  leave  room 
to  pass  under  the  comb.  Long  and 
wide  pieces  of  comb  filled  with 
honey,  supporting  many  bees,  sus- 
pended when  the  weather  is  warm, 
laecome  tender,  separate  and  fall. 
The  position  of  the  comb  being 
changed,  the  honey  attenuated 
by  heat,  the  sexangular  cells  dis- 
charge the  sweet  glutinous  liquor, 
and  the  bees  chained  in  the  rich 
melliferous  flood  are  borne  away 
in  death  by  the  materials  they  col- 
lected to  preserve  life.  Whereas, 
honey  deposited  in   boxes  seems 


BEE 


BEE 


35 


not  to  be  subject  to  this  misfortune. 
The  comb  is  constructed  in  flakes, 
supported  at  the  top,  sides  and 
bottom  generally,  except  the  low- 
er box,  or  the  tirst  they  occupy,  by 
short  legs  or  braces,  in  order  that 
the  bees  may  encircle  it  on  every 
side  ;  and  the  pieces  being  small 
there  is  not  that  pressure  or  stress 
of  weight ;  it  retains  its  position, 
and  consequently  the  honey  does 
not  burst  from  the  comb  when  the 
weather  is  warm. 

"  Fifthly.  Another  advantage  re- 
sulting from  having  honey  deposit- 
ed in  boxes,  is  that  it  may  be  tak- 
en out  of  them,  without  breaking 
the  honey  to  any  considerable  de- 
gree. I  took  from  a  box  in  the 
month  of  July  last,  thirty  pounds  of 
honey-comb,  and  several  pieces, 
from  one  to  four  pounds  each,with- 
out  uncapping  one  cell.  The 
honey  was  transparent,  and  com- 
pletely closed,  nor  was  there  a  sin- 
gle cell  in  the  whole  box,  but  what 
was  tilled  with  the  delicious  fluid. 
It  was  superior  to  any  that  I  ever 
saw  taken  from  large  hives  ;  and 
if  kept  cool,  to  all  probability  it 
might  be  preserved  months  or 
years  unbroken  in  the  comb.  Be- 
sides the  method,  which  I  have 
proposed,  affords  an  opportunity  of 
taking  honey  before  the  bees  col- 
lect any  from  the  flowers  of  buck 
wheat,  which  honey  is  far  inferior 
in  flavour  and  delicacy,  to  that 
which  is  collected  earlier  in  the 
season.* 

*  Honey,  collected  from  buck'vvheat  flow- 
ers will  do  to  preserve  the  bees,  but  it  is 
several  shades  darker  in  its  colour,  less  sweet 
iH  its  nature,  possessing  something  peculiar 
in  its  taste  that  is  unpleasant,  and  emitting 
an  efHuviiim  which  excites  unpleasant   son- 


Sixthly.  The  usual  time  to  take 
up  bees  is  in  the  autumn,  but  I  do 
not  confine  myself  to  that  season. 
IVIy  method  of  managing  bees  will 
admit  of  taking  honey  fromthem  any 
time  when  they  have  it  to  spare  ; 
but  in  selecting  a  box,  care  must  be 
taken  to  avoid  that  which  contains 
the  young  bees.  The  object  of  the 
new  colony  is  to  add  to  their 
strength  by  increasing  their  num- 
bers ;  consequently  their  early  at- 
tention is  directed  to  provide  cells 
to  deposit  their  eggs.  The  lower 
box,  which  they  first  enter,becomes 
their  place  of  residence,  till  they 
have  filled  it  with  comb,  and  young 
bees,  if  it  be  an  early  swarm.  The 
honey  is  to  be  sought  in  the  second 
box,  of  which  they  gradually  take 
possession.  In  filling  (he  second 
box  they  begin  at  the  communica- 
tion between  the  two  boxes,  and 
raise  their  comb  in  the  form  of  a 
frustrum  or  segment  of  a  globe,  and 
proceed  in  this  way  till  they  have 
raised  it  to  form  a  contact  with  the 
cover. 

"  Seventhly.  The  method  of 
keeping  bees  in  boxes  that  may  be 
separated  at  pleasure,  affords  an 
opportunity  of  changing  the  comb 
in  the  hive  before  it  becomes  dark 
coloured,  and  apparently  rusty,  and 
an  unsuitable  receptacle  for  that 
sweet,  delicate  and  nutritious  fluid, 
which  was  the  emblem  of  plenty 
in  ancient  Canaan.  The  purest 
honey,  deposited  in  such  combs 
loses  its  transparency  and  delicate 
flavour,  and  partakes  in  no  incon- 


sations ;  and  thus  affording  an  evidence  by 
three  senses, what  proportion  of  honey  in  the 
hive  was  collected  after  the  bees  had  access 
to  the  flowers  of  buck-wheat. 


30 


BEE 


BEE 


siderable  degree,  of  the  colour  of 
(he  comb. 

"  Eighthly.  This  method  of  con- 
structing bee-hives  affords  an  op- 
portunity of  inspecting  them, watch- 
ing their  various  movements,  and 
witnessing  the  progress  they  make 
in  filling  their  hives.  For  this  pur- 
pose the  bees  must  first  occupy  the 
bottom  box  ;  and  then  by  lifting  up, 
or  removing  the  top  cover,you  may 
througli  the  hole  on  the  top,  see 
thcnn  v/ithout  disconcerting  them, 
until  they  have  nearly  filled  the 
upper  box,  unless  you  breathe  up- 
on them  ;  in  this  case  they  will 
soon  let  you  know  that  you  are  an 
unwelcome  visitor,  I  have  in- 
spected them  in  this  way,  and 
through  glass  windows  inserted  in 
their  hives,  for  several  years  past  ; 
and  I  have  beheld  with  astonish- 
ment their  industry,  economy,  sin- 
gular instinct  and  ingenuity. 

"Ninthly,  By  accommodating 
my  bees  with  several  apartments,  I 
have  it  in  my  power  to  regulate 
their  swarming.  If  bees  are  am- 
ply accommodated  they  will  not 
swarm  ;  but  it  being  an  object  to 
make  them  swarm,  1  therefore  in 
the  autumn  reduce  the  number  of 
their  boxes,  and  leave  them,  gen- 
erally, but  two,  which,  if  well  filled 
will  amply  supply  them  with  sus- 
tenance through  the  winter. 

"  1  do  not  at  first  give  an  early 
swarm  more  than  two  boxes  ;  for 
they  will  often  send  forth  a  young 
colony  ;  and  when  they  have  done 
this,  add  another  box,  or  in  a  short 
time  take  from  them  the  one  they 
have  filled,  and  give  them  one  that 
is  empty.  Thus,  this  method  of 
managing  bees  will  contribute  to 


increase  the  number  of  swarms,and 
eventually  make  them  more  profit- 
able ;  for  experience  evinces  that 
multiplying  the  number  of  swarms 
makes  them  more  industrious  and 
productive." 

For  a  description  of  several  sorts 
of  newly  invented  hives,  and  the 
I  manner  of  using  them  so  as  to  take 
the  honey  and  wax,  without  injur- 
ing the  bees,  see  Farmer's  Cyclo- 
pasdia,  Art.  Apiary  and  Bees. 

The  following  method  of  taking 
honey  without  destroying  the  bees 
is  recommended  in  the  "American 
Farmer." 

In  the  evening,  when  the  bees 
have  retired,  take  the  hive  gently 
from  the  stand  ;  spread  a  table 
cloth  on  the  ground  ;  set  the  hive 
on  it,  placing  something  under  to 
raise  it  three  or  four  inches  ;  then 
draw  up  the  corners  of  the  cloth, 
and  fasten  them  tight  around  the 
middle  of  the  hive,  leaving  room 
sufficient  between  them  and  the 
hive.  Then  raise  the  lid  of  the 
hive  a  little,  and  blow  in  the  smoke 
of  a  cigar :  a  few  puffs  of  which, 
as  it  is  very  disagreeable  to  them, 
will  drive  them  down.  Continue 
raising  the  lid  gradually,  and  blow- 
ing in  the  smoke  all  around,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  it  will  be  found  that 
they  have  all  gone  out  of  the  hive. 
You  may  then  take  off  the  lid,  and 
cut  away  as  much  honey  as  you 
think  proper.  If  the  operation  be 
performed  the  beginning  of  July, 
you  may  take  nearly  all,  as  there 
will  be  time  enough  to  provide  a 
sutliciency  for  their  support  during 
the  winter.  As  soon  as  you  have 
taken  the  honey,  put  on  the  lid, 
loosen  the  cloth,  and  spread  it  out 


BEE 


BEE 


37 


and  in  an  hour  or  two  the  bees  will 
have  returned  into  the  hive.  It 
may  then  be  replaced  on  the  stand, 
and  on  the  following  day  they  will 
be  found  at  work  as  usual." 

When  a  person  has  been  stung 
by  a  bee,  the  sting  should  immedi- 
ately be  extracted  with  a  steady 
hand,  for  if  any  part  of  it  breaks 
in,  remedies  will,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure prove  ineflfectual.  A  strong 
solution  of  salt  or  potash,  or  liquid 
laudanum  will  then  speedily  effect 
a  cure. 

We  shall  add  to  this  article  a 
few  facts  relative  to  the  natural 
history  of  these  wonderful  insects, 
and  the  best  mode  of  managing 
them,  their  diseases,  &;c. 

Every  hive  must  have  its  queen 
bee, who  is  the  mother  of  the  whole. 
If  she  be  lost  or  destroyed  the 
whole  commonwealth  is  broken  up. 
Besides  these,  are  the  drones  and 
the  working  bees.  Drones  are 
larger  than  the  working  bees. — 
They  die  in  the  latter  part  of 
summer,  and  are  dragged  out  of  the 
hive  by  the  working  bees. 

When  more  than  one  swarm 
leaves  the  hive  in  a  season,  those, 
following,  consist  of  those  which 
were  abroad  when  the  first  swarm- 
ing took  place,  together  with  young 
ones,  which  have  been  hatched 
since  the  departure  of  the  first 
swarm. 

The  kind  of  swallow  called  mar- 
tins, will  destroy  bees.  "  It  is  ad- 
visable to  have  large  swarms  ; 
small  ones  never  thrive  so  well  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  two  or  more 
small  ones  should  be  put  together. 
The  swarm  should  weigh  from  four 
to  six  pounds.     To  ascertain  their 


weight,  that  of  the  empty  hive 
should  be  first  known,  and  mark- 
ed on  it  ;  and  then  the  addition 
to  that  will  be  the  weight  of  the 
bees. 
"  For  joining  two  or  more  swarms, 
take  a  full  hive,  at  night,  and  set  it 
bottom  upwards ;  then  set  an  emp- 
ty one  of  the  same  size,  with  its 
bottom  exactly  on  the  other,  and 
let  there  be  cross  pieces  in  the 
empty  one  for  the  bees  to  light  on. 
Then  strike  gently  on  the  two  sides 
of  the  full  hive  to  which  the  edges 
of  the  comb  are  fastened,  and  the 
bees  will  leave  it  and  ascend  into 
the  upper.  Then  repeat  the  oper- 
ation with  another  full  hive, the  one 
with  the  bees  being  set  uppermost, 
as  before,  and  you  have  two  swarms 
together.  Repeat  it  again,  as  be- 
fore, and  you  have  three  ;  and  so 
on,  if  more  swarms  are  to  be  ad- 
ded. Then  set  the  hive  with  the 
bees  in  it  where  one  of  the  full 
ones  stood,  and  they  will  go  to 
work  together.  The  queens  how- 
ever, must  be  first  searched  for  and 
all  destroyed  but  one. 

"  Another  method  recommend- 
ed is  to  take  a  full  hive,  set  it  on 
a  cloth  with  the  bottom  down- 
wards, and  then  give  it  a  smart 
stroke,  which  will  cause  all  the 
bees  to  fall ;  search  for  the  queen 
and  destroy  her ;  have  another 
full  hive  ready  and  put  it  over  the 
bees,  and  they  will  soon  crawl  up 
into  it,  and  become  incorporated 
with  those  of  that  hive.  This  may 
be  repeated  for  the  purpose  of 
adding  a  third  swarm  to  the  other 
two.''     Farmer^s  Assistant. 

Bees  have  enemies  and  diseases, 
of  which  we  shall  take  some  notice. 


38 


BEE 


BEE 


Butterflies  are  said  to  conceal 
themselves  in  the  hives,  and  an- 
noy the  bees  :  these  intruders  may 
easily  be  exterminated,  by  placing 
lighted  candles  in  deep  tin  pots 
between  the  hives :  as  the  flame 
vi^ill  attract  them  to  their  destruc- 
tion. 

Hornets  may  be  destroyed  by 
exposing  shallow  vessels  near  the 
hive  with  a  little  water,  in  which 
these  insects  will  drown  them- 
selves. 

But  the  most  pernicious  cnem) 
to  bees  is  a  kind  of  tinea,  or  moth, 
which  is  thus  described  by  M. 
■  Reaumur. 

"  These  creatures  are  of  the 
caterpillar  kind,  and  have  sixteen 
legs.  They  feed  on  wax,  and  for 
food  enter  the  beehives ;  where 
they  boldly  engage  the  bees,  and 
are  not  to  be  prevented  by  them 
from  feeding,  though  at  the  expence 
of  their  habitations  ;  so  that  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  for  a  swarm  of 
bees  to  be  forced  to  change  their 
places  leaving  this  contemptible 
victor  in  possession  of  the  hive. 

"  All  the  authors  who  have 
written  on  bees  have  complained 
of  this  destructive  animal.  It 
never  eats  the  honey,  but  feeds 
only  on  the  wax  ;  attacking  princi- 
pally those  waxy  cells  where  the 
female  bee  deposits  her  eggs  for 
the  future  progeny. 

"  The  bees  would  readily  des- 
troy these  creatures  were  it  not 
for  the  armour  they  are  covered 
with.  They  form  themselves  a 
coat  of  armour  of  a  double  matter. 
The  first  next  to  the  body  is  a 
kind  of  silk  of  their  own  spinning ; 
and  the  outer  covering  is  of  bees 


wax,  laid  on  considerably  thick. 
The  creature  just  thrusting  his 
head  out  to  feed,  goes  on  devour- 
ing the  cells  ;  while  the  bees  are 
buzzing  about  him,  attempting,  in 
vain  to  pierce  him  with  their 
stings.  He  never  forsakes  his 
covering,  but  lengthens  and  en- 
larges it  as  he  goes  ;  and  gnawing 
down  the  sides  of  the  cells  in  his 
march,  without  staying  to  cut  them 
one  by  one,  the  destruction  he 
occasions  is  scarcely  to  be  con- 
cieved. 

"  When  the  time  of  change  ap- 
proaches, it  contracts  its  body 
within  its  double  covering,  and 
there  changes  into  the  nymph 
state ;  whence,  after  a  proper 
time,  it  comes  forth  in  the  form  of 
a  moth,  with  granulated  bonis, 
and  a  crooked  probocis. 

"  The  bees  know  their  enemy 
in  this  new  form,  and  destroy  all 
the  moths  they  can  meet  with. 
They  are  seldom  so  fortunate, 
however,  as  to  kill  the  whole  race 
as  soon  as  produced ;  and  if  only 
one  escape,  it  is  able  to  lay  a 
foundation  of  revenge  for  the  death 
of  its  brethren. 

"  All  the  flies  of  the  moth  kind 
lay  a  vast  number  of  eggs  ;  and  the 
young  ones  produced  by  one  fe- 
male are  sufficient  to  destroy  many 
hives  of  honey  combs.  The  moth 
produced  by  this  eatterpillar  flies 
but  little ;  but  is  very  nimble  in 
avoiding  danger  by  running,  which 
it  does  with  great  swiftness." 

It  appears  that  this  insect  be- 
gan its  career  of  destruction  in 
some  place  to  the  southward  of 
New  York,  and  Mr.  Van  Schaick, 
a  writer,  who   is  quoted  in  The 


BEE 


BEE 


3^ 


Farmer^s  Assistant,  asserts  that 
the  most  eifectual  mode  of  de- 
stroying the  insect,  is  "  to  raise 
the  hive  about  an  inch  above  the 
floor,  and  keep  it  there,  when  the 
moment  the  bees  discover  their 
unmasked  enemies,  whether  in  the 
shape  of  eggs,  or  of  catterpillars, 
in  different  stages  of  formation, 
they  attack  them  with  fury,  and 
toil  incessantly  until  they  have 
destroyed  or  removed  every  ves- 
tige of  them  off  the  board." 

He  further  very  judiciously  re- 
commends the  construction  of  the 
floor  or  plank  on  which  the  hive 
stands,  and  also  the  rim  of  the 
hive,  to  be  "  of  such  materials  and 
dimensions  as  would  afford  no 
place  of  concealment  for  the  fly  or 
its  eggs."  Dr.  Low,  another 
writer,  quoted  on  the  same  work, 
advises  to  suspend  the  hive,  by  a 
cord  fastened  in  the  top,  and  have 
the  plank  forming  the  floor  movea- 
ble up  and  down.  During  cold 
weather,  the  plank  is  brought  up 
close  to  the  rim,  to  keep  the  bees 
sufficiently  warm ;  but  on  the  ap- 
proach of  spring,  or  when  the 
weather  was  become  suitably 
moderated,  the  plank  was  let 
down  about  four  inches,  and  kept 
in  that  situation  during  the  warm 
or  growing  season.  At  particular 
cold  spells,  during  the  first  of  the 
spring  or  latter  end  of  the  fall,  the 
floor,  no  doubt  ought  to  be  raised 
up,  until  the  return  of  warmer 
weather,  but  it  should  only  be 
kept  in  this  position  while  the  com- 
fort of  the  bees  requires  it. 

Dr.  J.  Anderson  in  one  of  his 
practical  papers  "  On  the  Manage- 
ment of  the  Dairy, ''^  communicat- 


ed to  the  Bath  and  West  of  Eng- 
land Society,  observes  in  a  note, 
that  bees,  in  that  variable  climate 
are  a  very  precarious  stock,  though 
extremely  profitable  where  they 
thrive.  During  the  frequent  mild 
days  of  winter,  and  the  warm 
mornings  of  spring  which  are  sud- 
denly succeeded  by  a  nipping 
frost,  or  sleety  rain,  these  crea- 
tures are  roused  from  their  torpid 
state;  and  being  unable  to  obtain 
food  abroad,  they  are  obliged  to 
consume  and  exhaust  their  stores, 
and  to  perish  from  want.  And  as 
the  warmth  of  the  weather  invites 
them  to  search  for  flowers  in  vain 
affording  them  nourishment,  they 
are  often  chilled  by  cold  before 
they  are  able  to  return  to  the  hive. 

To  prevent  such  fatal  accidents 
Dr.  Anderson  is  of  opinion,  that 
no  method  would  be  so  effectual 
as  that  of  placing  the  hives  in  an 
ice  house,  at  the  approach  of  win- 
ter. Here  they  may  be  kept  till 
the  spring  has  so  far  advanced, 
that  no  danger  is  to  be  appre- 
hended from  bad  weather.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  winter,  they  will 
remain  in  a  state  of  torpor,  and 
require  no  food.  As  soon  as  the 
mild  weather  invites  them  to  ap- 
pear, they  will  commence  their 
labours  with  vigour.  The  intense 
degree  of  cold  which  bees  sustain 
without  the  least  injury,  in  Poland 
and  Russia,  where  even  quicksilver 
is  sometimes  frozen,  removes  eve- 
ry doubt  or  anxiety,  concerning 
the  safety  of  bees  in  an  ice- 
house." 

BEET,  Beta,  a  well  known  es- 
culent root. 

There  is  a  sea  beet  which  grows 


40 


BEE 


BEE 


in  salt  marshes ;  and  a  white  beet 
cultivated  in  gardens  for  the  sake 
of  its  leaves,  which  are  sometimes 
used  in  soups.  The  root  is  small, 
and  commonly  hard  and  tough. 

But  the  sort  which  is  most  val- 
uable, is  the  red  beet,  with  a  large, 
pyramidal,  fleshy  root ;  the  leaves 
of  which  are  large,  thick  and  juicy. 
The  larger  these  roots  grow,  the 
more  tender  they  are  :  And  the 
deeper  their  colour,  the  better. 
The  best  of  red  beets  have  reddish 
leaves.  In  some  of  the  varieties 
the  leaves  are  all  over  red. 

Beets  require  a  mellow  and 
warm  soil,  moderately  rich,  and 
well  pulverized  to  a  good  depth. 
For  as  they  naturally  run  deep,  in 
shallow  ground  they  will  be  short, 
stringy,  and  irregularly  shaped. 

Beets  should  be  sown  early. 
A  good  method  is,  to  set  the 
seeds  in  squares  of  about  eight  or 
nine  inches  in  poor  ground  ;  in 
rich  ground  they  should  be  at  least 
a  foot  asunder.  If  a  fourth  part 
of  the  seeds  should  fail,  the  crop 
will  not  be  lessened. 

As  the  capsule,  commonly  call- 
ed a  beet-seed,  contains  several 
cells,  each  of  which  has  a  seed, 
they  are  apt  to  produce  four  or 
five  plants  in  a  bunch. — These 
should  be  carefully  reduced  to 
one,  leaving  the  healthiest  plant. 
If  this  precaution  is  omitted,  the 
plants  will  be  inevitably  small  and 
frequently  the  roots  will  be  inter- 
twisted.— Those  which  are  taken 
out  may  be  transplanted  ;  but  they 
are  not  so  apt  to  make  good  roots. 
Though  they  may  be  thick,  they 
will  be  apt  to  be  wanting  in  length. 

The  ground  should  be  hoed  two 
or   three    times,  after  which    the 


leaves  will  so  cover  the  ground, 
as  to  stop  the  further  growth  of 
weeds. 

The  under  leaves  may  be  brok- 
en off  towards  fall,  and  thrown  to 
the  swine,  which  are  very  fond  of 
them.  This  will  not  injure  the 
roots  at  all ;  for  if  they  are  left  on, 
they  will  soon  decay.  Taking 
away  part  of  ihe  leaves  will  let  in 
the  sun  and  air,  which  will  be  of 
advantage  to  the  roots. 

The  roots  should  be  taken  up 
before  any  severe  frost  com.es  ; 
none  of  the  fibrous  roots  should 
be  taken  away ;  nor  the  heads  cut 
very  close.  In  this  state,  also, 
they  should  be  boiled,  that  none 
of  their  rich  juice  may  escape. 

They  may  be  used  in  autumn, 
and  kept  good  all  winter.  But  if 
any  frost  touches  them,  though 
they  will  not  presently  rot,  they 
will  become  tough,  and  unfit  for 
the  table.  And,  in  the  spring, 
their  early  sprouting  depreciates 
them. 

"  The  Mangel  JVurtzel  Beet,  or 
Root  of  Scarcity  is  raised  from  seed 
sown  annually  in  the  spring,  the 
same  as  the  other  sorts,  in  any  open 
situation,  but  should  generally  be 
sown  thinner,  either  in  drills  one  or 
two  feet  asunder,  or  broad-cast  on 
the  general  surface,  and  raked  in  ; 
and  when  the  plants  are  come  up 
one,  two,  or  three  inches  in 
growth,  they  should  be  thinned  to 
a  proportionable  distance,  to  give 
room  for  the  full  expansion  of  their 
large  leaves.  Some  however,  ad- 
vise transplanting,  when  the  young 
plants  are  of  two  or  three  inches 
growth,  setting  them  in  rows  of  one 
or  two  feet  asunder :  This  seems, 
however,  unnecessary :  especially 


BEE 


BEE 


41 


as  they  have  long,  downright, 
tap  roots,  which  generally  are  the 
most  successful  when  they  remain 
where  sown ;  the  method  may 
however  be  practised  occasionally 
by  way  of  experiment. 

"  The  leaves,  which  if  the 
plants  have  large  scope  of  room, 
grow  twelve  or  fifteen  inches 
broad  or  more,  and  of  proportion- 
able length,  are  exceedingly  good, 
when  young  to  use  as  the  common 
white  and  green  beet,  and  the 
young,  thick,  fleshy  stalks,  stripped 
of  the  leafy  part,  peeled  or  scrap- 
ed, then  boiled  and  served  up 
with  butter,  are  tender  and  agree- 
ably tasted  ;  also  the  leaves  to  boil 
occasionally  as  spinach  and  other 
small  greens  ;  and  of  which  the 
root  is  remarkably  productive  in 
quick  growth,  so  as  to  afford  fre- 
quent successional  gatherings  all 
summer  and  autumn.  Only  the 
larger  outward  ones,  should  be 
broken  off,  and  care  taken  not  to 
injure  the  small  ones  in  the 
centre.'' 

Beets  and  other  roots  may  be 
preserved  in  winter  by  the  follow- 
ing method,  "  Take  off  the  tops 
and  expose  the  roots  for  a  few 
hours  till  sufficiently  dry.  On  the 
surface  of  a  very  dry  piece  of 
ground  in  a  well  sheltered  situa- 
tion, lay  a  stratum  of  sand  two 
inches  thick,  and  on  this  a  layer  of 
roots,  covering  them  with  another 
layer  of  sand  (the  drier  the  better) 
and  so  continue  layer  above  layerof 
sand  and  roots  till  all  are  laid  in, 
giving  the  whole  on  every  side  a 
roof  like  slope  ;  then  cover  this 
heap  or  ridge  all  over  with  about 
two  inches  of  sand  over  which  lay 
6 


'  a  good  coat  of  drawn  straw  up  and 
down  as  if  thatching  a  house  in 
order  to  carry  off  wet  and  prevent 
its  entering  to  the  roots  ;  then  dig 
a  wide  trench  round  the  heap, 
and  cover  the  straw  with  earth  so 
dug  up,  to  a  depth  sufficient  to  pre- 
serve the  roots  effectually  from 
frost.  An  opening  may  be  made 
the  south  side  of  this  heap,  and 
completely  covered  with  bundles 
of  straw,  so  as  to  have  access  to 
the  roots  at  all  times,  when  wanted 
either  for  sale  or  use. 

"  Some  people  lay  straw,  or 
hay,  between  the  layers  of  roots 
and  immediately  on  the  top  of 
them  ;  this  I  do  not  approve  of, 
as  the  straw  or  hay  will  become 
damp  and  mouldy,  and  very  often 
occasion  the  roofs  to  rot,  while 
the  sand  would  preserve  them 
sweet  and  sound. 

"  All  these  roots  may  be  pre- 
served in  like  manner  in  a  cellar; 
but  in  such  a  place  they  are  sub- 
ject to  vegetate  and  become 
stringy  earlier  in  spring.  The 
only  advantage  of  this  method  is, 
that  in  the  cellar  they  may  be 
had  when  wanted  more  conven- 
iently during  winter,  than  out  of 
the  field  or  garden  heaps." 

Note.  All  ihe  above  loots  will  be  pre- 
served better  in  sand  than  in  coinmon  earth, 
but  when  the  former  cannot  be  had  the  most 
sandy  you  can  procure  must   be   used. — 

American  Gardener''s  Calendar, 

The  following  remarks  respect- 
ing the  IVJangel  Wurtzel  or  Root  of 
scarcity^  are  from  a  paper  commu- 
nicated to  the  Trustees  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety, by  J.  Lowell,  corresponding 


42 


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BEE 


Sec'ry.  and  published  in  Vol.  111. 
No.  3  of  the  Massachusetis  Agri- 
cultural Journal.  They  are  de- 
rived, principally,  from  a  French 
publication  by  the  Abbe  Rosier. 

This  root  is  very  little  affected 
by  changes  of  weather.     It  is  at- 

'  tacked  by  no  insect ;  drought  affects 
but  little  its  vegetation.  It  pre- 
pares the  land  extremely  well  for 
other  crops.  It  may  be  sown  and 
treated  precisely  like  the  common 
beet,  except  that  it  ought  to  stand 
eighteen   inches  asunder. 

In  good  land  they  often  weigh 
nine  or  ten  pounds,  and  are  strip- 
ped eight  or  nine  times.  In  a 
light  saudy,  but  well  manured, soil 
they  sometimes  weigh  fourteen 
and  even  sixteen  pounds  each  ! 

The  first  crop  of  leaves  in 
France  is  taken  ofif  in  the  latter 
end  of  June,  or  the  beginning  of 
Jul}',  in  this  country,  probably, 
the  latter  period  would  be  prefer- 
able. The  iower  leaves,  those 
which  incline  towards  the  ground 

>  are  those  which  are  taken  away, 
and  care  must  be  taken  to  preserve 
the  top  leaves,  or  the  crown  of  the 
plants.  The  leaves  may  be  taken 
ofFevery  fifteen  days  after  the  first 
gathering.  Oxen,  cows,  and  sheep 
devour  them  greedily,  and  fatten 
readily  upon  tiiem.  All  domestic 
poultry  eat  them  readily,  when 
chopped  fine  and  mixed  with  grain. 
Horses  will  feed  upon  them  very 
well,  mixed  with  chopped  straw. 
Hogs  also  fatten  upon  them. 

Cows,  fed  upon  this  root  solely, 
give  a  greater  quantity  of  milk 
and  cream,  and  of  better  quality 
for  the  first  fifteen  days,  after  which 
they   grow  too  fat,    and  the  milk 


lessens.  The  food  of  cows  must 
therefore  be  varied.  Oxen  and 
sheep  fatten  very  well  upon  them. 
Cows  should  have  grass  in  propor- 
tion of  one  third  to  the  beetJeaves, 
or  every  third  day  they  should  be 
turned  to  grass.  In  this  mode 
their  milk  will  be  excellent.  The 
trouble  of  gathering  the  leaves  is 
less  than  that  of  gathering  any 
other  green  fodder.  It  may  be 
done  by  children,  while  men  are 
required  to  cut  other  green  food 
for  cattle.  It  is  the  surest  crop, 
since  the  plant  will  stand  the 
largest  droughts.  The  roots  are 
gathered  and  treated  like  those  of 
the  common  beet.  The  skin  is 
very  tender  and  care  should  be 
taken  to  handle  them  so  as  they 
may  not  be  wounded,  as  they  will, 
in  that  case,  not  keep  so  well.  In 
order  to  preserve  the  seed  in 
purity,  care  must  be  taken  to 
change  the  ground  in  which  the 
seed-beets  are  planted.  The  seed 
can  be  preserved  after  it  is  gather- 
ed three  or  four  years  without  in- 
jury. In  giving  these  roots  to 
cattle  for  food,  they  are  first 
washed  and  then  cut  up  into 
pieces  about  the  size  of  a  nut. 
It  is  always  best  to  accompany 
them,  when  given  to  horned  cat- 
tle with  clover,  or  other  hay  or 
straw,  and  if  the  hay  or  straw 
has  been  previously  cut  fine,  it 
will  be  preferable.  If  horses  are 
fed  with  this  root,  with  a  propor- 
tion of  hay  or  cut  straw,  (half  of 
each,)  they  will  be  fat,  vigorous 
and  healthy.  If  they  are  worked 
severely,  a  little  oats  or  corn  may 
be  added.  It  is  thus  they  are 
treated  in    Germany,   where  this 


BEE 


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43 


root  stands  in  the  stead  of  meadows 
or  grass  lands,  and  whose  excel- 
lent horses  are  well  known. 

Hogs,  fed  upon  them  raw,  after 
they  have  been  cut  up  fine  and 
mixed  with  milk  or  other  drink, 
fatten  as  well  upon  them  as  upon 
boiled  potatoes,  by  wiiich  the  fuel 
and  trouble  of  boiling  is  saved. 

As  to  the  quantity  given  to  animals, 
much  will  depend  on  the  propor 
tion  of  other  fodder,  which  you 
allow  them.  Cows  fed  twice  a 
day  in  winter  upon  eighteen 
pounds  of  these  roots  at  each 
time,  together  with  four  pounds 
of  hay  or  chopped  straw,  will  give 
as  much  and  as  good  milk  as  in 
summer,  and  they  will  be  kept  in 
the  best  possible  state. 

Oxen  fed  with  forty  weight  of 
these  roots  per  day,  with  ten 
pounds  of  hay  for  one  month,  and 
after  that  with  fifty  weight  per  day 
of  the  roots  alone,  will  be  fat 
enough  for  sale  in  two  months 
more. 

Any  person  disposed  may,  from 
the  facts  above  stated,  calculate 
how  many  cattle  will  be  support- 
ed by  a  single  acre  of  land  on 
which  this  plant  is  cultivated. 

Men  can  eat  this  vegetable 
throughout  the  year,  it  is  agreea- 
ble and  healthy.  No  insect  at- 
tacks it,  and  it  suffers  but  little 
from  the  variety  of  the  seasons. 
The  leaves  of  this  plant  form  alone 
an  excellent  food  for  every  species 
of  domestic  quadruped  during  four 
months  in  the  year.  Turnips  and 
other  vegetables  are  besides  liable 
to  be  destroyed  by  insects,  whereas 
this  beet  is  not.  Tlie  roots  can 
be    preserved  eight    months   in  a 


sound  state,  while  turnips  are  of 
little  value  after  March.  In  some 
soils  turnips  will  not  grow,  partic- 
ularly in  those  which  are  very  slifJ' 
or  strong.  The  root  of  scarcity 
grows  every  where.  The  milk  of 
cows  fed  on  turnips  has  a  bad  taste. 
That  of  those  fed  on  this  plant  is 
excellent,  as  is  also  the  butter 
made  from  it.  This  forage  on 
green  fodder  comes  also  at  the  hot 
seasons,  when  almost  all  other 
green  food  is  scarce,  and  some- 
times not  to  be  procured.  Cattle 
never  get  tired  of  it.  In  many 
parts  of  Germany  where  it  is  rais- 
ed with  success,  they  prefer  it  to 
every  thing  else  to  fatten  those 
large  herds  of  cattle  which  they 
armually  export  to  France.  In 
feeding  cattle  with  beets  the  same 
dry  food  must  be  given  which  is 
usually  given  with  turnips. 

Sugar  may  be  made  from  this 
root,  and  for  this  purpose  it  is  said 
the  white  beet  excels.  For  de- 
tails respecting  the  mode  of  manu- 
facturing sugar  from  the  beet,  see 
Rees''  Cydopadia,  Art.  Beta. 

We  shall  add  to  this  article  a 
brief  account  of  the  mode  of  culti- 
vating this  plant  in  Bedford,  in 
England. 

In  the  middle  or  latter  end  of 
April,  the  furrows  two  icet  apart, 
are  double  ploughed,  (hat  is,  the 
plough  returns  on  the  furrow  to  the 
point  whence  it  set  out,  forming  a 
ridge  between  the  furrows.  In 
these  furrows,  the  manure,  which 
should  be  well  rotted  is  deposited, 
at  the  rate  of  six  cubic  yards  to  an 
acre.  7'he  ridges  are  then  split  by 
the  plough  going  and  retumincr  the 
same    way   as   before   mentioned, 


44 


BLO 


BOG 


leaving  the  manure  directly  under 
the  middle  of  the  new  ridges.  A 
light  roller  is  then  passed  along  the 
ridges  in  the  middle  of  which  the 
peed  is  dibbled,  about  an  inch  deep, 
covered  with  a  garden  rake,  and 
the  light  roller  is  again  passed 
along  the  ridges.  The  plants  are 
hoed  when  about  the  size  of  radish- 
es ;  where  missing  are  filled  up  by 
transplanting,  care  being  taken  to 
set  the  points  of  the  roots  straight, 
and  left  about  twelve  inches  apart 
in  the  rows. 

In  the  year  1 820,  John  Prince, 
Esq.  of  Roxbury,  received  a  pre- 
mium from  Mass.  Agr.  Soc.  for  the 
best  crop  of  Mangel  Wurtzel, 
amounting  to  six  hundred  and 
seventy  bushels  and  an  half  on  one 
acre. 

BIRD  GRASS,  or  Fozul  Sha- 
dow Grass.     See  Grasses. 

BLASTING  OF  STONES,  the 
operation  of  tearing  asunder  large 
stones  or  rocks.  The  mode  of 
performing  this  operation  by  gun- 
powder, is  too  well  known  to  re- 
quire a  particular  description.  We 
shall  merely  mention  some  im- 
provements, which  we  believe  are 
not  generally  practised.  An  Eng- 
lish publication  states  that  a  small 
portion  of  quick  lime,  in  fine  pow- 
der is  found  to  increase  the  force, 
and  consequently  to  diminish  the 
expense,  of  blasting  stonese  It  is 
likewise  said  that  saw  dust,  parti- 
cularly of  soft  wood,  mixed  with 
gun-powder,  in  equal  parts,  has 
thrice  the  strength  of  powder  alone 
in  blasting  rocks. 

BLOOD.  The  blood  and  offals 
of  animals  is  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful manures,  and  no  farmer  who 


slaughters  animals  should  suffer  it 
to  be  wasted  on  his  barn  floor.— 
They  should  be  bled  on  his  manure 
heap,  or  in  his  barn-yard,  where 
substances,  calculated  for  manure, 
are  collected. 

BOG,  a  piece  of  land  with  a  wet 
miry  soil,  or  a  swamp.  Some  bogs, 
when  they  have  a  sward  of  grass 
roots,  will  shake  and  tremble  un- 
der the  foot.  Such  land  is  unprofit- 
able, or  even  a  nuisance,  until  it  be 
drained.  But  after  draining,  it  be- 
comes the  best  of  soil,  producing 
the  greatest  of  crops,  without  any 
manure.  The  way  to  drain  a 
swampi  effectually,  is  to  pass  a  ditch 
through  the  middle  of  it ;  and  an- 
other ditch  round  the  border,  to  cut 
off  the  springs  which  come  from  the 
upland. 

In  order  to  judge  whether  a  bog 
will  pay  the  expense  of  draining, 
the  depth  of  the  drain  which  will 
be  necessary  at  the  outlet,  and  its 
length,  must  be  considered,  and  al- 
so the  depth  of  the  soil  in  the  bog. 
If  the  soil  be  very  thin,  it  will  not 
be  of  so  much  value  when  drained. 
It  will  be  thinner  after  drying  than 
before  ;  but  it  should  have  depth 
enough  for  the  deepest  ploughing, 
after  it  is  dried  and  settled.  Other- 
wise the  operation  of  draining  may 
as  well  be  omitted.  See  Eliot  on 
Field  Husbandry, 

If,  however,  on  inspection  the 
soil  be  found  to  consist  of  peat,  or 
earth  closely  interwoven  with  the 
roots  of  vegetables,  all  hopes  of 
making  it  productive  as  a  soil  must 
be  abandoned.  In  places  where 
fuel  is  scarce  it  may  be  of  great 
value,  when  dug  up  in  the  summer 
and  left  to  dry.     But,  of  itself,  and 


BOT 


BRO 


45 


without  admixture,  it  will  not  re- 
pay the  cost  of  cultivation. — 
Peaty  soil  may,  however,  be  very 
usefully  transplanted  in  considera- 
ble quantities  into  the  dung  heap, 
where  it  will  prove  a  most  admira- 
ble aid  in  the  composition  ;  itbeing 
known  that  a  proportion  of  peat 
facilitates  and  encourages  the 
growth  of  all  plants;  and  for  some 
plants  it  is  of  inestimable  value. 

BOTTS,  are  a  peculiar  kind  of 
grubs,  found  in  the  stomach  of  the 
horse,  of  a  cylindrical  figure,  point- 
ed at  one  extremity  and  obtuse  at 
the  other,  and  beset  every  where 
with  numerous  spines.  There  are 
several  kinds,  all  belonging  to  the 
same  family.  Some  live  in  the 
grub  state  under  the  skin  of  the 
backs  of  oxen,  the  deer  and  rein- 
deer ;  and  others  take  their  abode 
in  the  frontal  cavities  of  the  sheep, 
and  the  deer,  and  cells  at  the  base 
of  the  horns. 

Volumes  have  been  written  on 
the  natural  history  of  these  insects, 
but  we  have  only  room  for  stating 
some  remedies,  which  experience 
has  proved  to  be  useful  against  that 
species  of  this  insect  which  so  oft- 
en proves  fatal  to  the  horse. 

Scrape  otf  the  eggs  of  the  horse 
bee,  when  laid  on  the  horse,  every 
eight  or  ten  days  with  a  sharp 
knife.  This  practice  must  be  con- 
tinued during  the  season  of  them. 
The  eggs  should  not  be  scraped 
off  where  the  horse  can  feed,  as  in 
that  case  the  young  botts  may  be 
taken  in.  It  is  difficult  to  remove 
those  eggs  which  are  laid  under 
the  throat,  with  a  knife,  but  they 
may  be  destroyed  with  a  hot  iron 
made  for  the  purpose. 


Blood  letting,  and  the  copious 
use  of  mild  oils  will  always  palliate, 
and  sometimes  cure  the  disorder. 

The  following  remedies  have 
been  recommended.  Take  a  ta- 
ble spoonful  of  unslacked  lime,and 
let  it  be  given  with  the  water  or 
feed  of  a  horse  at  night  and  morn- 
ing for  three  or  four  days.  Or, 
take  of  copperas  two  table  spoon- 
fuls :  water,  milk  warm,  one  pint : 
dissolve  the  copperas,  and  give  it 
as  a  drench.  If  tlie  horse  is  not  re- 
lieved in  fifteen  minutes,  repeat 
the  dose.  Molasses  and  milk,  of 
each  a  pint,  are  likewise  recom- 
mended, to  be  given  as  a  drench. 
An  active  purge  should  follow 
either  of  the  last  mentioned  reme- 
dies. But  the  remedy  which  ex- 
perience has  tested  as  most  effica- 
cious is  the  following  : 

Apply  spirits  of  turpentine  to  the 
outside  of  the  breast  and  stomach 
of  a  horse,  and  the  botts  will  im- 
mediately let  go  their  hold,  and 
will  soon  be  expelled.  My  in- 
formant assures  me  that  he  has  seen 
horses,  which  seemed  to  be  in  the 
last  agonies  with  this  complaint,  re- 
lieved instantly,  and  apparently 
restored  to  full  health  in  five  mi- 
nutes by  this  remedy.  Spirits  of 
turpentine  are  sometimes  poured 
down  the  throats  of  horses,  suffer- 
ing by  botts,  but  the  external  ap- 
plication of  this  pungent  substance 
is  more  safe,  easy,  and  at  least 
equally  efficacious. 

BROWSE,  young  sprouts  from 
wood,  twigs  of  trees,  and  bushes. 
In  a  new  country,  browsing  is  a 
considerable  part  of  the  food  of 
cattle.  They  will  eat  browse  all 
parts  of  the  year,  unless  when  the 


46 


BUG 


BUL 


snow  is  so  deep  that  th^y  cannot 
wander  in  pursuit  of  it.  Late  in 
autumn,  and  early  in  spring,  much 
hay  may  be  saved  by  turning  out 
cattle  to  browse.  In  the  former 
part  of  summer,  when  the  young 
shoots  are  in  the  most  tender  state, 
some  cattle  will  even  grow  fat  up- 
on browse.  Salt  hay  is  found  to 
give  cattle  an  extraordinary  appe- 
tite for  this  kind  of  food. 

BUCK  WHEAT,  Folygormm, 
a  dark  coloured  grain,  shaped  like 
the  seed  of  onions,  but  much  larg- 
er, and  of  a  dark  brown  colour.  It 
yields  plentifully,  and  is  said  to  be 
t)etler  than  barley  for  fattening  of 
hogs  and  poultry.  It  should  not 
be  sown  in  this  climate,  till  after 
the  middle  of  May.  One  bushel  is 
enough  to  seed  an  acre,  if  sown 
broad  cast  ;  less  than  half  that 
quantity,  if  drilled. 

In  the  State  of  New-York,  farm- 
ers sow  it  with  their  winter  wheat 
about  August.  It  affords  them  a 
ripe  crop  in  the  fall,  and  is  no  dam- 
age to  the  crop  of  wheat  which 
grows  with  it,  and  succeeds  it. — 
When  the  plants  are  green,  they 
are  large,  sappy  and  soft.  Euro- 
pean writers,  therefore,  greatly  re- 
commend sowing  it  for  a  green 
dressing,  and  ploughing  it  into  the 
ground,  in  its  most  green  and  juicy 
state. 

In  light  lands  buck-wheat  may 
be  raised  to  great  advantage  as  a 
lucrative  crop.  When  green  it  is 
a  fine  feed  for  milch  kine.  It  fat- 
tens pigs  with  great  economy,  and, 
passed  through  a  mill  is,  with  car- 
rots, a  good  feed  for  work  horses. 
The  seed  is  excellent  food  for 
poultry. 


It  is  said  in  Dr.  Willich's  Do- 
mestic Encyclopasdia,  that  "  hogs 
feeding  upon  buck-wheat,  are  very 
liable  to  scabby  eruptions." 

BULL,  the  male  of  the  ox  kind. 

The  marks  of  a  good  one  for 
propagation,  according  to  Mor- 
timer, are  these.  He  should  have 
a  quick  countenance,  his  forehead 
large  and  curled,  his  eyes  black 
and  large,  his  horns  large,  straight 
and  black,  his  neck  tieshy,  his 
belly  long  and  large,  his  hair 
smooth  like  velvet,  his  breast  big, 
his  back  straight  and  flat,  his  but- 
tocks square,  his  thighs  rour\d,  his 
legs  straight,  and  his  joints  short. 

One  good  bull  will  answer  for 
a  large  number  of  cows.  But  to 
mend  our  breed  of  cattle,  more 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
properties  of  bulls.  Those  calves 
which  are  not  large,  or  not  well 
shaped,  should  be  castrated  while 
they  are  young,  that  a  mean  race 
of  cattle  may  not  be  propagated. 
Neither  should  the  practice  of 
suffering  bulls  that  are  too  young, 
to  go  to  the  cows,  be  continued. 
For  either  the  cows,  through  the 
insufficiency  of  the  bull,  will  go 
farrow,  which  is  a  great  loss  to 
the  farmer,  and  a  breach  upon 
the  dairy ;  or  at  best,  the  calves 
will  be  small,  and  scarcely  worth 
rearing ;  as  some  of  our  best 
farmers  are  now  fully  convinced. 

Sir  John  Sinclair  observes,  "  A 
bull  may  be  first  used  at  fourteen 
or  eighteen  months.  He  then 
shows  most  vigour,  and  more  en- 
ergy may  be  expected  in  his  pro- 
duce. At  two  or  three  years  old, 
they  frequently  become  ungover- 
nable, and  are  killed.     Many  con- 


BUL 


BUR 


47 


tend,  that  the  offspring  of  a  bull, 
if  well  bred,  becomes  generally 
better  till  he  reaches  seven  or 
eight  years,  and  indeed  till  his 
constitution  is  impaired  by  age. 
This  doctrine,  however,  does  not 
agree  with  the  practice  of  Mr. 
Vandergoes  in  Holland  ;  nor  can 
the  question  be  finally  decided 
without  a  rej^ular  course  of  ex- 
periments. Code  of  Agriculture 
p.  61  :    Am.  Edition. 

It  was  formerly  believed  that  a 
frequent  change  of  animals,  from 
one  country,  or  one  section  of 
a  country,  to  another,  was  indis- 
pensable to  the  preservation  of  a 
pure  and  excellent  breed  of  cattle, 
but  this  idea  is  almost  exploded. 
Bakewell,  Princeps,  and  other  noted 
graziers  and  raisers  of  stock  in  Eng- 
land have  proved,  that  it  is  by  care- 
ful selection  of  individuals  of  good 
farms  and  properties,  that  the  race 
of  cattle  can  be  best  improved. 
The  system  of  "  breeding  in  and 
in,"  which  confines  the  improved 
races  or  animals  to  their  own 
families,  is  now  much  more  in 
fashion,  and  the  success  of  the 
British  graziers,  and  the  best 
experience  of  our  own  country 
seem  to  justify  the  opinion.  Im- 
portations of  the  best  animals  of 
Great  Britain  have  been  made,  it 
is  true,  and  they  have  essentially 
and  manifestly  improved  our  stock. 
But  this  does  not  disprove  the 
utility  of  "  breeding  in  and  in." 
because  these  excellent  imported 
animals  were  produced,  and  bought 
to  their  present  perfection  by  the 
principle  of  selection  from  the 
same  excellent  flock.  And  when 
imported    here,   the  principle   of 


"  breeding  in  and  in,"  or  preserv- 
ing the  stock,  has  been  scrupu* 
lously  adhered  to  with  highly 
beneficial  effects. 

Before  we  quit  this  article,  it 
may  be  adduced  as  a  proof  of  the 
soundiiess  of  the  modern  doctrine, 
as  opposed  to  the  old  practice  of 
crossing  the  breeds  constantly, 
that,  as  to  horses,  the  interest  in 
which  is  much  greater  in  some 
countries  on  account  of  the  rage 
for  the  pleasures  of  the  chace 
and  of  the  turf,  it  is  an  established 
law,  that  the  race  should  be  kept 
pure  and  the  pedigree  of  a  race- 
horse is  as  accurately  preserved 
as  that  of  a  line  of  kings. 

BURNING  THE  SOIL.  In 
this  process  the  turfs  of  swarded 
land  are  cut  up  with  a  kind  of  hoe, 
called  a  beating  axe,  which,  after 
drying,  are  piled  and  burnt.  The 
ashes  and  burnt  soil  are  spread 
over  the  surface,  from  whence  the 
turfs  were  taken,  by  way  of  ma- 
nure ;  then  ploughed  in,  and  mix- 
ed with  the  soil  ;  first  with  a  shoal 
furrow,  and  deeper  at  the  second 
ploughing. 

The  Marquis  of  Tourbilly  says, 
"  The  paring  mattock,  or  beating 
axe,should  have  an  edgelike  an  adze, 
of  well  tempered  steel,  and  about 
nine  inches  wide,  that  the  iron  part 
should  be  six  inches  in  l(;ngth,grow- 
ing  narrower  towards  the  handle  ; 
that  the  hole  to  receive  the  handle 
should  be  two  inches  in  diameter; 
that  the  handle  should  be  of  wood, 
about  three  feet  long  ;  that  the  in- 
strument withoutthe  handle  should 
weigh  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds  ; 
that  the  turfs  raised  will  be  about 
18  inches  long,  afoot  broad,  and 


48 


BUR 


BUS 


four  inches  thick  ;  that  they  must 
be  set  up  to  dry,  leaning  against 
each  other  ;  that  when  the  season 
is  not  very  wet,  they  will  be  dry 
enough  to  burn  in  about  three 
weeks  ;  that  when  dry,  they  must 
be  piled  up  in  the  form  of  ovens, 
the  mouths  to  the  most  windward 
side  ;  that  a  hole  should  be  left  in 
the  top  for  the  smoke  to  go  out  ; 
that  as  soon  as  they  are  piled,  they 
must  be  set  on  fire  with  some  straw 
or  heath  ;  that  if  they  burn  too  fast, 
earth  must  be  thrown  on  to  deaden 
the  flames  ;  and  that  they  will  con- 
tinue burning  some  days.  When 
the  burning  is  ended,  he  advises, 
that  the  ashes  be  piled  up  in  round 
heaps  ;  that  when  it  is  time  to  sow 
winter  grain,  the  ashes  should  be 
spread,  and  the  corn  sown  on  them, 
and  then  the  ground  ploughed  with 
a  shoal  furrow,  and  harrowed." 

He  says,  "half the  usual  quan- 
tity of  seed  will  be  sufficient;  and 
that  it  ought  to  be  sowed  two  weeks 
later  than  other  ground."  The 
reason  is,  because  the  grain  will 
grow  rapidly,  and  be  uncommonly 
large. 

I  conceive  this  must  be  a  good 
method  of  culture  for  our  cold 
lands,  inclining  to  moss,  which  can 
no  other  way  be  made  to  produce 
well  the  first  year  after  breaking 
up.  But  this  method  will  not  readi- 
ly be  adopted  in  a  country  where 
labour  is  dear.  The  work,  howev- 
er, might  be  greatly  diminished,  by 
paring  the  surface  with  a  very 
sharp  ironed  plough  ;  though  in 
order  to  do  this,  the  ground  must 
have  an  extremely  even  surface, 
and  be  free  from  stones.  I  have 
said  so  much   of  this  culture,  in 


hopes  of  exciting  some,  who  are 
curious,  to  make  trial  of  it.  See 
Paring  and  Burning. 

BURNET,  Pimpinella,  a  pe- 
rennial plant,  which  was  brought 
into  notice  and  highly  praised  by 
a  Mr.  Roque,  of  England,  about 
40  years  since,  as  a  productive 
and  valuable  article  of  fodder.  It 
was  also  pretty  strongly  recom- 
mended in  the  first  and  second  edi- 
tions of  this  work,  but  it  has  not 
sustained  its  reputation,  and  it  is 
believed  it  is  no  where  extensively 
cultivated  as  a  grass. 

BURNT  CLAY.  See  Burning 
the  Soil. 

BUSHES,  shrubs.  These  are 
apt  to  spring  up  and  increase  in 
pasture  lands,  which  have  never 
been  tilled,  if  timely  care  be  not 
taken  to  destroy  them.  Eradica- 
ting them  requires  so  much  labour, 
that  farmers  are  most  commonly 
content  with  cutting  them  once  in 
a  (ew  years.  But  the  more  cut- 
tings they  survive,  the  longer  lived 
they  are  apt  to  be  ;  and  the  harder 
to  kill,  as  the  roots  continually  gain 
strength. 

Keeping  cattle  short  in  pastures 
will  cause  them  to  browse  the 
more  ;  and  this  will  have  a  ten- 
dency to  subdue  many  kinds  of 
bushes.  Those  which  grow  on 
high  ground  are  oftener  subdued 
this  way  than  those  which  grow  in 
swampy  low  lands,  the  latter  being 
less  palatable  to  the  cattle. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  cut- 
ting bushes  in  the  summer  will  do 
more  towards  destroying  them,than 
doing  it  in  any  other  season 
particularly  in  August  ;  Other 
circumstances  being  equal,the  wet- 


BUS 


BUT 


49 


test  weather  is  best  for  destroying 
shrubs  by  cutting;  because  the  sap 
vessels  of  the  stumps  will  continue 
open  the  longer;  there  will  be  the 
greater  discharge  of  sap  through 
them,  and  the  roots  will  be  the 
more  weakened. 

Bushes  which  grow  in  clusters, 
as  alder,  and  some  other  sorts,  may 
be  expeditiously  pulled  up  by  ox- 
en  ;  and  this  is  an  eflfectual  way  to 
subdue  them.  The  expense  of  it 
I  suppose  will  not  be  more  than 
that  of  cutting  them  twice  would 
amount  to. 

Elder  is  a  kind  of  bush  which 
spreads  fast  in  some  soils,  and  has 
been  accounted  harder  to  subdue 
than  almost  any  other.  Mr.  Eliot 
says,  "  He  knows  by  experience, 
that  mowing  ihem  five  times  in  a 
year  will  not  kill  them."  This  has 
been  proved  by  the  experience  of 
other  farmers.  The  roots  of  the 
shrub  oak  will  not  be  killed,  but  by 
digging  them  out,  or  by  pasturing 
goats  on  them. 

The  bushes  in  swamps  are  in 
general  more  hard  to  conquer,  than 
those  which  grow  upon  upland. — 
Flooding  a  swamp,  where  it  is 
practicable,  or  can  be  done  with- 
out too  much  cost,  is  perhaps  the 
most  approved  method  which  can 
be  taken.  Flooding  for  two  or 
three  summers  will  totally  destroy 
them,  root  and  branch. 

But  if  a  swamp  cannot  conveni- 
ently be  flooded,  the  next  thing  is, 
to  consider  whether  it  cannot  be 
drained  to  advantage.  Draining 
will  so  alter  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
that  the  shrubs  which  it  naturally 
produced  before,  will  not  be  any 
longer  nourished  bv  it.  Therefore  I 
7 


they  will  mostly  die  without  cut- 
ting, or  it  may  be  expected  that 
one  cutting  will  be  sufficient.  But 
if  draining  were  not  serviceable  on 
any  other  account,  perhaps  it 
would  not  answer  to  go  to  the  ex- 
pense of  it  merely  for  the  sake  of 
clearing  a  swamp  of  the  bushes. 

After  all,  extirpation,  by  digging 
them  out,  and  by  fire,  is  cheapest 
and  most  effectual. 

BUTTER,  a  fat  unctuous  sub- 
stance, prepared  from  milk  by 
churning.  If  the  dairy  consist  of 
three  or  four  cows,  they  should  be 
milked  in  the  summer  thrice  a  day ; 
in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  in  the 
evening.  In  winter,  however,  the 
cows  are  to  be  milked  only  twice  a 
day.  The  dairy  house  should  be 
kept  neat,  should  never  front  the 
south,  southeast  or  south-west.  It 
should  be  situated  near  a  good 
spring  or  current  of  water.  The 
proper  receptacles  for  milk  are 
earthern  or  tin  pans.  In  warm 
weather  milk  should  remain  in 
the  pail  till  nearly  cool  before  it 
is  strained,  but  in  frosty  weather  it 
should  be  strained  immediately, and 
a  small  quantity  of  boiling  water 
may  be  mixed  with  it,  which  will 
cause  it  to  produce  cream  in  great 
abundance,  and  the  more  so  if  the 
pans  or  vats  have  a  large  surface. 

In  hot  weather  the  cream  should 
be  skimmed  from  the  milk  at  or 
before  sun-rise,  before  the  dairy 
gets  warm,  nor  should  the  milk,  in 
hot  weather,  stand  in  its  recepta- 
cles longer  than  twenty-four  hours. 
In  winter,  milk  may  remain  un- 
skimmed thirly-six  or  forty-eight 
hours.  The  cream  should  be  de- 
posited in  a  dcpp  pan,  kept  during 


50 


BUT 


BUT 


summer  in  a  cool  place,  where  a 
free  air  is  admitted.  Unless  churn- 
ing is  performed  every  other  day, 
the  cream  should  be  shifted  daily 
into  clean  pans,bat  churning  should 
be  performed  at  least  twice  a  week 
in  hot  weather,  and  this  should  be 
done  in  the  morning  before  sun- 
rise, taking  care  to  fix  the  churn 
where  there  is  a  good  draught  of 
air.  If  a  pump  churn  is  used,  it 
may  be  plunged  a  foot  deep  in  cold 
water,  and  remain  in  that  situation 
during  the  whole  time  of  churning, 
which  will  much  harden  the  but- 
ter. A  strong  rancid  flavour  will 
be  given  to  butter  if  we  churn  so 
near  the  fire  as  to  heat  the  wood  in 
the  winter  season.  In  churning 
for  butter,  always  have  an  orifice 
sufficient  for  the  air  to  have  access 
to  the  cream.  Butter  is  produced 
by  the  union  of  oxygen  with  the 
cream,  and  more  butter  will  be 
made  and  of  a  finer  flavour,  if  the 
churn  is  sufficiently  open. 

After  the  butter  is  churned,  it 
should  immediately  be  washed  in 
many  different  waters,  till  it  is  per- 
fectly cleansed  from  the  milk  ;  and 
it  should  be  worked  by  two  pieces 
of  wood,  for  a  warm  hand  will  soft- 
en and  make  it  appear  greasy.  It 
will  require  more  working  in  win- 
ter than  in  summer. 

Those  who  use  a  pump  churn 
must  keep  a  regular  stroke  :  nor 
should  they  permit  any  person  to 
assist  them,  who  does  not  keep 
nearly  the  same  stroke  ;  for  if  they 
churn  more  slowly,  the  butter  will 
in  the  winter  go  back, as  it  is  called  ; 
and  if  the  stroke  be  more  quick,  it 
will  cause  a  fermentation,  by  which 


means   the  butter  will  acquire  a 
very  disagreeable  flavour. 

Cows  should  never  be  suffered 
to  drink  improper  water;  stagna- 
ted pools,  water  wherein  frogs 
spawn,  common  sewers,  and  ponds 
that  receive  the  drainings  of  sta- 
bles, are  improper. 

The  operation  of  churning  may 
be  very  much  shortened  by  mixing 
a  little  distilled  vinegar  with  the 
cream  in  the  churn.  The  butter 
being  afterwards  well  washed  in 
two  or  three  changes  of  water,  the 
whole  of  the  acid  will  be  carried 
off" ;  or  if  any  remain  it  will  not  be 
perceived  by  the  taste.  A  table- 
spoonful  or  two  of  the  vinegar  to  a 
gallon  of  cream.  See  Churn. 
Likewise  Remarks  on  the  Manage' 
ment  of  the  Dairy,  &c.  Mass.  Agr. 
Rep.  Vol.  III.  p.  192. 
To  take  the  rancid  taste fromButter, 

When  fresh  butter  has  not  been 
salted  in  proper  time,  or  when  salt 
butter  has  become  rancid  or  mus- 
ty, after  melting  and  simmering  it, 
dip  in  it  a  crust  of  bread  well  toast- 
ed on  both  sides  ;  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  butter  will  lose  its  dis- 
agreeable taste. 
Butter  made  from  scalded  Cream. 

As  soon  as  the  milk  is  taken 
from  the  cow,  let  it  be  placed  on  a 
steady  wood  fire,  free  as  possible 
from  smoke,  and  scalded  for  thirty 
minutes ;  particular  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  allow  it  to  boil.  It 
must  then  be  placed  in  a  cool  situ- 
ation, and  on  the  following  day  a 
thick  rich  cream  will  appear  on  the 
surface  of  the  milk  (which  is  excel- 
lent for  desert  purposes)  this  may 
be  taken  off  and  made  into  butter 


BUT 


BUT 


51 


in  the  common  way.  This  method 
is  practised  in  England,  and  it  is 
said  that  a  greater  quantity  of  but- 
ter, and  of  a  better  quahty,  can  be 
made  by  this  than  by  the  common 
mode. 
Directions  for  putting  down  Butter. 

Wooden  vessels  are  the  most 
proper  for  containing  salted  butler, 
and  oak  the  best  kind  of  wood. — 
Iron  hoops  should  not  be  used,  as 
the  rust  of  them  will  in  time  sink 
through  the  wood  and  injure  the 
colour  of  the  butter.  To  season  a 
new  vessel  for  the  reception  of 
salted  butter  requires  great  care  ; 
it  should  be  filled  frequently  with 
scalding  water,  allowing  it  to  re- 
main till  it  slowly  cools.  Let  the 
vessel  be  rendered  as  clean  and 
sweet  as  possible,  and  be  rubbed 
all  over  on  the  inside  with  common 
salt  ;  and  let  a  little  melted  butter 
be  run  into  the  cavity  between  the 
bottom  and  the  sides  at  their  join- 
ing, so  as  to  fill  it,  and  make  it 
every  where  flush  with  the  bottom 
and  sides  ;  it  is  then  fit  to  receive 
the  butter. 

The  butter  may  then  be  put 
down  with  the  following  composi- 
tion : 

Take  two  parts  of  the  best  com- 
mon salt,  one  part  of  sugar,  and 
one  part  of  salt  petre,  beat  them 
up  together  so  as  to  blend  the 
whole  completely  :  take  one  ounce 
of  this  composition  for  every  six- 
teen ounces  of  butter.  Mix  it 
thoroughly  with  the  butter,  as 
soon  as  it  has  been  freed  from 
the  milk  (which  should  be  done  ef- 
fectually,) and  put  it  without  loss 
of  time  into  the  vessels  prepared 
to  receive  it,  pressing  it  so  close 


as  to  have  no  air  holes,  or  any  kind 
of  cavities  within  it  ;  smooth  the 
surfice,  and  if  you  expect  it  will 
be  more  than  two  days  before  you 
add  more,  cover  it  close  up  with  a 
piece  of  clean  linen,  and  over  that 
a  piece  of  fine  linen  that  has  been 
dipped  in  melted  butter,  that  is  ex- 
actly fitted  to  the  edges  of  the  ves- 
sel all  round,  so  as  to  exclude  the 
air  as  much  as  possible,  without  the 
assistance  of  any  watery  brine. — 
When  more  butter  is  to  be  added, 
remove  the  covering,  and  let  the 
butter  be  applied  close  above  the 
former,  pressing  it  down,  and 
smoothing  it  as  before,  and  so  on 
till  the  vessel  is  full.  When  full, 
let  the  two  covers  be  spread  over 
it  with  the  greatest  care,  and  let  a 
little  melted  butter  be  poured  round 
the  edges,  so  as  to  fill  up  every 
cranny,  and  effectually  exclude  the 
air.  A  little  salt  may  then  be  strew- 
ed over  the  whole,  and  the  cover 
firmly  fixed  down,  to  remain  close- 
ly shut  till  opened  for  use. 

Butter  cured  in  this  manner, 
does  not  taste  well  till  it  has  stood 
at  least  a  fortnight  after  being  salt- 
ed :  after  that  period  has  elapsed, 
it  eats  with  a  rich  marrowy  taste 
that  no  other  butter  ever  acquires. 
Butter  thus  cured  will  go  well  to 
the  East  or  West- Indies. 

"To  make  salt  Butter  fresh.  Put 
four  pounds  of  salt  butter  into  a 
churn,  with  four  quarts  of  nev«r 
milk,  and  a  small  portion  of  arnat- 
to  ;  churn  them  together,  and  in 
about  an  hour,  take  out  the  but- 
ter, and  treat  it  exactly  as  fresh 
butter,  by  washing  it  in  water, 
and  adding  the  customary  quantity 
of  salt."  Willichh  Domestic  £n- 
cxjclopcEdia, 


52 


CAB 


CAB 


CABBAGE,  Brassica,  an  es- 
culent plant  in  high  estimation, 
which,  when  well  boiled,  is  a 
very  wholesome  food.  Many 
sorts  of  cabbages  are  cultivated. 
The  common  white  and  red  cab- 
bages, the  savoy,  the  cauliflower, 
and  the  low  dutch  cabbages  are 
common  in  this  country.  The 
savoy,  for  keeping  in  the  winter, 
seems  to  be  equal  to  any.  Be- 
sides these,  other  sorts  are  culti- 
vated in  Europe,  as  the  borecole, 
the  broccoli,  the  battersea,  &c. 

Cabbages  require  a  rich  soil, 
rather  moist  than  dry.  A  clay 
soil  well  mixed  with  other  matters, 
is  very  proper  for  them.  They 
are  said  to  grow  well  in  drained 
swamps  without  manure.  Hog 
dung  well  rotted,  door  dung  and 
ashes,  are  suitable  manures  for 
them. — Each  plant  should  have  at 
least  four  feet  of  ground  :  In  other 
words,  the  plants  should  be  two 
feet  asunder.  In  gardens  and 
small  yards  this  is  a  good  distance. 
But  in  fields,  where  they  are  to  be 
cultivated  by  the  plough,  a  greater 
distance  is  necessary.  The  rows 
may  be  three  feet  apart,  and  the 
plants  two  feet  in  the  rows  ;  or 
perhaps  a  foot  and  a  half  may  an- 
swer, unless  it  be  for  the  largest 
sort. 

Some  think  cabbages  will  not 
answer  more  than  one  year  on 
the  same  spot.  But  this  is  an  er- 
roneous opinion.  I  have  raised 
them  for  eighteen  years  in  the 
same  part  of  my  garden,  being  an 
unfavourable  soil,  dry  and  grav- 
elly :  And  the  crops  are  better 
than  they  were  at  first,  though 
the  ground  has  been  but  httle 
manured. 


Some  drop  the  seeds  where  the 
cabbages  are  to  grow.  By  this 
they  escape  being  stinted  by  trans- 
planting. For  winter  cabbages, 
the  latter  part  of  May  is  early 
enough  to  put  the  seed  into  the 
ground,  whether  the  plants  are  to 
be  removed  or  not.  1  have  tried 
both  ways,  and  on  the  whole,  I 
prefer  transplanting.  They  are 
otherwise  apt  to  be  too  tall,  and 
to  have  crooked  stems.  Cover- 
ing of  plants  with  leaves  is  not  a 
good  practice.  They  will  be 
much  heated  through  some  sorts 
of  leaves,  the  free  circulation  of 
air  about  them  will  be  prevented, 
and  their  perspiration  partly  ob- 
structed. If  a  hot  sun  cause  them 
to  droop,  a  shingle  stuck  into  the 
ground  will  be  suflicient  shelter,  if 
it  be  on  the  south  side  of  the 
plants.  I  commonly  allow  each 
plant  two  shingles,  one  on  the 
southeast  side,  and  one  on  the 
southwest,  meeting  at  the  south 
corner. 

The  principal  things  which  pre- 
vent the  growth  of  cabbages,  are, 
the  fumble-foot,  so  called,  grubs, 
maggots  and  lice.  Manuring  with 
ashes  and  lime  tends  to  prevent 
the  first,  as  the  roots  become 
mis-shapen  by  means  of  being 
wounded  by  insects,  to  which  the 
hot  qualities  of  ashes  and  lime  are 
an  antidote. 

The  grub,  or  black  worm, 
travels  in  the  night  from  plant  to 
plant,  eats  off  the  stalks  just  above 
the  ground,  and  buries  itself  in  the 
soil  when  the  sun  is  up.  To 
guard  against  this  worm,  a  little 
circle  of  lime,  or  rockweed  round 
the  plant  is  of  service.     But  the 


CAB 


CAB 


53 


best  preservative  is  to  seek  for  the 
insect  itself  which  will  be  readily 
found  at  the  root  of  the  plant  last 
destroyed. 

To  destroy  lice  on  cabbages, 
they  should  be  washed  with  strong 
brine,  or  sea  water,  or  smoke 
should  be  made  among  them  with 
straw,  sulphur,  tobacco,  &c.  But 
the  hard  frosts  in  autumn  do  not 
fail  to  subdue  them.  A  moderate 
frost    will  very   much  thin    them. 

!n  washing  plants  with  brine, 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  make 
the  solution  too  strong,  lest  you 
kill  the  vegetable  as  well  as  the 
insect.     See  Insect, 

If  cabbages  grow  near  to  a  barn 
yard,  or  other  yard  where  cattle 
are  lodged,  the  under  leaves, 
when  they  begin  to  decay,  may 
be  taken  olf,  and  thrown  to  them. 
The  plants  will  not  be  at  all  in- 
jured, and  they  are  an  excellent 
food  for  cattle,  and  will  increase 
the  milk  of  cows.  But  the  least 
decayed  of  them  should  go  to  the 
cows,  lest  they  give  the  milk  an 
ill  taste.  Much  account  is  made 
of  cabbages  in  England  for  feed- 
ing cattle  in  the  winter.  But  the 
difficulty  of  preserving  them  alters 
the  case  with  regard  to  us.  They 
can  gather  them  there  as  they  have 
occasion  to  use  them,  through  the 
winter,  and  in  the  spring. 

In  procuring  seeds  for  raising 
young  cabbage  plants,  great  care 
should  be  taken,  that  it  be  obtain- 
ed from  the  most  perfect  plants  of 
the  dilTerent  kinds,  and  such  as 
have  seeded  without  any  other 
variety  of  the  same  tribe  blowing 
near  them,  as  it  is,  perhaps,  only 
in  this  method,  that  they  are  ca- 


pable of  being  kept  of  a  true  kind. 
It  is  therefore  best  to  have  the 
plants,  intended  for  seed,  planted 
out  by  themselves,  at  a  distance 
from  others.  New  seed  is  to  be 
preferred,  as  it  not  only  vegetates 
much  quicker,  but  is  more  to  be 
depended  on.  Care  should  be 
taken  that  young  cabbage  plants 
are  properly  thmned  out,  when- 
ever they  come  up  too  thick. 
Mr.  Young  advises  to  sow  three 
ounces  of  seed  to  each  square 
perch,  well  raked  in.  For  the 
manner  of  transplanting  cabbages, 
see  VI  r.  Cobbett's  method  of  set- 
ting Ruta  Baga,  under  the  article 
Turnip. 

In  regard  to  the  distance  of 
planting,  it  must  depend  in  a  great 
measure  upon  the  strength  and 
goodness  of  the  soil,  and  the  na- 
tural size  of  the  variety  of  the 
cabbage  that  is  employed.  An 
English  writer  says,  it  is  the  prac- 
tice in  some  districts,  where  this 
culture  is  well  performed,  to  set 
them  out  regularly  at  the  distance 
of  three  feet  each  way.  Mr, 
M'Mahon  directs  to  set  all  the 
early  heading  kinds  at  the  distance 
of  two  feet  and  an  half  every  way, 
and  all  the  late  sorts  at  that  of 
three  feet. 

It  is  asserted  in  Dr.  Rees'  Cy- 
clopaedia that  "  cabbages  possess 
the  property  of  fattening  cattle, 
not  only  more  expeditiously,  but 
in  less  proportion  than  turnips ; 
an  acre  of  the  latter  having  been 
found  to  fatten  one  in  four  more 
than  the  same  extent  of  the  latter 
crop." 

Mr.  M'Mahon  recommends  the 
following  method  for   preserving 


^4 


CAB 


CAL 


cabbages  for  winter  and  spring 
use.  "  Imnnediately  previous  to 
the  setting  in  of  hard  frost,  take 
up  your  cabbages  and  savoys,  ob- 
serving to  do  it  in  a  dry  day ;  turn 
their  tops  downward,  and  let  them 
remain  so  for  a  (ew  hours,  to  drain 
off  any  water  that  may  be  lodged 
between  their  leaves;  then  make 
choice  of  a  ridge  of  dry  earth  in  a 
well  sheltered  warm  exposure, 
and  plant  them  down  to  their 
heads  therein,  close  to  one  an- 
other, having  previously  taken  off 
some  of  their  loose  hanging  leaves. 
Immediately  erect  over  them  a 
low  temporary  shed,  of  any  kind 
that  will  keep  them  perfectly  free 
from  wet,  which  is  to  be  open  at 
both  ends,  to  admit  a  current  of 
air  in  mild  dry  weather.  These 
ends  are  to  be  closed  with  straw 
when  the  weather  is  very  severe. 
In  this  situation  your  cabbage  will 
keep  in  a  high  state  of  preserva- 
tion till  spring,  for  being  kept  per- 
fectly free  from  wet,  as  well  as 
from  the  action  of  the  sun,  the 
frost  will  have  little  or  no  effect 
upon  them.  In  such  a  place  the 
heads  may  be  cut  off  as  wanted, 
and  if  frozen,  soak  them  in  spring, 
well,  or  pump  w.iter,  for  a  few 
hours  previous  to  their  being  cook- 
ed, which  will  dissolve  the  frost 
and  extract  any  disagreeable  taste 
occasioned  thereby." 

Mr.  M'Mahon  prefers  this  mode 
of  preserving  cabbages  to  placing 
them  in  the  ground  with  the  roots 
upwards,  and  says  that  the  appli- 
cation of  straw  immediately  round 
the  heads  is  a  bad  practice,  as  the 
straw  will  soon  become  damp  and 
mouldy,  and  will  of  course  com- 


municate the  disorder  to  the  cab- 
bages. 

Mr.  Derby  of  Sa'em,  Mass. 
states  his  mode  of  preserving  cab- 
bages as  follows.  "  I  have  select- 
ed one  of  the  most  airy  situations 
on  the  farm,  spread  a  few  leaves 
on  the  ground,  to  keep  them  clean, 
and  placed  them  upside  down, 
close  to  each  other,  and  shook  in 
among  them  leaves  sufficient  to 
cover  them,  leaving  part  of  the 
root  projecting  out,  then  threw  on 
just  enough  sea  weed  to  prevent 
the  leaves  blowing  away."  Mass. 
Agr.  Rep.  vol.  vii.  p.  57. 

"  To  produce  early  Cabbages. — 
In  the  spring,  as  soon  as  the 
sprouts  on  the  cabbage-stalks  have 
grown  to  the  length  of  a  plant  fit 
for  setting,  cut  them  out  with  a 
small  slice  of  the  stalk,  about  two 
inches  long;  and  if  the  season 
permit,  plant  them  in  a  garden, 
and  the  usual  care  will  produce 
good  cabbages.  Domestic  Ency- 
clopcedin. 

Mr.  Francis  Winship  of  Brighton, 
Mass.  received  a  premium  from 
the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  So- 
ciety in  1820,  for  the  best  crop  of 
cabbages,  being  thirty  two  tons 
and  two  hundred  weight,  raised  on 
one  acre  of  land. 

CALF,  the  young  of  a  cow, 
whether  male  or  female.  The 
method  of  managing  calves  to  ad- 
vantage is  of  no  small  importance 
to  a  farmer;  for  on  the  raising  of 
young  stock,  his  living  and  wealth 
in  great  measure  depend,  when 
calves  are  designed  for  veal,  they 
should  be  taken  from  the  cow  the 
next  day  after  they  are  calved. 
Let  them  suck  only  two  teats  dur- 


C  AL 


CAL 


55 


ing  the  first  week;  three  during ^ 
the  second ;  and  let  them  have 
the  whole  of  the  milk  during  the 
third  and  fourth  weeks  ;  and  then 
kill  them,  if  they  have  all  the 
milk  at  first,  they  will  grow  so  fast 
that  they  will  soon  need  more 
than  all :  The  natural  consequence 
is,  that  thev  will  grow  lean,  and 
not  be  fit  for  veal.  Many  kill 
them  at  three  weeks  old  ;  but  the 
veal  is  not  commonly  so  good,  and 
the  skins  of  calves  so  young,  are 
of  but  little  value. 

When  calves  are  to  be  reared, 
some  permit  them  to  run  with,  or 
at  least  to  suck  the  cow,  during 
the  first  season,  and  it  is  a  preva- 
lent opinion  that  they  are  improv- 
ed by  it.  It  is,  however,  certain 
that  the  best  raisers  of  valuable 
stock  in  England,  and  even  here, 
do  not  concur  in  this  sentiment. 
Experience  has  shown  that  the 
finest  possible  animals  have  been 
raised  in  great  numbers,  without 
taking  any  milk  from  the  cow  af- 
ter three  days.  They  may  go 
with  the  cows  the  first  three  or 
four  days.  They  should  have 
milk,  more  or  less,  for  about 
twelve  weeks.  They  may  be  fed 
with  skimmed  milk,  or  water  por- 
ridge, after  the  first  fortnight ;  or 
hay  tea  may  be  mixed  with  their 
milk;  or  their  milk  may  be  mixed 
with  meal  and  water.  After  a 
calf  has  sucked,  or  drunk  milk,  for 
the  space  of  a  month,  take  some 
of  the  freshest  and  sweetest  hay, 
and  put  little  wisps  of  it  into  some 
cleft  sticks,  stuck  up  in  such  a 
manner  that  he  can  easily  come  at 
them,  and  he  will  soon  learn 
to  eat. 


"  If  skim  milk  is  given  to  calves, 
it  should  be  boiled,  and  suffered 
to  stand  till  it  cools  to  the  temper- 
ature of  that  first  given  by  the  cow. 
It  is  better  boiled  than  when 
warmed  only.  If  the  milk  be 
given  too  cold  it  will  cause  the 
calf  to  purge.  If  this  is  the  case, 
put  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  run- 
net  in  the  milk  and  it  will  stop  the 
looseness.  If  the  calf  is  bound, 
pork  broth  is  said  to  be  a  good  and 
safe  thing  to  put  into  the  milk. 

It  is  not  true  that  calves  are  best 
weaned  upon  grass ;  and  the  rea- 
son assigned  is  both  unfounded 
and  absurd  viz.  that  when  raised 
on  hay  they  become  big-bellied. 
They  do  not  in  fact  become  so. 
They  are  much  more  docile  when 
raised  in  the  barn,  thrive  faster, 
and  are  as  lively  ;  and  even  if 
their  bellies  did  grow  larger,  we 
are  yet  to  learn  that  such  a  cir- 
cumstance would  be  a  blemish  in 
a  milk  cow.  It  is  thought  by 
many  to  be  an  excellent  mark. 

Mr.  Budd,  of  Massachusetts  di 
rects  to  take  the  calves  from  the 
cows,  when  three  days  old,  and 
feed  them  with  gruel,  composed 
of  one  third  barley  and  two  thirds 
oats,  each  ground  fine,  and  the 
mixture  sifted.  A  quart  of  this 
gruel  is  to  be  given  to  each  calf, 
morning  and  evening.  The  gruel 
is  made  by  taking  one  quart  of  the 
flour,  and  twelve  of  water,  and 
boiling  them  together  for  half  an 
hour,  and  is  to  be  given  while  milk 
warm. 

Mr.  John  Gordon  says  that 
"  calves  should  not  be  suffered  to 
eat  any  grass  the  first  year,  and 
from  experience  1  find  it  much  the 


56 


C  AL 


CAN 


cheapest  to  keep  them  shut  up 
and  feed  them,  as  the  land  suffi- 
cient to  pasture  one  will  well  pro- 
duce hay  sufficient  to  keep  two 
calves  through  the  year,  and  pay 
the  expence  of  cultivation,  and 
one  year's  growth  will  certainly  be 
added  to  the  cattle.  Mass.  Agr. 
Rep.  vol.  V.  p.  78. 

Mortimer  says,  "  The  best 
calves  for  bringing  up,  are  those 
calved  in  April,  May,  and  June  : 
Because  it  is  seldom  that  those 
which  come  later  acquire  sufficient 
vigour  to  support  them  during  the 
inclemency  of  the  following  winter; 
and  the  cold  causes  them  to  droop, 
and  many  of  them  to  die."  Much 
oftener  may  this  be  expected  to  be 
the  case  in  this  country,  where  the 
cold  in  winter  is  so  much  more  in- 
tense. 

Those  which  come  earlier  are 
preferred  in  this  country,  being 
more  hardy,  and  better  able  to  en- 
dure the  rigour  of  the  first  winter. 
But  the  cost  of  rearing  them  is 
greater.  All  things  considered, 
April  may  be  as  suitable  a  time  as 
any. 

"  When  calves  are  weaned, they 
should  not  be  suffered  to  be  with 
their  dams  any  more  till  fall  :  Nei- 
ther should  they  be  pastured  with- 
in sight  or  hearing  of  them.  It  will 
cause  them  to  neglect  their  feed- 
ing ;  and  they  will  not  forget  their 
sucking. 

"  At  the  setting  in  of  cold  nights 
in  autumn,  calves  must  be  nightly 
housed  :  And  not  be  out  early  in 
the  morning,  nor  late  in  the  eve- 
ning. And  as  the  pinching  cold 
of  winter  will  be  extremely  detri- 
mental to  them,  they  should    be 


kept  very  warm  in  their  house, 
well  supplied  with  water,  and  let 
out  only  in  the  warmest  days.  A 
great  deal  of  care  is  necessary  to 
bring  them  through  the  first  winter, 
which  is  the  most  dangerous  period 
of  their  lives.  They  will  acquire 
so  much  strength  during  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  that  they  will  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  the  cold  of  a 
second  winter."  Buffon  ;  Histoire 
Nahirelle, 

CANKER.  Mr.  Forsyth  is  of 
opinion  that  canker  is  caused  by 
injudicious  pruning,  from  the 
fruit  being  left  on  the  trees, 
from  injuries  sustained  by  ap- 
plying ladders  in  gathering  the 
fruit,  from  leaving  dead  shoots  on 
a  tree  throughout  the  summer,  &:c. 
but  not  from  any  thing  peculiar  in 
the  soil ;  and  says, 

"  When  by  accident,  or  impro- 
per treatment,  trees  receive  large 
wounds,  and  the  cure  is  left  to  na- 
ture, they  are  frequently  overrun 
with  gum  and  canker,  which,  if  not 
checked,  will  in  a  short  time  total- 
ly ruin  them. 

"  In  this  case  you  must  carefully 
pare  ofT,  with  a  draw-knife,  or  any 
other  convenient  instrument,  all 
the  diseased  part  of  the  bark.  The 
inner  white  bark  is  frequently  af- 
fected ;  this  must  also  be  cutaway 
till  no  appearance  of  infection  re- 
mains. The  infection  in  the  inner 
bark  appears  like  dots  made  with 
a  pen,  all  of  which  must  be  cut 
clean  out ;  for  if  any  part  of  the 
canker  be  left,  it  will  infect  the 
new  wood  and  bark.  Wherever 
you  see  the  gum  oozing  out,  you 
may  rest  assured  that  the  canker  is 
not  quite  eradicated ;  which  if  suf- 


CAN 


CAN 


57 


fered  to  remain,  will  spread  till  the 
whole  tree  becomes  a  mass  of  gum 
and  canker,  and  will  be  killed  in  a 
short  time.  VVIien  the  trimk  is 
become  hollow,  cut  the  loose  rot- 
ten part  clean  out,  till  you  come 
to  the  sound  wood,  taking  care  to 
round  the  edges  of  the  hollow  part ; 
then  apply  the  composition  in  a 
liquid  state,  laying  it  on  with  a 
painter's  brush,  wherever  the  can- 
kered bark  has  been  pared  off,  or 
the  dead  wood  cut  out,  till  these 
places  are  entirely  covered  with 
it  :  When  that  is  done  shake  some 
of  the  powder  of  wood  ashes  and 
burnt  bones  over  the  composition, 
and  pat  it  gently  down  with  your 
hands."     See  Composition. 

He  contends  "  that  if  the  forego- 
ing directions  bo  carefully  follow- 
ed, the  canker  will  be  completely 
eradicated,  and  the  hollow  trunk 
in  time  be  filled  up  with  sound 
wood.  When  the  stem  is  much  de- 
cayed, he  thinks  it  will  be  absolute- 
ly necessary  to  open  the  ground, 
examine  the  roots,  and  cut  off  all 
the  rotten  parts.  When  you  have 
cut  out  all  the  rotten  and  decayed 
parts  below  ground,  and  scraped 
the  hollow  clean,  make  up  a  mass 
of  the  composition  mixed  with 
some  clay,  like  what  is  used  for 
grafting  ;  then  fill  the  hollow  part 
with  it  to  within  two  inches  of  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  treading  it 
with  your  foot,  or  pressing  it  in 
with  the  hand  as  close  as  you  pos- 
sibly can,  to  prevent  the  wet  from 
penetrating  to  the  roots,  and  leave 
the  surface  of  the  composition  slop- 
ing from  the  tree  towards  the  out- 
side of  the  border  to  throw  the  wet 
off,  which  will  prevent  the  fresh 


part  of  the  root  from  rotting  ;  then 
cover  the  root  over  with  mould  lev- 
el with  the  rest  of  the  border  ;" 
and  when  you  have  examined  all 
the  old  wounds,  where  large  limbs 
have  been  cut  off,  you  should  next 
examine  the  old  bark  ;  and  if  you 
should  find  the  outside  of  it  wrin- 
kled and  cracked,  pare  it  off,  as  it 
is  always,  when  in  that  state,  very 
much  hurt  by  the  canker.  This 
should  be  done  with  the  draw- 
knife,  or  other  sharp  instrument  ; 
then  apply  the  composition  as  be- 
fore directed,  which  will  bring  on 
a  fine  smooth  bark  under  it.  In 
the  succeeding  winter  or  spring 
you  will  see  all  the  plaster  with 
the  old  part  of  the  bark  that  was 
left  in  the  hollow  parts  of  the  tree, 
or  where  old  branches  had  been 
amputated,  peeling  offand  shewing 
the  smooth  bark  underneath.  You 
should  then  scrape  off,witha  wood- 
en or  bone  knife,  what  old  bark 
remains  in  the  hollows  where  the 
draw-knife  could  not  reach  with- 
out cutting  too  much  away.  When 
that  is  done,  mix  up  some  fresh 
cow  dung  with  soap  suds  and  urine, 
making  it  very  thin,  and  give  the 
tree  a  coat  of  this  mixture  all  over 
where  the  bark  has  been  scraped 
off;  the  cow-dung  will  adhere  to 
it,  and  heal  the  parts  where  you 
were  obliged  to  scrape  to  the  inner 
bark.  This  wash  will  remain  till 
the  fresh  bark  comes  on  ;  when  it 
will  be  discharged  of  itself,  during 
the  summer  or  the  next  spring, 
leaving  a  new  fresh  bark  where  the 
old  and  cankery  was  taken  off. — 
Next  spring  if  any  of  the  old  bark 
remains,  you  may  repeat  the  same 
operation,  which  will  cause  all  the 


58 


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remaining  old  bark  to  slough  off 
like  a  scab  from  a  wound  of  a  hu- 
man body. 

"  If  any  of  the  trees  become 
bark-bound,  you  must  scarify  them, 
by  taking  a  sharp  knife,  and  run- 
ning the  point  of  it  straight  down 
the  middle,  of  the  stem  from  top  to 
bottom,  taking  care  to  run  your 
knife  through  the  outer  bark  only  ; 
then  with  a  brush,  or  your  finger, 
rub  in  some  of  the  composition  to 
prevent  the  incision  from  bringing 
on  the  canker." 

Sir  Humphrey  Davy  in  his  "Ele- 
ments of  Agricultural  Chemistry," 
attributes  canker  to  an  "  excess  of 
alkaline  and  earthy  matter  in  the 
descending  sap  ;"  and  says,  "  Per- 
haps the  application  of  a  weak  acid 
to  the  canker  might  be  of  use  ; 
where  the  tree  is  great  it  may  be 
watered  occasionally  with  a  very 
diluted  acid." 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  Vol.  111.  p.  280,  gives 
the  following 
'■'■  Remedy  for  the  Canker  and  other 
Wounds  in  Trees.  The  damaged 
parts  of  the  tree  must  be  cut  or 
peeled  off  in  the  spring,  and  the 
places  rubbed  in  a  fine  sunny  day 
with  turpentine,  which  becomes  a 
sort  of  varnish,  so  that  the  wounds 
will  be  hermetically  closed,and  the 
tree  will  speedily  recover.''  It  is 
said  also  that  bees-wax  and  tar 
will  answer  as  good  a  purpose  as 
Mr.  Forsyth's  composition.  See 
FvHxt  Trees* 

CANKER  WORM,  an  insect, 
so  called,  I  suppose,  from  its  hav- 
ing much  the  same  effect  upon  ap- 
ple trees  as  canker.  This  worm 
is  produced  from  the  eggs    of  an 


earth-coloured  bug,  which  having 
continued  under  ground  during 
winter,  passes  up  on  the  bodies  of 
apple  trees  early  in  the  spring. — 
They  are  hatched  as  early  as  the 
end  of  May,  and  are  so  voracious, 
that  in  a  few  weeks  they  destroy 
all  the  leaves  of  a  tree,  prevent  its 
bearing  for  that  year,  and  the  next, 
and  give  it  the  appearance  of  its 
having  been  burnt.  As  the  per- 
spiration of  trees  is  stopped  by  the 
loss  of  their  leaves,  they  sicken  and 
die  in  a  kw  years. 

The  worms  let  themselves  down 
by  threads  in  quest  of  prey,  like 
spiders  ;  by  means  of  which,  the 
wind  blows  them  from  tree  to  tree  ; 
so  that  in  a  close  orchard,  not  one 
tree  will  escape  them.  But  trees 
which  stand  singly  are  seldomer 
infested  with  these  insects.  As 
they  are  the  most  pernicious  kind 
of  insects  with  which  New-England 
is  now  infested,  if  any  person  could 
invent  some  easy,  cheap,  and  ef- 
fectual method  of  subduing  them, 
he  would  merit  the  thanks  of  the 
public,  and  more  especially  of  eve- 
ry owner  of  an  orchard. 

Several  methods  have  been  tri- 
ed, with  some  degree  of  success  : 
1.  Tarring.  A  strip  of  canvas,  or 
linen,  is  put  round  the  body  of  a 
tree,  before  the  ground  is  open  in 
the  spring,  and  well  smeared  with 
tar.  The  females,  in  attempting 
to  pass  over  it,  stick  fast  and  per- 
ish. But  unless  the  tarring  be  re- 
newed every  day,  it  will  become 
hard,  and  permit  the  insects  to  pass 
safely  over  it.  And  renewing  the 
tar  in  season  is  too  apt  to  be  neg- 
lected, through  hurry  of  business 
and  forgetfulness.  If  birdlime  were 


CAN 


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59 


to  be  had,  it  might  answer  the  pur- 
pose better,  as  its  tenacity  will  con- 
tinue for  some  time.  2.  Some  tie 
straw  round  the  bodies  of  the  trees. 
This  serves  to  entangle  and  retard 
the  insects,  and  prevents  the  ascent 
of  many  of  them.  But  they  are  so 
amazingly  prolific,  that  if  ever  so 
few  of  them  get  up,  a  tree  is  greatly 
damaged,  at  least  for  an  ensuing 
season  or  two. 

The  pasturing  of  swine  in  an  or- 
chard, where  it  can  conveniently 
be  done,  I  suppose  to  be  an  excel- 
lent method.  With  their  snouts 
and  their  feet,  they  will  destroy 
many  of  the  insects,  before  they 
come  out  of  the  ground,  or  while 
they  are  coming  out.  And  I  have 
neverknown  any  orchard,constant- 
ly  used  as  a  hog  pasture,  wholly 
destroyed,  or  even  made  wholly 
unfruitful  by  these  worms.  But 
this  method  cannot  always  be  tak- 
en ;  and  if  it  could,  I  do  not  sup- 
pose it  would  be  quite  effectual. — 
When  the  trees  are  young,  the 
swine  will  be  apt  to  injure  them  by 
tearing  the  bark. 

But  as  tarring  the  trees  is  the 
best  antidote  that  we  yet  know  of, 
and  as  many  persons  of  experience 
believe  it  is  possible  that  the  insects 
may  be  thus  quite  prevented  pas- 
sing up  the  trees,  I  shall  here  give 
directions  how  to  perform  it  in  the 
most  effectual  manner. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  necessary 
to  begin  the  operation  very  early 
in  the  year.  Not  observing  this 
caution,  has  occasioned  the  want 
of  success  which  many  have  com- 
plained of:  For  it  is  certain  that 
the  bugs  will  begin  to  pass  up  as 
soon  as    the    ground  is  so  much 


thawed,  that  they  can  extricate 
themselves  from  the  soil  ;  which 
is,  in  some  years,  as  early  as  Feb- 
ruary. Therefore,  to  make  sure 
work,  it  is  best  to  begin  as  soon  as 
the  ground  is  bare  of  snow  in  that 
month,  that  the  first  thawing  of  the 
ground  may  not  happen  before  the 
trees  are  prepared  ;  for,  beginning 
after  ever  so  few  of  the  insects  are 
gone  up,  the  labour  will  all  be  lost. 

Another  thing  to  be  observed  is, 
to  fill  the  crevices  of  the  bark  with 
clay,  before  the  strip  of  linen 
or  canvas  is  put  on,  that  the  in- 
sects may  not  find  any  passage 
for  them  under  it. 

Having  put  on  the  strip,  which 
should  be  at  least  three  inches  wide, 
drawn  it  close,  and  strongly  fasten- 
ed the  ends  together,  a  thumb  rope 
of  tow  should  be  tied  round  the 
tree,  close  to  the  lower  edge  of  the 
strip.  The  design  of  doing  this  is, 
that  the  tar  may  not  drip,  nor  run 
down  on  the  bark  of  the  tree,which 
would  injure  it. 

When  all  the  trees  of  an  orch- 
ard are  thus  prepared,  let  the  strips 
be  plentifully  smeared  with  cold 
tar,  put  on  with  a  brush.  Perhaps 
tar  mixed  with  a  small  proportion 
of  fish  oil  would  be  still  better.  It 
would  not  harden  so  soon  as  tar 
alone.  And  oil  is  known  to  repel 
most  kinds  of  insects.  The  smear- 
ing should  be  renewed  once  a  day 
without  fail.  The  best  time  is 
soon  after  sun-set ;  because  the  in- 
sects are  wont  to  pass  up  in  the 
evening,  and  the  tar  will  wot  hard- 
en so  much  in  the  night  as  in  the 
day,  because  of  the  dampness  of 
the  air.  The  daily  task  must  be 
renewed,  and  performed  with  the 


60 


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CAN 


greatest  care,  till  the  latter  end  of 
May,  or  till  the  time  when  the 
hatching  of  Ihe  worms  is  common- 
ly over,  which  will  be  earlier  or 
later,  according  to  the  difference 
of  climate. 

Another  mode  of  tarring,  and 
which  bids  fair  to  be  preferred  to 
the  foregoing,  is  as  follows  : — 
Take  two  pretty  wide  pieces  of 
board,  plane  them,  make  semi-cir- 
cular notches  in  each,  fitting  them 
to  the  stem,  or  body  of  the  tree, 
and  fasten  them  securely  together 
at  the  ends,  so  that  the  most  vio- 
lent winds  and  storms  may  not  dis- 
place nor  stir  them.  The  crevices 
betwixt  the  boards  and  the  tree 
may  be  easily  stopped  with  rags, 
or  tow.  Then  smear  the  under 
sides  of  the  boards  with  tar.  The 
tar,  being  defended  from  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun,  will  hold  its  tena 
city  the  longer  ;  and,  therelbre, 
will  not  need  to  be  so  frequently 
renewed.  And  the  trees  may  be 
more  secured  in  this  way  from  the 
dripping  of  the  tar,  as  a  margin  of 
two  or  three  inches,  next  to  the 
tree,  may  be  left  unsmeared. 

If  the  trees  are  small,  the  stems 
may  be  encircled  with  cartridge 
paper,  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted 
funnel.  The  outside  of  the  paper 
should  be  well  smeared  with  fish 
oil.  The  insects  will  proceed  to 
the  brim  of  the  paper,  but  will  not 
be  able  to  pass  it ;  as  the  oil  will 
hang  on  that  part. 

Another  expedient,  much  re- 
commended is,  to  put  a  strip  of 
raw  sheep  or  lamb  skin  round  the 
body  of  each  tree,  the  woo!  out- 
wards. It  is  asserted,  that,  though 
the  insects  can  pass  over  hair  and 


straw,  they  cannot  pass  over  the 
wool.  But,  to  render  this  the 
more  effectual,  it  will  be  proper  to 
open  the  fibres  of  the  wool  now 
and  then,  with  a  coarse  comb. 

When  it  so  happens  that  the 
worms  are  permitted  to  prevail  in 
an  orchard  for  two  or  three  years, 
the  limbs  will  be  so  corrupted, that 
the  trees  are  not  apt  to  recover 
their  fruitfulness,  although  the  as- 
cent of  the  worms  should  be  after- 
wards prevented.  In  such  a  case, 
it  is  advisable  to  cut  off  all  the 
limbs  from  the  trees,  near  to  the 
stock  where  they  are  produced, 
that  so  the  tops  may  be  wholly  re- 
newed by  fresh  shoots,  as  they  will 
be  in  a  few  years. 

It  is  not  less  than  about  fifty 
years,  since  this  insect  began  its 
depredations  in  New-England,  in 
the  parts  which  had  been  longest 
cultivated.  But  perhaps  there  is 
some  reason  to  hope  that  Provi- 
dence is  about  to  extirpate  them  : 
For  a  kind  of  little  bird  has  lately 
made  its  appearance  in  some  parts 
of  the  country,  which  feeds  upon 
the  canker  worms.  Should  these 
birds  have  a  rapid  increase,  the  in- 
sects will  be  thinned,  so  as  to  be 
less  formidable,  if  not  wholly  de- 
stroyed. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Journal  Vol.  111.  No.  4,  contains 
some  remarks  on  the  Canker  worm 
by  J.  Lowell,  Esq.  from  which  we 
extract  the  follown)g. 

"  1  had  the  turf  dug  in  around 
sixty  apple  trees  and  the  earth 
laid  smooth.  1  then  took  three 
hogsheads  of  effete  or  air  slacked 
lime  and  strewed  it  an  inch  thick 
round  my  trees  to  the  extent  of 


CAN 


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61 


about  two  or  three  feet  from  the 
roots,  so  that  the  whole  diameter 
of  the  opening  was  from  four  to 
six  feet. 

"  I  tarred  these  trees  as  well  as 
the  others,  and  although  1  had 
worms  or  grubs  on  most  that  were 
not  limfd,  I  did  not  catch  a  single 
grub,  where  the  trees  were  limed. 

"  I  do  not  mean  to  speak  with 
confidence,  I  am  however  strongly 
encouraged  to  believe  the  remedy 
perfect.  It  was  assertained  by 
Professor  Peck,  that  the  insect 
seldom  descended  mto  the  ground 
at  a  greater  distance  than  three  or 
four  feet  from  the  trunk,  and  to 
the  depth  of  four  inches,  or  that 
the  greater  part  come  within  that 
distance.  The  lime  is  known  to 
be  destructive  of  all  animal  sub- 
stances, and  1  have  little  doubt 
that  it  actually  decomposes  and 
destroys  the  insect  in  the  chrysalis 
state,  at  least  I  hope  that  is  the 
case. 

''  There  are  many  reasons 
which  should  encourage  the  repeti- 
tion of  this  experiment.  The 
digging  round  the  trees  is  highly 
useful  to  them,  while  tarring  is 
very  injurious.  The  expense  is 
not  great.  A  man  can  dig  round 
fifty  large  trees  in  one  day.  7'he 
lime  is  a  most  salutary  manure  to 
the  trees.  After  the  spot  has  been 
once  opened  and  limed,  the  labour 
of  keeping  it  open  will  not  be 
great.  Three  hogsheads  of  air 
slacked  lime,  or  sweepings  of  a 
lime  store,  will  suffice  for  fifty 
trees,  and  will  not  cost  three  dol- 
lars. As  it  is  done  but  once  a 
year,  I  think  it  cannot  be  half  so 
expensive  as  tarring.'' 


Mr.  Forsyth  directs  that  the 
body  of  the  tree  be  covered  with 
a  composition  of  old  urine,  kept 
some  time  for  that  purpose,  soap 
suds,  and  fresh  cow  dung,  which 
he  says,  if  laid  on  plentifully,  will 
keep  off  all  insects.  A  strip  of 
oiled  paper  put  round  the  tree, 
with  the  lower  end  projecting  so 
as  to  form  a  rim  is  recommended. 
Digging  the  earth  from  the  roots 
ol  trees,  early  in  the  spring  and 
returning  it,  mixed  with  a  small 
quantity  of  sulphur,  and  sprinkling 
a  little  of  it,  on  the  surface  is  said 
to  be  effectual  for  several  years. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  a 
few  canker  worms  ofteti  rise  in 
autumn  as  well  as  in  the  spring. 
Professor  Peck  therefore  advises 
turning  up  the  ground  in  October 
as  far  as  the  trees  extend  to  the 
depth  of  five  inches,  and  breaking 
the  clods  and  smoothing  the  sur- 
face by  passing  a  heavy  roller 
over  it,  so  as  to  make  it  very  hard 
and  without  cracks,  which  will 
prevent  the  canker  moths  from 
rising  from  the  earth.  See  Mass. 
Agricultural  Repository,  vol.  iv. 
page  9 1 . 

John  Kenrick  Esq.  of  Newton, 
Mass.  proposes  the  following 
"New  and  cheap  method"  of  de- 
stroying this  insect. 

From  any  time  in  June,after  the 
worms  have  entirely  disappeared, 
until  the  twentieth  of  October, 
let  the  whole  of  the  soil  surround- 
ing the  trees,  to  the  extent  of  at 
least  four  feet  from  the  trunks, 
and  to  a  suitable  depth  be  dug  up 
and  carted  away;  and  placed  at  a 
distance  from  any  trees  the  can- 
ker-worms  are   in  the    habit    of 


62 


CAR 


CAR 


feeding  upon  ;  and  let  these  be 
returned  in  the  same  cart,  an 
equal  quantity  of  compost,  or  rich 
earth  intermixed  with  manure. 
Or  the  soil  returned  may  be  taken 
from  ponds,  roads,  or  the  ridges 
which  often  accumulate  on  the 
margins  of  fields;  or  if  there  hap- 
pen a  ploughed  field  near  the 
orchard,  in  which  there  are  no 
apple  trees,  the  soil  may  be  ex- 
changed load  for  load  without  any 
injury  to  the  field :  but  in  either 
case  let  a  good  quantity  of  ma- 
nure be  spread  at  the  bottom  of 
the  soil  returned  to  the  trees. 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Repos- 
itory, vol.  iv.  p.  1G8. 

CARROT,  Daticus,  a  well 
known  and  useful  root  for  food. — 
The  seeds  are  carminative  and  di- 
uretic, and  the  root  is  useful  to 
abate  the  malignity  of  cancers.  A 
sandy  soil  is  very  proper  for  car- 
rots ;  but  they  do  very  well  in 
gravelly,  and  even  in  loamy  soils, 
when  made  rich  and  loosened  to  a 
sufficient  depth.  The  largest  I 
have  ever  raised  has  been  in 
gravel.  The  ground  should  be 
ploughed,  or  dug,  more  than 
twelve  inches  deep,  and  well 
pulverized. 

I  have  found  by  long  experience 
that  carrots  should  be  sowed  early. 
The  last  week  in  April  is  late 
enough,  when  intended  for  feed- 
ing o  cattle ;  and  they  may  be 
sowed  earlier,  if  the  ground  be  in 
good  order,  and  so  dry  as  to  be 
made  light  and  loose.  The  ear- 
liest sown  will  be  the  largest,  and, 
in  the  northern  parts  of  this  coun* 
try,  nearly  as  tender  and  good 
tasted  as  if  sown  later. 


A  small  quantity  of  dressing  will 
be  sufficient  for  them.  But  what- 
ever manure  is  used,  it  should  be 
well  rotted,  and  made  fine,  or 
putrefy  very  soon  in  the  ground ; 
otherwise  the  little  obstacles  in  it, 
will  cause  the  roots  to  divide,  and 
become  forked.  I  have  known 
carrots,  manured  with  old  hog 
dung,  grow  to  a  surprising  bigness. 
But  if  a  large  quantity  of  this 
strong  manure  be  used,  they  will 
grow  so  fast  as  to  burst  open.  It 
is  a  crop  that  bears  drought  well, 
as  it  draws  its  principal  nourish- 
ment from  a  considerable  depth. 
Nor  is  the  ground  apt  to  be  ex- 
hausted by  continued  crops. 

In  the  garden  I  sow  them  in 
drills,  or  little  furrows,  made  an 
inch  deep  with  the  head  of  a  rake, 
from  9  to  12  inches  apart,  across 
beds  four  feet  wide.  This  prevents 
treading  the  ground  hard  too  near 
to  the  roots  ;  greatly  facilitates 
clearing  them  of  weeds  with  a  hoe, 
and  keeping  the  earth  loose  to  a 
sufficient  depth.  I  do  not  thin 
them  much,  till  I  begin  to  pull 
them  for  use,  about  the  beginning 
of  July  ;  from  which  time  I  pull 
them,  not  only  for  the  table,  but  to 
feed  swine,  as  that  sort  of  animals 
are  so  fond  of  them,  that  they  will 
greedily  devour  both  roots  and 
tops.  The  spaces  between  the 
beds  may  be  kept  clear  of  weeds, 
by  turning  over  the  soil  with  a  nar- 
row spade,  once  or  twice  in  May 
and  June.  It  will  not  only  subdue 
the  weeds,  but  increase  the  pasture 
of  the  nearest  plants. 

But  the  field  culture  of  this  root 
begins  to  prevail  in  the  country  : 
As  carrots  are  found  to  be  valuable, 


CAR 


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63 


for  feeding  not  only  swine,  but 
horses  and  cattle,  and  for  fattening 
them.  But  to  fatten  swine  on 
them,  they  should  be  boiled,  or 
parboiled.  They  are  so  easily 
cultivated,  and  so  hardy,  that  they 
may  be  raised  in  tields  to  great  ad- 
vantage. They  will  grow  well  in 
a  soil  that  is  but  moderately  rich, 
if  it  be  ploughed  deep,  and  made 
mellow.  And  there  is  no  difficul- 
ty in  keeping  them  through  the 
winter,  in  good  order  for  feeding 
cattle.  The  ground  should  be 
ploughed  in  the  fall  preceding,  and 
ploughed  very  deep.  If  the  plough 
do  not  go  deep  enough  at  once,  it 
should  be  trench  ploughed  ;  that 
is,  the  plough  should  pass  twice  in 
the  furrow.  And  if  some  of  the 
earth,  which  was  never  betbre  stir- 
red, should  be  thrown  up  to  the 
surface,  it  will  be  no  damage,  pro- 
vided it  be  such  earth  as  crumbles 
easily,  and  does  not  remain  in 
lumps,  after  the  winter  frosts  have 
acted  upon  it. 

If  the  lands  incline  to  much  wet- 
ness, it  should  be  water  furrowed, 
after  the  autumnal  ploughing,  that 
so  it  may  be  dry,  and  fit  to  be 
ploughed  again  very  early  in  the 
spring.  It  must  be  well  harrowed 
before  sowing,  first  with  a  heavy 
harrow,  and  afterwards  with  a 
lighter  one,  with  shorter  teeth  pla- 
ced near  together.  After  the  seed 
is  sown,  the  ground  should  be  rak- 
ed. When  sown  in  the  broad  cast 
method,  they  should  stand  so  far 
apart  after  thinning,as  to  have  each 
half  a  foot  of  soil.  There  will  be 
no  danger  of  thinning  them  early, 
as  they  are  a  plant  which  is  sel- 
dom diminished  by  insects. 


It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  find  the 
attention  of  some  of  my  country- 
men turned  to  the  field  culture  of 
this  excellent  root.  They  who 
have  but  little  land  may  probably 
enable  themselves  to  keep  consid- 
erable stocks  by  means  of  it. 

This  root  has  greatly  the  advan- 
tage of  turnips,  not  only  in  its  be- 
ing a  richer  and  more  nourishing 
food,  and  in  yielding  a  larger  pro- 
duce, but  also  in  its  being  never,or 
very  seldom,  annoyed  or  hurt  by 
insects.  This  crop,  rightly  man- 
aged, I  have  never  known  to  fail, 
as  it  is  well  known  the  other  often 
does. 

The  drill  method,  sowing  on  nar- 
row ridges,  raised  by  the  cultivator, 
is  preferred  by  some,  and  is  that 
which  I  use.  But  the  labour  will 
perhaps  be  increased  a  little.  The 
seeds  will  do  best  sown  by  hand, 
as  their  shape  will  not  well  admit 
of  their  being  drilled.  To  prepare 
them  for  sowing  at  all,  they  should 
be  well  rubbed,  and  passed  through 
a  sieve.  The  first  hoeing  of  car- 
rots in  rows  must  be  also  by  hand  ; 
at  which  hoeing  they  should  be 
thinned  to  one  or  two  inches  asun- 
der, if  large  ones  are  desired. — 
The  after  hoeings  may  be  expedi- 
tiously done  by  the  horse  hoe  and 
cultivator  alternately.  It  is  not 
amiss,  if  they  grow  large  and  rank, 
when  they  are  chiefly  designed  as 
food  for  cattle,  though  small  sized 
ones  are  preferred  for  the  table. 
For  this  use  they  need  not  be 
thinned  to  more  than  half  an  inch 
asunder  in  the  rows :  And  perhaps 
not  so  much  in  good  ground.  The 
way  to  keep  carrots  good  for  eat- 
ing through  the  winter  is  to  bury 


G4 


CAR 


CAR 


theminadry  sandof  theyellowkind 
from  pits.  Or,  if  they  are  put  in- 
to casks,  covering  them  with  fresh 
turfs  may  be  sufficient. 

It  has  been  maintained  by  some 
agriculturists  that  the  tops  of 
carrots  might  be  cut  off,  as  soon  as 
the  lower  leaves  begin  to  wither, 
without  injury  to  the  root.  But 
the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Journal,Vol.  III.  No.  3,p.  i81— 2, 
gives  the  details  of  certain  experi- 
ments made  by  the  Hon.  Josiah 
Quincy,  in  which  a  certain  number 
of  beds  of  carrots  were  cut^  and 
the  same  number  of  similar  beds 
were  left  m/icu/,  and  the  advantage 
was  in  favour  of  the  latter,  about 
as  8  to  5.  From  the  result  of 
these  experiments  Mr.  Quincy 
concludes  "  that  the  carrot  forms 
no  exception  to  the  usual  analogy 
of  nature  in  the  growth  of  vegeta- 
bles," which  depends  nearly  as 
much  upon  the  leaves  as  the  root. 

The  best  way  to  keep  carrots 
through  the  winter,  for  family  use, 
is  to  bury  them  in  moist  sand.  Or 
they  may  be  kept  in  the  same  man- 
ner with  beets.     See  Beets. 

Mr.  Cooper,  Editor  of  the  sec- 
ond American  edition  of  Dr.  Wil- 
lich's  Domestic  Encyclopaedia, says 
that  horses  often  prefer  carrots  to 
oats,  and  that  "  they  are  decidedly 
the  best  food  for  broken-winded 
horses,  and  as  1  believe  for  asth- 
matic men.'' 

Mr.  Quincy  gives  the  following 
statement  of  the  mode  of  cultiva- 
ting carrots,  made  use  of  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Wyllys  Pomeroy,  Esq.  and 
which  he  prefers  to  all  others. 

"  Plough  as  deep  in  the  fall  or 
spring  as  the  state  of  the  land  will 


permit.  Cross  plough  in  the  spring 
and  harrow  level.  Put  on  fifteen, 
twenty  or  twenty-five  buck  loads 
of  the  most  rotten  compost  to  the 
acre,  as  the  heart  of  the  land  may 
be.  Spread  and  harrow  it  fine. — 
Then  with  a  horse  plough  strike  it 
into  two-bout  ridges,  as  near  to- 
gether as  four  back  furrows  will 
make  them,  and  if  the  two  first 
back  furrows  are  narrow  the  other 
two  being  deep  the  ridge  will  be 
nearly  to  a  point,  and  should  be 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches  from  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow  if  it  be  well 
cleared  out.  To  do  which  make 
another  bout  in  the  furrow,  if  ne- 
cessary. Then  with  the  head  of 
a  rake  strike  off  the  crown  of  the 
ridge,  till  it  is  three  or  four  inches 
wide,  and  with  it,  or  a  hoe,  open  a 
drill  in  the  usual  manner.  Sow 
the  seed  pretty  thick,  cover  and 
press  down  a  little  with  a  hoe  or 
shovel.  When  the  weeds  appear, 
run  a  small  plough  through  the  fur- 
rows. Hand  weed  the  crop,  and 
hoe  the  weeds  from  the  sides  of 
the  ridge.  The  orange  carrot  is 
best." 

"In  harvesting,a  plough  with  one 
yoke  of  oxen  should  be  run  near 
the  side  of  the  range  of  carrots, and 
as  deep  as  possible.  This  loosens 
the  dirt  and  clears  one  side  of  the 
carrots  almost  entirely  from  the 
earth.  The  labourers  then  with 
great  facility  take  them  by  their 
tops  out  of  the  beds,  and  throw 
them  into  carts,  with  only  an  occa- 
sional use  of  the  hoe  to  plants 
which  the  plough  has  not  loosened. 

"  I  have  no  question  that  con- 
ducted in  this  mode  a  carrot  crop 
may  be  made  more  productive,and 


CAR 


C  Atl 


G3 


much  less  expensive  than  the  po- 
tatoe  crop  usually  is.  In  sowing  I 
use  a  small  hand  drill,  which  lays 
the  seed  with  great  regularity,  a 
circumstance  very  important  both 
to  facilitate  weeding  and  harvest- 
ing ;  since  if  the  carrots  stand 
straggling  and  not  in  a  line,  the 
plough,  when  harvesting,  leaves 
the  more  to  be  loosened  by  the  hoe 
or  the  fork.  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Repository,  Vol.  IV.  p. 
24. 

A  mode  of  cultivating  carrots 
differing  slightly  from  the  above,  is 
described  by  Mr.  Quincy,  in  the 
same  work.  Vol.  IV.  p.  212. 

For  other  modes  of  cultivating 
this  root,  see  Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  Vol. 
V.  p.  20,  255.  347. 

Mr.  Ebenezer  Thrasher,  of  Sa- 
lem, Mass.  in  1 820,  received  a  pre- 
mium from  the  Massachusetts  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  for  the  best  crop 
of  carrots,  weighing  exclusive  of 
the  tops,  twenty-one  tons,  four 
hundred  and  an  half  hundred,equal 
to  eight  hundred  and  forty-nine 
bushels  of  fifty-six  pounds  each, 
raised  on  one  acre  of  land. 

The  same  year  Ezekiel  Hersy 
Derby,  Esq.  of  Salem,  Mass.  rais- 
ed on  three  quarters  of  an  acre  of 
ground  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels  of  carrots,  exclusive  of 
their  tops,  which  were  estimated 
by  competent  judges,  to  weigh  five 
tons. 

CART,  a  wheel  carriage,  of  es- 
sential importance  to  the  farmer,to 
carry  his  manures,  remove  stuff  for 
fences,  get  in  his  crops,  Sic.  Horse 
carts  are  sometimes  used  ;  but  ox 
carts  generally.  Of  the  latter  some 
are  short,  some  long.  The  short 
9 


cart  is  eight  feet  long,  four  feet 
wide,  and  two  feet  high.  The  long 
cart  is  used  for  carting  hay,  straw, 
and  other  bulky  matters  ;  there- 
fore it  is  made  from  ten  to  twelve 
feet,  or  more,  in  length,  four  feet 
in  breadth  ;  and  instead  of  sides,  it 
has  only  long,  sharp  pointed  stakes. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  they 
lengthen  out  a  short  cart,  with 
what  are  called  ladders,  when  they 
cart  hay.  But  this  is  not  a  good 
practice.  The  load  lies  higher  than 
in  a  long  cart,  and  is  more  liable  to 
be  overset. 

The  greatest  excellencies  of  a 
cart,  are  lightness,  strength,  and 
durableness.  Therefore,  it  is  very 
proper  to  construct  carts  of  ash 
timber.  But  as  white  oak  is  not 
so  apt  to  decay,  the  principal  parts 
are  commonly  made  of  that.  A 
cart  should  be  kept  under  shelter 
when  it  is  not  in  use.  It  will  last 
the  longer. 

The  axle  and  wheels,  should  be 
of  the  toughest  of  oak.  Wheels  to 
be  used  on  a  farm  only,  need  not 
be  shod  with  iron.  A  wooden  rim, 
well  made,  will  last  several  years, 
and  is  easily  renewed,  and  it  will 
do  less  injury  to  the  grass  grounds 
in  passing  over  them.  The  softer 
the  soil  is,  the  wider  the  rim  of  a 
wheel  should  be.  Some  have  the 
rims  a  foot  wide,  to  cart  upo!i 
marshes. 

A  great  improvement  has  re- 
cently been  introduced  in  hay 
carts,  which  consists  of  a  floor, 
longer  than  the  old  cart  bodies, 
with  perpendicular  posts,  or  slats 
connected  together  at  the  top  by 
a  light  frame,  and  so  high  as  to 
contain  as  much  hay  as  the  cattle 


Q6 


C  A  T 


CAT 


will  draw.  This  saves  much  la- 
bour in  packing  the  hay — requires 
no  ladders — and  no  ropes  ;  and  a 
load  is  pitched  in  and  prepared  for 
removal  in  much  less  time.  The 
frame  is  laid  upon  the  axle-trees, 
and  secured  to  them  by  the  same: 
pins  or  fastening  which  confine  the 
ordinary  cart  or  waggon  body.  It 
is  easily  changed  when  occasion 
may  require.  It  is  also  well  cal- 
culated for  the  removal  of  brush, 
or  any  other  light  article. 

CATERPILLAR,  a  worm  that 
feeds  on  leaves  and  fruits.  These 
insects  differ  in  colour  and  size  ac- 
cording to  their  situation,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  different  matters  on 
which  they  feed.  The  principal 
inconvenience  the  farmer  meets 
with  from  caterpillars,  is  the  dam- 
age they  do  to  his  orchard.  A 
hairy  kind  of  caterpillars  build 
their  nests  on  apple  trees  in  May, 
and  are  gone  entirely  in  June,about 
the  summer  solstice.  But  they 
feed  so  industriously  on  the  leaves, 
as  to  destroy  a  great  part  of  them, 
if  they  be  not  timely  prevented. — 
As  they  are  far  less  mischievous 
than  the  canker  worm,  so  they  are 
more  easily  subdued.  Some  de- 
stroy them  by  firing  gun-powder  at 
their  nests.  The  same  may  be  ef- 
fected with  a  match  of  brimstone 
on  the  end  of  a  pole. 

Nests  which  have  been  neglect- 
ed till  the  insects  have  forsaken 
them  should  be  destroyed.  A  nest 
will  be  found  to  contain  several  of 
the  insects  in  a  chrysalis  state. 

The  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,in 
a  letter  to  the  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 


cultural Society,  has  recommended 
an  instrument,  which  be  has  found 
simple  and  more  convenient  than 
any  he  had  used  for  the  destruction 
of  caterpillars.  It  is  made  by  in- 
serting some  hog's  bristles  between 
a  twisted  wire,  in  such  manner  as 
to  form  a  cylindrical  brush,  which 
will  present  bristles  on  every  side. 
This  is  attached  to  a  pole  of  such 
length  as  the  trees  may  require,and 
the  caterpillars  are  brought  down 
by  it,  and  then  crushed. 

It  is  affirmed  that  caterpillars, 
and  other  insects,  which  infest  our 
fruit  trees  may  be  destroyed  by 
casting  over  the  tree  a  few  hand- 
fuls  of  ashes,  in  the  morning  before 
the  dew  is  dissipated  from  the  foil- 
age,  or  after  a  shower  of  rain. — 
The  former  the  preferable  time. 

A  strong  white-wash  of  fresh 
stone  lime,  applied  by  the  means 
of  a  mop,  or  sponge,  fixed  to  the 
end  of  a  pole,  has  by  some  been  re- 
commended. Spirits  of  turpentine, 
or  a  little  oil  of  any  kind,  particu- 
larly blubber  oil,  are  likewise  fatal 
to  these  insects.  But,  perhaps,the 
most  effectual  remedy  is  the  handy 
by  which  the  nests  may  easily  be 
removed  at  an  early  stage,  but  if 
this  be  neglected,  it  is  thought  that 
the  next  best  remedy  is  that  men- 
tioned above,  communicated  by 
Col.  Pickering,  an  excellent  prac- 
tical as  well  as  scientific  farmer. — 
In  applying  either  of  these  reme- 
dies care  must  be  taken  to  choose 
that  part  of  the  day,  when  the  ca- 
terpillars are  in  the  nests.  They 
rarely  quit  it  till  9  o'clock,  and  gen- 
erally return  to  it  again  about  12. 

It  is  said  that  caterpillars  will 


CAT 


CAT 


take  shelter  under  woollen  rags, 
placed  near  their  haunts, from  which 
they  may  be  taken  and  destroyed. 

CATTLE,  a  name  applied  to  all 
quadrupeds,  which  are  used  for  til- 
ling of  ground,  and  for  the  food  of 
man.  But  under  this  article  we 
shall  confine  ourselves  to  animals 
of  the  ox  kind,  to  which  the  word 
is  most  usually  applied. 

As  soon  as  a  calf  is  weaned,  it 
should  either  be  permitted  to  run 
in  the  best  pasture,  or  confined  in 
the  barn,  and  fed  by  hand,  and  be 
carefully  tended,  kept  warm,  and 
live  upon  the  bestoffodder,through 
the  first  winter.  Afterwards  it  will 
become  so  hardy  as  to  require  less 
care.  But  cattle  should  be  fre- 
quently looked  to  and  examined  ; 
that  so,  if  they  be  overtaken  with 
any  sickness,  hurt,  or  lameness, 
suitable  remedies  may  be  seasona- 
bly applied.  And  in  order  to  do 
this,  they  should  be  accustomed  to 
come  home,  and  be  shut  up  in  the 
yard  every  night.  By  this  meth- 
od, a  farmer  will  save  a  much  larg- 
er quantity  of  dung.  And,  in  case 
of  an  uncommonly  cold  storm,  the 
cattle  may  be  housed  with  very  lit- 
tle trouble,  as  the  yard  is  contigu- 
ous to  their  house. 

Cattle,  from  one  year  old  to 
three,  will  usually  get  a  living  in 
summer,  and  even  thrive,  upon  the 
commons,  or  in  the  meanest,  and 
most  bushy  pastures.  And  in  win- 
ter the  poorest  fodder  will  keep 
them  alive.  And,  as  our  farmers 
know  these  things,  they  are  very 
apt  to  treat  their  young  cattle  in 
this  manner.  Those  which  are  so 
treated,  may  oftentimes  become  as 
hardy  cattle  as  any  ;  but  they  will 


be  small,  and  therefore  not  so  pro- 
fitable. Farmers  in  general  are 
too  ambitious  to  keep  a  large  stock 
of  cattle  :  A  necessary  consequence 
of  which  is,  that  they  are  pinched 
in  their  food,  and  never  come  to 
their  full  growth.  Another  ill  con- 
sequence is,  their  growing  unruly 
and  mischievous  through  hunger, 
learning  to  leap  over  fences,  or 
break  through  them. 

It  would  certainly  be  more  con- 
ducive to  the  interest  of  farmers, to 
keep  smaller  stocks  of  cattle  than 
they  do  :  For  then  they  would  be 
able  to  feed  them  to  the  full. — 
Their  oxen  would  be  much  larger 
and  stronger  than  they  are,  and 
their  cows  would  give  plenty  of 
milk,  and  bring  larger  calves :  Not 
to  say  how  much  they  would  save 
in  taxes,  by  reducing  their  number 
of  rateable  cattle. 

Farmers  should  allow  their  young 
stock  the  best  of  pasture.  This 
would  keep  them  out  of  mischief, 
prevent  their  learning  bad  tricks, 
and  prevent  many  ill  accidents 
which  befal  them.  And  it  would 
be  no  small  advantage  always  to 
know  where  to  find  them.  But, 
in  the  common  method  of  treating 
them,  it  is  too  common  a  case  for 
them  to  straggle  so  far  from  home, 
that  the  ownerentirely  loses  them  ; 
or  else  spends  as  much  time  as  they 
are  worth  in  seeking  after  them. 

If  a  young  stock  were  well  fed 
at  all  seasons,  the  heifers  would 
commonly  have  calves  at  two  years 
old,  which  is  no  small  advantage, 
and  steers  would  be  tit  for  labour 
earlier  in  proportion.  And  when 
they  come  to  be  killed  off,  the 
quantity    of    beef   would     make 


68 


CAT 


CAT 


amends  for  their  being  so  fed  as  to 
be  well  grown.  If  the  farmer's 
view  in  increasing  his  stock,  be  to 
make  as  much  dung  as  possible,  he 
should  be  reminded  of  what  he 
ought  to  know  already,  that  the 
dung  of  a  small  stock  will  be  equal 
to  that  of  a  large  one,  if  it  consume 
the  same  quantity  of  fodder.  If  a 
farmer  make  this  objection  to  pas- 
turing his  young  flock,  that  his 
farm  is  not  large  enough  to  admit 
of  it ;  he  may  fnid  an  answer,  by 
turning  to  the  article,  Moviing 
Grounds,  where  diminishing  their 
number  of  acres, and  increasing  that 
of  pasture  ground,  is  recommend- 
ed, and  sufficient  reasons  assigned. 

In  the  winter,  cattle  should  be 
housed,  to  defend  them  from  the 
inclemenciesof  the  weather.  For 
though  nature  furnishes  them  with 
a  thicker  covering  of  hair  in  win- 
ter than  in  summer,  the  ditference 
is  not  near  so  great  as  that  of  the 
weather  in  this  climate.  Working 
oxen,  and  milch  cows,  will  suiVer 
more  than  the  rest  by  lying  abroad. 
If  the  farmer  cannot  conveniently 
house  all  his  cattle,  those  should  be 
left  out  which  are  between  the  age 
of  one  and  three  years.  And  those 
that  lie  out  should  have  a  shed, 
open  only  to  the  south  and  west,  to 
shelter  themselves  under  in  stormy 
weather. 

The  injuries  which  cattle  re- 
ceive from  one  another,  when  they 
arc  lodged  together  in  a  yard,  is 
an  additional  reason  for  tying  them 
up  in  the  barn.  To  which  it  may 
be  added,  that  a  great  part  of  the 
fodder  given  them  is  wasted,  even 
when  it  is  given  them  in  racks  ; 
^puch  more,  when  it  is  thrown  up- 


on the  ground.  They  trample  it 
mto  the  dung  with  their  feet, which 
is  no  inconsiderable  loss. 

Cattle  will  bear  to  be  cold  much 
better  than  to  be  wet.  If  fhey  be 
left  out  in  cold  storms  of  rain,  it 
pinches  them  exceedinjilv  ;  so  that 
they  will  not  look  so  well  agam  for 
several  days  after  it.  The  sides  of 
the  house  where  they  are  lodged, 
need  not  be  very  tight.  It  nught 
be  apt  to  make  them  too  tender. 
It  will  certainly  abate  ihe  freshiiess 
of  the  air  they  breathe  in, and  hurt 
the  agreeable  flavour  of  their  fod- 
der. But  the  covering  of  their 
house  should  be  perfectly  tight. — 
No  window  should  be  open, through 
which  snow  or  rain  may  drive  in 
upon  them.  The  floor  they  lie 
on  should  have  a  gentle  descent 
backward,  that  they  may  be  wet- 
ted as  little  as  possible  by  their 
stale  ;  and  they  should  always  have 
straw  or  litter  under  them,  not  on- 
ly to  soften  their  lodging,  but  to 
lay  them  the  more  warm  and  dry, 
and  absorb  the  wetness.  The  bet- 
ter they  are  littered,  the  more  ma- 
nure will  the  owner  make  for  his 
farm.  This  is  an  object  of  high 
importance. 

it  would  be  a  good  method  for 
cattle  that  are  tied  up,  to  fodder 
them  in  racks.  They  would  not 
be  so  apt  to  rob  one  another  ;  nor 
to  get  their  fodder  under  their  teet] 
nor  to  render  it  unpalatable  by 
their  breathing  upon  it. 

Where  salt  hay  can  be  had,  cat- 
tle should  now  and  then  be  treated 
with  a  little  of  it.  It  will  so  in- 
crease their  appetite,  that  they  will 
eat  poor  meadow  hay,  and  straw 
with  it.  or  after  it.     But  farmers, 


CAT 


CAT 


69 


who  are  far  from  the  sea,  and  not 
furnished  with  salt  hay,  should  now 
and  then  sprinkle  some  of  their 
meanest  fodder  with  salt  dissolved 
in  water,  which  will  answer  the 
same  valuable  purpose.  And  at 
no  season  of  the  year  should  cattle 
be  kept,  for  any  long  time, without 
salt.  They  are  greedy  after  it, 
and  it  conduces  to  keep  them  in 
health. 

As  to  summer  feeding,  it  is  not 
fit  that  a  whole  stock  go  promiscu- 
ously in  the  same  pasture.  Some 
would  be  overmuch  fed,  and  some 
not  enough.  A  farmer's  pasture 
grounds  should  be  made  into  a 
number  of  separate  inclosures  ;  the 
greater  the  number  the  better. — 
Milch  kine  and  cattle  fattening  for 
slaughter  should  have  the  first  of 
the  feed  in  each  inclosure  ;  then 
working  oxen  ;  afterwards,  young 
stock,  horses  and  sheep.  When 
each  kind  have  had  their  turn,  for 
two  or  three  days,  or  perhaps  a 
week,  the  apartment  may  be  shut 
up,  till  it  be  sufficiently  grown  for 
the  milch  cows.  By  such  a  rota- 
tion much  may  be  saved  ;  but  lit- 
tle of  the  grass  will  be  wasted  by 
trampling  ;  and  what  one  sort 
leaves  another  will  eat  ;  so  that 
none  of  the  grass  will  be  lost. 

Oxen  should  not  live  to  be  more 
than  eight  years  old,  nor  cows 
more  than  ten  or  eleven.  When 
they  are  kept  longer,  they  do  not 
fatten  so  easily  ;  and  the  beef  is 
not  so  good.  Cattle  to  be  fiitten- 
ed  should  have  the  best  of  pasture 
during  the  whole  grass  season,  or 
they  will  not  be  fat  so  early  as  De- 
cember ;  and  they  should  lose  a 
little  blood,    when    they  are  first 


turned  to  grass.  In  autumn,  when 
grass  grows  short,  or  is  corrupted 
by  frosts,  their  fattening  should  be 
promoted  by  feeding  them  morn- 
ing and  evening  with  the  stalks  of 
Indian  corn,  punjpions,  potatoes.or 
carrots  ;  and  especially  with  ears 
of  corn,  if  the  owner  chp  aflford  it. 
Indian  meal  is  supposed  to  be  still 
better  to  complete  their  fattening. 
Oil  cakes  from  the  linseed  mills  are 
much  recommended  in  English 
books,  as  conducing  to  the  speedy 
fattening  of  cattle.     See  Slock. 

The  Philadelphia  edition  of  the 
Domestic  Encyclopaedia  observes, 
that  feeding  cattle  with  turnips 
does  not  succeed  so  well  in  the 
United  States  as  in  Great  Britain, 
and  mentions  an  unsuccessful  ex- 
periment, which  resulted  in  that 
conclusion.  It  is  possible  that  the 
want  of  a  proper  mixture  of  dry 
food,  such  as  hay  or  straw,  might 
be  the  cause  of  the  failure. 

Cattle  are  apt  to  be  hoven  or 
swollen  in  consequence  of  having 
eaten  too  much  green  succulent 
food.  The  common  remedy  for 
this  disorder  has  been  to  stab  the 
infected  animal  with  a  pen-knife  or 
other  sharp  instrument,  under  the 
short  ribs,  and  put  into  the  orifice 
a  tube  of  ivory,  elder,  a  quill,  or 
something  of  the  kind,  to  g\\'e  vent 
to  the  confined  air.  The  wound 
is  then  dressed  with  some  sort  of 
adhesive  plaster,  and  thus,  in  gen- 
eral the  cure  is  easily  effected. — 
This,  however,  is  a  rough  and  dan- 
gerous remedy,  and  we  therefore 
give  place  to  others  more  safe  and 
gentle. 

The  33d  volume  of  the  Annals 
of  Agriculture  announces  the  fol- 


70 


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lowing  recipe  for  hoven  cattle, 
which  it  assures  us  will  effect  a  cure 
for  hoven  cattle,  in  the  most  des- 
perate cases  in  half  an  hour.  Take 
three  quarters  of  a  pint  of  olive  oil ; 
one  pint  of  melted  butter,  or  hog's 
lard  ;  give  this  mixture  by  means 
of  a  horn  or  bottle,  and  if  it  does 
not  produce  a  favourable  change 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  repeat  the 
same  quantity,  and  walk  the  ani- 
mal gently  about.  For  sheep,  at- 
tacked with  this  malady  the  dose  is 
from  a  wine-glass  and  an  half  to 
two  glasses. 

Besides  these  remedies,  flexible 
tubes,  and  canes,  with  knobs  at 
their  ends,  have  been  used  to  force 
a  passage  from  the  mouth  to  the 
stomach,  to  let  the  confined  air  es- 
cape upwards  from  the  trunk  of  the 
animal  affected.  Descriptions  of 
these  instruments  may  be  seen  in 
the  second  American  edition  of  the 
Domestic  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  l.p. 
409,  410.  The  following  simple 
remedy  we  have  been  assured  is 
effectual.  Make  about  a  pint  of 
lie  either  with  hot  embers  thrown 
into  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water, 
or  by  dissolving  therein  about  an 
ounce  of  pot  or  pearl  ash,  and  turn 
it  down  the  throat  of  the  ox  or  cow 
affected.  A  proportionably  less 
quantity  will  answer  for  a  sheep. 
This  is  said  to  give  immediate  re- 
lief by  neutralizing  the  carbonic 
acid  gas  in  the  stomach  of  the 
creature,  which  causes  the  swel- 
ling, and  other  symptoms  of  the 
complaint  to  subside. 

"  When  oxen  are  long  and  hard- 
ly driven,  in  muddy  roads,  particu- 
larly where  the  soi!  is  calcareous, 
they  are  liable  to  a  soreness  be- 


tween the  claws.  This  will  make 
the  beast  lame,  and,  when  discov- 
ered, the  part  should  be  cleansed, 
and  healed  with  some  proper  oint- 
ment. Sometimes  from  inattention 
to  this,  the  part  becomes  horny  ; 
in  this  case  the  hard  parts  must  be 
cut  away,  and  the  wounded  flesh 
cured. 

"  A  general  indication  of  health 
in  neatcattle  is  a  moist  or  wet  nose, 
and  when  this  is  found  dry  it  is  a 
certain  symptom  of  disease  of  some 
kinder  other."  Farmer'' s  Assistant. 

Hoof  Ail,  or  Hoof  Distemper.  A 
writer  for  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural  Repository  gives  some  ac- 
count of  this  disorder,  vol.  4,  p. 
339,  from  which  we  extract  the 
following  : — 

"  Symptoms.  When  an  animal 
is  at  all  lame,  its  foot  should  be 
carefully  felt.  The  first  indication 
is  usually  an  uncommon  degree  of 
warmth,  and  a  soft  and  puffed  feel 
of  the  parts  immediately  connected 
with  the  slit  between  the  hoof,  ei- 
ther before  or  behind  the  foot  and 
generallyjust  above  it.  If  in  the 
hind  foot,  and  not  easily  handled, 
a  fullness  may  generally  be  per- 
ceived, by  standing  behind  the  ani- 
mal and  carefully  comparing  the 
appearance  of  the  two  feet,  be- 
tween the  dew  claws  and  the  hoofs 
(for  it  very  rarely  commences  its 
attack  in  more  than  one  foot.)  In 
the  fore  foot  it  generally  swells  for- 
ward ;  and  in  taking  up  the  foot, 
the  slit  between  the  hoofs  will  have 
an  appearance  of  dryness,  easily 
distinguishable  to  a  person  used  to 
cattle  ;  and  the  animal  frequently 
licks  the  front  part  of  the  foot.  In- 
stances often  occur  of  sudden  and 


CAT 


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71 


extreme  lameness,  without  any  ap- 
pearance of  heat  or  sweUing  in  the 
foot ;  and  these  are  often  the  worst 
cases  ;  but  one  symptom  rarely 
fails  to  accompany  the  disease, 
which  is  extreme  restlessness  and 
appearance  of  anguish,  attended 
with  loss  of  appetite  and  flesh  ;  but 
without  in  the  least  aflfecting  the 
brightness  of  the  eye,  and,  per- 
haps, sometimes,  unnaturally  in- 
creasing it  ;  but  the  eye  has  a  pe- 
culiar cast.  As  a  general  rule  it  is 
safest  to  attribute  all  lameness  o  i 
the  foot,  which  cannot  be  traced  to 
a  sufficient  cause,  to  the  hoof  ail. 
Lameness  of  the  foot  can  generally 
be  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
leg,  hip  or  shoulder,  by  making 
the  animal  step  over  a  stick  or 
rail,  and  carefully  watching  its 
motions. 

"  Remedies.  The  foot  should 
be  carefully  washed  and  cleansed, 
and  thoroughly  examined,  to  be 
sure  that  the  lameness  does  not 
arise  from  a  nail  casually  run  into 
the  foot,  or  a  prick  in  shoeing,  or 
from  a  wound  from  a  stump  or  oth- 
er substance  between  the  hoofs  (a 
case  frequently  occurring.)  If  no 
appearance  occurs  of  any  break  in 
the  skin,  while  the  foot  is  still  wet, 
apply,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  to  the 
centre  of  the  slit,  between  the 
hoofs  from  one  to  three  grains  of 
corrosive  sublimate  (reduced  to  a 
fine  powder)  the  dose  to  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  size  of  the  animal 
and  the  violence  of  the  attack. — 
Care  must  be  used  that  the  pow- 
der is  put  completely  in  this  slit,  for 
it  is  a  very  strong  poison,  and  the 
animal,  as  soon  as  at  liberty,  will  ! 
begin  to  lick  the  foot,  if  a  sore  one.  j 


The  moisture  left  by  the  washing, 
makes  the  powder  adhere  ;  and 
the  etTect  is  produced  in  a  very 
short  time.  Some  prefer  mixing, 
the  powder  with  hog's  lard,  which 
answers  ;  but  is  thought  less  pow- 
erful :  it  has  one  advantage,  how- 
ever, as  being  less  dangerous  to 
keep  in  a  house  (for  no  one  takes 
salve  inwardly.)  Where  corrosive 
sublimate  cannot  be  obtained,  any 
other  violent  stimulant  may  be  ap- 
plied. Common  salt  is  often  ef- 
fectual in  very  slight  attacks  ;  but 
it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  ta 
lose  no  time.  The  application  is 
to  be  repeated  every  twenty-four 
hours,  till  a  cure  is  effected,  or  till 
the  foot  shews  unequivocal  signs  of 
a  gathering  which  will  break." 

We  shall  add  to  this  article  a  (ew 
brief  sketches,  descriptive  of  some 
of  the  most  famous  Breeds,  known 
in  Great  Britain, where  great  pains 
have  been  taken  to  improve  the 
different  races  of  this  valuable  ani- 
mal. 

1.  The  Short-horned,  some- 
times called  the  Dutch  breed.  The 
different  families  of  this  race  are 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  the 
Holderncss,  the  Teeswater,  the 
Yorkshire,  Durham,  Korlhumher- 
land,  and  other  breeds.  The  Tees- 
water  breed  from  the  head  of  the 
vale  of  York,  and  the  banks  of  the 
Tees  is  in  the  highest  estimation. 
The  bone,  head,  and  neck  of  these 
cattle  are  fine,  the  hide  very  thin, 
the  chine  full,  the  loin  broad,  and 
the  carcase  throughout  laige,  and 
well  fashioned  ;  and  the  flush  and 
fatting  quality  equal,  or  perhaps 
superior  to  those  of  any  other  large 
breed.     The  cows  give  a  greater 


72 


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quantity  of  milk  than  any  other 
cattle,  each  yielding  24  quarts  a 
day,  and  three  firkins  of  butter  in 
the  grass  season.  Their  colours 
are  varied,  generally  red  and  white 
mixed.  A  bull  of  this  species  was 
imported  in  1 8 1 7,  by  Stephen  Wil- 
liams, Esq.  of  Northborough,Mass. 
received  from  his  brother,  Charles 
Williams,  Esq.  of  London,  and  is 
said  to  have  cost  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, besides  expenses  of  transpor- 
tation. 

2.  The  Long-horned,  or  Lan- 
cashire Breed.  Distinguished  for 
the  length  of  their  horns,  the  thick- 
ness, and  firm  texture  of  their 
hides,  the  length  and  closeness  of 
their  hair,  the  large  size  of  their 
hoofs,  and  coarse  leathery  thick 
necks.  Deeper  in  their  fore-quar- 
ters, and  lighter  in  their  hind 
quarters  than  most  other  breeds. 
They  give  less  milk,  but  of  richer 
quality  than  some  others.  Their 
colours  are  various  ;  but  they  have 
in.  general  a  white  streak  along 
their  backs,  and  mostly  a  white  spot 
on  the  inside  of  the  hoof.  The 
improved  breed  of  Leicestershire 
was  commenced  by  Mr.  Webster, 
and  afterwards  farther  improved 
by  Mr.  Bakewell,  of  Dishley. 

3.  The  Middle-horned  breeds 
comprehend  several  local  varie- 
ties, of  which  the  most  noted  are 
the  Devons,  the  .Sussexes,  and  the 
Herefords.  These  cattle  are  the 
most  esteemed  of  all  the  English 
breeds.  The  Devons,  or  Devon- 
shire cattle  are  of  a  high  red  co- 
lour (if  any  white  spots,  they  reck- 
on the  breed  impure,  particularly 
if  those  spots  run  into  one  another,) 
with    a  light-dun    ring  round  the 


eye,  and  the  muzzle  of  the  same 
colour  ;  fine  in  the  bone,  clean  in 
the  neck,  horns  of  a  medium 
length  bent  upwards,  thin  faced 
and  fine  in  the  chops,  wide  in  the 
hips,  a  tolerable  barrel,  but  rather 
flat  on  the  sides  ;  tail  small  and 
set  on  very  high  ;  they  are  thin 
skinned,  and  silky  in  handliag,  feed 
at  ah  early  age,  or  arrive  at  matu- 
rity sooner  than  most  other 
breeds."  {Culley  on  Live  Stock, 
p.  51.)  Oxen  of  this  breed  are 
most  proper  for  the  yoke.  It  is 
said  that  the  common  cattle  of  this 
country  most  nearly  resemble  this 
breed. 

4.  The  Sussex,  and  Hereford- 
shire cattle  are  of  a  deep  red  co- 
lour, with  fine  hair,  and  very  thin 
hides  ;  neck  and  head  clean  ;  horns 
neither  long  nor  short ;  rather 
turning  up  at  the  points  ;  well 
made  in  the  hind  quarters,  wide 
across  the  hips,  rump  and  sirloin, 
but  narrow  in  the  chine,  tolerably 
straight  along  the  back  ;  ribs  too 
flat ;  thin  in  the  thigh  ;  and  bone 
not  large.  They  are  next  in  size 
to  the  Yorkshire  short  horns,  and 
are  very  useful  as  dairy  stock. 

5.  The  Polled  or  hornless  breeds. 
The  most  numerous  and  esteemed 
variety  is  the  Galloway  breed,  so 
called  from  the  province  of  that 
name.  The  true  Galloway  bul- 
lock "  is  straight  and  broad  on  the 
back,  and  nearly  level  from  the 
head  to  the  rump  ;  broad  at  the 
loins,  not,  however,  with  hooked 
bones,  or  projecting  knobs,  so  that 
when  viewed  from  above,  the 
whole  body  appears  beautifully 
rounded,  like  the  the  longitudinal 
section  of  a  roller.     He  is  long  in 


CAT 


CH  A 


73 


the  quarters,  but  not  broad  in  the 
twist.  He  is  deep  in  the  chest,short 
in  the  leg,  and  moderately  fine  in 
the  bone,  clean  in  the  chop  and  in 
the  neck.  His  head  is  of  a  mod- 
erate size,  with  large  rough  ears, 
and  full,  but  not  prominent  eyes  or 
heavy  eye-brows.  His  well  pro- 
portioned form  is  clothed  with  a 
loose  and  mellow  skin  adorned 
with  soft  glossy  hair.  The  pre- 
vailing colour  is  black  or  dark- 
brindled,  and  though  they  are  oc- 
casionally found  of  every  colour, 
the  dark  colours  are  uniformly  pre- 
ferred, from  a  belief  that  they  are 
connected  with  superior  hardiness 
of  constitution.  The  Galloways 
are  rather  under-sized,  not  very 
different  from  the  size  of  the  De- 
vons,  but  as  much  less  than  the 
long-horns,  as  the  long-horns  are 
less  than  the  short-horns, 

6.  Argyleshire  breed,  or  Kyloes. 
A  bull  of  the  Kyloe  breed  should 
be  of  a  middle  size,  black,  dark,  or 
reddish  brown,  without  any  white 
or  yellow  spots.  His  head  should 
be  rather  small,  his  muzzle  fine,  his 
horns  equable,  not  very  thick,  of  a 
clear  green  and  waxy  tinge  ;  his 
general  appearance  should  com- 
bine agility,  vivacity  and  strength  ; 
and  his  hair  should  be  glossy,  thick 
and  vigorous,  indicating  a  sound 
constitution,  and  perfect  health." 
Bulls  of  this  description  have  been 
valued  at  upwards  of  200  guineas. 

For  a  further  description  of  the 
most  noted  English  breeds  of  cat- 
tle, see  The  Complete  Grazier ; 
Supplement  to  the  third  edition  of 
The  Encycloptedia  Britannica. 
Art.  Agriculture,  and  the  Farmer's 
Cyclopedia. 

10 


CHAFF  for  FEEDING  HOR- 
SES.  Mr.  Thomas  Williamson 
in  a  communication  to  the  Bath 
Society  on  the  use  of  chaff,  or  cut 
hay  for  feeding  horses,  remarks, 
that  "one  hundred  weight  of  hay 
was  found  to  yield  20  bushels  of 
chaff  pressed  into  the  measure  and 
piled  as  high  as  it  could  safely  be 
carried  ;  consequently  each  bush- 
el weighed  about  5^  lbs.  It  was 
found  that  five  horses  would  eat 
twelve  bushels  of  chaff  in  24  hours, 
and  that  somewhat  more  than  half 
their  usual  quantity  of  food  was 
saved  by  having  it  cut." 

Mr.  Benjamin  Hale,  proprietor 
of  a  line  of  stages  running  between 
Newburyport  and  Boston,  has  giv- 
en a  statement,  published  in  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, vol.  10,  p.  400,  by  which  it 
appears  that  the  total  saving  in 
using  Hotchkiss's  Straw  Cutter 
nine  months,  viz.  at  Newburyport 
four  months,  and  at  Salem  five,  in 
the  years  1816—17  was  ^780.97. 

CHANGE  of  CROPS,  a  meth- 
od of  cultivating  different  sorts  of 
vegetables  in  succession,  on  the 
same  piece  of  ground,  with  a  view 
to  make  tillage  lands  more  profita- 
ble in  the  long  run  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  prevent  exhausting 
them  of  their  strength. 

Those  who  believe  that  the  food 
of  different  plants  is  different,  can- 
not but  look  on  the  changing  of 
crops  as  a  matter  of  essential  im- 
portance. For,  on  their  hypothe- 
sis, land  which  is  worn  out  with 
one  sort  of  vegetables,  may  be  in 
good  order  to  produce  a  large  crop 
of  another  sort.  But  there  are 
other  reasons  for  the  chanijing  of 


CH  A 


CH  A 


crops,  which  are  more  substantial, 
being  founded  in  undoubted  fact, 
and  proved  by  experience. 

Some  plants  are  known  to  im- 
poverish land  much  faster  than 
others  :  Such  as  Indian  corn,  flax, 
hemp,  &c.  And  it  would  not  be 
a  prudent  method  to  scourge  a 
piece  of  land,  with  such  crops,jear 
after  year,  till  its  strength  were  all 
exhausted.  For  it  has  been  justly 
observed,  that  it  is  easier  and 
cheaper  to  keep  land  in  heart, than 
to  restore  it  after  it  is  worn  out, — 
It  is  advisable,  therefore,  in  gen- 
eral, to  take  but  one  crop  of  flax 
from  a  piece  of  land  ;  and  not  more 
than  two  of  Indian  corn,  in  succes- 
sion ;  nor  indeed  more  than  one, 
unless  abundance  of  manure  be 
applied. 

Again,  some  plants  take  the 
principal  part  of  their  nourishment 
near  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and 
others  draw  it  from  a  greater 
depth  :  And  a  regard  must  be  had 
to  this  in  choosing  a  rotation  of 
crops.  For  it  will  be  found  that 
after  land  has  been  much  worn  by 
plants,  the  roots  of  which  chiefly 
consist  of  either  long  or  short  later- 
al fibres,  it  will  be  in  good  order 
to  produce  plants  which  are  tap 
rooted.  Clover,  for  instance,  will 
grow  rank  and  good,  on  a  spot 
v^hich  will  not  answer  for  wheat, 
barley,  or  oats.  The  clover  will 
draw  its  principal  nourishment  from 
those  parts  of  the  soil,  to  which  the 
roots  of  preceding  crops  have  not 
reached.  And  if  grounds  have  been 
dunged  for  several  years,  the  nutri- 
tive particles  of  the  dung  may  have 
penetrated  deeper  into  the  soil 
than  any  roots  have  reached.     In 


a  loose  sandy  soil,  used  for  grain, 
this  will  often  be  the  case  :  So 
that  part  of  the  manure  laid  on  it 
will  be  entirely  lost,  unless  a  crop 
of  tap  rooted  plants  should  over- 
take it  in  its  descent. 

Preventing  the  prevalence  of 
weeds  is  another  good  reason  for 
the  changing  of  crops.  AVeeds 
will  so  increase,  especially  in  old 
farms,  as  almost  to  spoil  a  crop, 
unless  a  hoed  crop  intervene  to 
check  them  once  in  two  or  three 
years.  And  a  green  hoed  crop  helps 
to  prepare  land  for  producing  other 
crops,  by  enriching  it.  The  weeds, 
which  are  several  times  cut  to  pie- 
ces, and  hoed  into  the  soil,  during 
a  summer,  answer  much  the  same 
end  as  green  dressings  :  And  by 
keeping  the  soil  loose, the  enriching 
particles  floating  in  the  atmosphere, 
are  plentifully  imbibed.  See  Ro- 
tation  of  Crops. 

Also,  a  change  of  crops,  judi- 
ciously managed,  supersedes  the 
necessity  of  fallowing,  which  is  no 
small  advantage.  Instead  of  an 
expensive  resting  of  the  soil,during 
a  year  of  fallow,  land  may  yield  an 
unintermitting  profit  to  the  owner. 
Wheat  land,  for  instance,  may  be 
recruited,  and  cleared  of  its  weeds, 
by  a  crop  of  beans,  or  potatoes,  as 
effectually  as  by  fallowing.  If 
such  a  crop  only  pay  the  cost  of 
culture,  it  may  be  considered  as 
gain. 

What  particular  routine  of  crops 
is  best,  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
Green  and  white  crops,  alternate- 
ly, are  in  general  recommended. 
I  suppose  one  course  may  be  best 
in  one  county,  and  another  in  an- 
other.    In  the  county  of  Bristol. 


CH  A 


CH  A 


75 


Massachusetts,  it  is  called  good 
husbandry,  to  plant  Indian  corn 
the  first  jear  after  ground  is 
broken  up  ;  to  sow  rye,  wheat, 
oats,  or  barley,  the  second  year  ; 
and  lay  it  down  with  clover.  Af- 
ter two  or  three  crops  of  clover  are 
taken  off,  the  land  is  broken  up 
again,  and  managed  as  before. 

But  in  the  counties  of  Cum- 
berland and  Lincoln,  in  Maine, 
this  course  would  not  answer  so 
well.  Indian  corn  is  not  found 
to  be  the  most  beneficial  crop 
for  the  first  year,  in  this  climate. 
It  will  be  backward,  and  in  dan- 
ger of  not  ripening  well,  un- 
less it  be  on  a  sandy  spot,  with,  a 
southern  exposure.  And  when  land 
is  broken  up,  it  will  not  be  subdu- 
ed enough  to  lay  down  for  grass  so 
soon  as  the  third  year,  on  account 
of  the  toughness  of  the  sward. — 
But  when  laid  down,  it  may  lie  six 
or  seven  years  before  it  will  need 
breaking  up  again  ;  for  the  lands 
are  so  natural  to  grass,  that  the 
crops  will  continue  to  be  good. 

An  eligible  course  of  crops  in 
these  northern  counties  may  be, 
pease,  oats,  or  potatoes,  the  first 
year;  Indian  corn,  much  dunged, 
the  second  ;  barley,  or  rye,  the 
third  ;  and  the  fourth,  herdsgrass 
and  clover  mixed,  and  so  on  to  the 
tenth.  As  the  clover  diminishes, 
the  herdsgrass  will  increase,  which 
is  a  more  valuable  grass  for  fod- 
der. But  every  judicious  farmer 
must  judge  for  himself  in  these 
matters.  Soils  differ  so  greatly, 
even  in  fields  which  lie  contiguous, 
that  the  course  of  crops  which  is 
suitable  for  one,  would  be  unsuita- 
ble for  another.     Change  of  crops 


is  no  new  doctrine  among  farmers. 

"  Repeated  observations  convin- 
ced the  Romans,  that  besides  the 
alternate  resting  of  the  land,  wheat 
may,  as  Pliny  observes,  be  sown 
after  lupines,  vetches,  beans,  or 
any  other  plant  which  has  the 
quality  of  fertilizing  and  enriching 
the  soil.  A  judicious  change  of 
crops  is  of  great  importance  in  the 
common  tillage  husbandry,  as  it 
enables  the  farmers  to  save  the  ex- 
pence  and  loss  of  a  crop,  in  the 
fallow  year  ;  and  to  conquer  his 
great  enemies,  the  weeds,  by  at- 
tacking them  at  diflferent  seasons 
of  the  year,  and  in  different  peri- 
ods of  their  growth  ;  especially 
when  the  intermediate  crops  are 
hoed,  as  those  of  pease  and  beans  ; 
fur  the  repeated  hoeings,  not  only 
destroy  the  weeds,  but  also  very 
much  enrich  the  land.  Tiie  benefit 
of  changing  crops  appears  to  arise 
from  these  circntnstances,  rather 
than  from  any  different  food  that 
the  several  crops  are  supposed  to 
extract  from  the  soil.''  Complete 
Farmer. 

CHANGE  OF  SEEDS.  One 
of  the  most  important,  and  still  un- 
settled questions  is,  whether  fre- 
quent and  regular  changes  of  seed, 
from  different  soils,  climates,  and 
fields, are  necessary,  or  at  least  im- 
portant for  the  attainment  of  good 
crops.  While  some  contend  that 
such,  changes  are  necessary,  and 
proceed  to  assign  certain  philoso- 
phical reasons,  which  are  much 
less  satisfactory  than  a  very  few 
examples  would  be  ;  others,  among 
whom  might  be  mentioned  the  de- 
servedly celebrated  Mr.  Cooper, 
of  New-Jersey,  maintain  that  no 


76 


C  H  A 


CHA 


such  changes  are  either  necessary 
or  expedient  ;  that  seed  may  not 
only  be  sown  in  the  sanje  iand  in- 
definitely as  to  time,  and  without 
any  deterioration  ot^the  quantity  or 
quality  of  the  crops,  but  that  they 
will  improve,  provided  a  careful 
selection  is  made  of  the  plants  re- 
served for  seed,  and  provided  the 
earliest  ripe,  and  fairest,  and  in  all 
particulars  the  best,  are  uniformly 
and  carefully  selected.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  both  these  parties  are  par- 
tially right.  It  is  possible  that  some 
plants  may  require  a  change  of 
soil  oftenerthan  others,  it  seems 
to  be  the  nearly  universal  opinion, 
founded  on  such  a  variety  of  facts, 
and  remarked  during  so  long  a  pe- 
riod, that  it  may  be  considered  set- 
tled, that  different  plants  require 
different  qualities  of  food  ;  that  the 
soil  may  become  exhausted  of  the 
particular  species  of  food  requisite 
for  one,  while  it  may  abound  in 
matter  suited  to  the  healthy  and 
vigorous  growth  of anotherdescrip- 
tion  of  plants.  The  yearly  course 
of  nature,  open  to  the  eyes  of  eve- 
ry intelligent  man,  proves  this. — 
Plant  after  plant  succeeds  sponta- 
neously, and  when  lands,  by  over- 
cropping, and  neglect,  refuse  to 
yield  any  vegetable,  useful  to  man 
or  animals,  they  will  still  enable 
noxious  or  useless  weeds  to  sustain 
themselves,and  when  all  others  are. 
gone,  the  mosses,  and  mushroom 
tribes  v.'ili  vigorously  flourish.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  a  change 
of  seeds  from  one  part  of  a  farm  to 
another,  may  be  useful ;  but  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  see  why  transplanta-  i 
tion  of  seeds  from  one  climate  to 
another  should  be  useful,  unless  \ 


the  climate  from  which  the  seeds 
were  obtained,  was  not  so  conge- 
nial to  them  as  the  one  to  which 
they  are  transferred.  Our  own 
cxperience,after  twenty  years  care- 
ful examination  and  enquiry,  leads 
us  to  believe  that  there  is  no  ad- 
vantage in  a  change  of  climate, but 
on  the  contrary  that  plants  resist 
such  changes,  and  sufibr  by  them. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  dif- 
ferent soils.  It  is  certainly  true, 
no  truth  is  more  settled,  than  that 
almost  every  plant  flourishes  better 
in  one  particular  species  of  soil  than 
in  any  other.  But  happily  they 
will  submit  to  great  changes,  and 
acquire  nev/  habits  ;  and  with  the 
aid  of  more,  and  judicious  observa- 
tion and  treatment  they  may  be 
made  to  flourish  very  well  in  a  soil 
not  naturally  adapted  to  them. — 
But  it  is  not  easy  to  see  any  ad- 
vantasie  in  seekincr  the  seeds  of  a 
vegetable  raised  in  an  uncongenial 
soil,  to  introduce  it  into  a  congeni- 
al one.  It  would  seem  to  be  wiser 
in  this  case  to  prefer  the  seeds 
grown  upon  soils  and  in  climates 
which  were  congenial  to  them. — 
On  the  other  hand,  if  we  were 
about  to  propagate  a  plant  in  a  soil 
and  climate  not  congenial  or  natu- 
ral to  it,  we  should  prefer  the  seed 
or  the  root,  which  had  been  long 
since  transplanted  into  the  uncon- 
genial soil  and  climate,  and  had  by 
slow  degrees  been  naturalized 
there.  For  example,  if  we  were 
to  attempt  to  grow  cotton  in  New- 
England,  we  should  take  the  seed 
from  the  utmost  northern  verge  of 
its  present  growth  rather  than  from 
Louisiana.  Sir  Joseph  Banks  has 
some    admirable    remarks  on  the 


CH  A 


CHA 


7T 


subject  of  acclimating  plants,  and 
shews  that  plants,  which  one  cen- 
tury since  were  treated  as  tender 
exotics  in  England,  now  openly 
brave  their  winter  frosts. 

On  the  whole,  as  a  practical  rule, 
we  should  say  that  Mr.  Cooper's  i? 
the  best  general  one  ;  and  that  is 
to  select  with  great  care,  the  besi 
part  of  your  own  seeds  and  root!: 
for  future  cuUivation.  This  rule  is 
within  the  power  of  every  fanner  to 
apply — but  in  an  extended  scale  it 
is  not  practicable  for  farmers  gen- 
erally to  change  their  seeds  either 
annually,  or  even  every  few  years. 
This  must  be  left  to  speculative 
and  more  opulent  cultivators,  and 
when  they  have  succeeded  after 
several  years  trial,  the  effects  of 
their  eflforts  will  be  felt  and  enjoy- 
ed throughout  the  whole  country. 
If  they  fail,  the  loss  is  their  own, 
and  they  are  able  to  sustain  it. — 
We  would,  however,  observe, from 
the  result  of  20  year's  experience, 
that  it  is  highly  inexpedient  to 
transplant  seeds  or  plants  from  a 
high  northern  to  a  southern  cli- 
mate, and  the  reverse.  The  pota 
toes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
and  even  of  Nova-Scotia,  do  not 
succeed  generally  with  us.  Some 
exceptions  may  be  made  to  the 
rule,  but  they  are  rare.  The  po- 
latoe, taken  from  the  south,  appears 
to  do  better  transplanted  to  the 
north.  The  River  Plate,  or  long 
potatoe,  has  done  admirably  well, 
though  the  fact  that  it  originally 
came  from  South  America  is  by  no 
means  settled  on  good  evidence. 
This  fact,  if  it  be  settled,  which 
we  believe  it  to  be,  that  the  po- 
tatoe is  not  improved   by  trans- 


plantation from  a  colder  and  more 
moist  climate  to  a  more  southern 
and  drier  one,  and  on  the  other 
hand  is  improved  by  transplanta- 
tion from  a  southern  one  to  a  more 
northern  climate,  may  be  account- 
ed for  from  the  fact,  that  its  natural 
indigenous  location,  the  one  in 
which  it  was  first  found,  and  has 
recently  been  discovered  in  a  na- 
tural state,  is  the  elevated  lands  of 
South  America,  at  the  foot  of  their 
highest  mountains,  and  but  little 
below  the  region  of  perpetual 
snows.  It  is  certain  that  the  pota- 
toe loves  moisture,  and  is  rapidly 
checked  by  extreme  heat  and 
drought. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Indian 
corn  will  not  bear  transplantation 
from  a  southern  to  a  northern  cli- 
mate. It  is  familiar  to  us  all,  that 
the  flat  corn  of  Carolina,  though  it 
will  grow  to  a  great  size  with  us, 
will  never  ripen  its  seed,  but  with 
great  precaution,  and  then  but  im- 
perfectly. The  flint  corn  of  Cuba 
will  not  even  form  its  ears  in  our 
climate.  The  same  remark  ap- 
plies to  wheat.  It  has  been  prov- 
ed by  experiments  so  numerous  as 
to  put  the  question  at  rest,  that 
wheat  from  southern  climates, 
though  it  will  grow  vigorously  at 
first,  will  not  come  to  perfection. 
The  only  exception  we  have  yet 
heard  of  is  that  of  the  wheat  of 
Leghorn  used  by  the  Italians  in 
the  manufacture  of  straw  bonnets. 
This  has  succeeded  in  one  or  two 
instances,  but  these  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  enable  us  to  pronounce  it 
to  be  an  exception  from  a  general 
rule. 
It  is  confidently  affirmed  that  flax- 


78 


CHA 


CHA 


seed  constitutes  an  exception,  and 
that  it  uniformly  is  improved  by 
change.  It  may  be  so  ;  it  is  im- 
portant that  this  should  be  tested 
by  frequent  trials — but  we  believe 
that  the  best  general  rule  is  to  se- 
lect our  best  seeds  and  roots,  or  to 
buy  them  of  our  successful  neigh- 
bours,rather  than  to  rely  on  foreign 
productions. 

CHARCOAL,  wood  charred,  or 
burnt  with  a  slow,  smothered  fire. 
The  making  of  charcoal  is  a  busi- 
ness mostly  performed  by  farmers. 
And  in  clearing  new  lands,  making 
their  wood  into  coals  is  better  than 
burning  it  to  waste,  unless  the  dis- 
tance of  a  market  for  coals  be  too 
great.  One  cord  of  wood  will 
make  forty  bushels  of  coals  :  And 
those  farmers  who  are  not  distant 
from  populous  towns,  or  who  are 
near  iron  works,  may  turn  their 
coals  to  considerable  profit. 

1  have  long  observed, that  where 
coal  kilns  have  been  burnt,  the 
ground  has  discovered  a  remarka- 
ble fertility  for  many  years  after  ; 
and  more  especially  when  it  has 
been  naturally  a  cold  and  wet  soil. 
The  dust  of  the  coals  and  that  of 
the  burnt  turf,  have  conspired  to 
produce  this  effect.  Hence  I  have 
concluded  that  small  coals,  or  the 
dust  from  coal  kilns,  spread  over 
sour  meadow  lands,  would  answer 
the  end  of  a  good  manure.  Being 
extremely  porous,  the  pieces  of 
coal  imbibe  much  of  the  superflu- 
ous water,  as  well  as  increase  the 
heat  on  the  surface,  as  all  black 
substances  do.  And  when  the 
weather  becomes  dry,  they  dis- 
charge the  moisture,  partly  into  the 
soil  when  it  grows  dry  enough  to 


attract  it,  and  partly  into  the  air, 
by  the  action  of  the  sun  upon  it. — 
Autumn  is,  on  several  accounts, the 
best  season  for  laying  on  coal 
dust  ;  and  I  would  recommend  it 
to  all  who  have  bottoms  of  kilns, to 
make  this  use  of  the  dust. 

1  have  been  confirmed  in  my 
opinion,  by  reading  in  the  Complete 
Farmer  as  follows  :  "  The  dust  of 
charcoal  has  been  found,  by  re- 
peated experience,  to  be  of  great 
benefit  to  land,  especially  to  such 
as  is  stiflfand  sour.  It  is  to  be  used 
in  the  same  manner  as  soot  and 
wood  ashes." 

All  sorts  of  glass  vessels,  and  oth- 
er utensils,  may  be  purified  from 
long  retained  smells  of  every  kind, 
in  the  easiest  and  most  prrfect 
manner,  by  rinsing  them  out  well 
with  charcoal  powder,  after  the 
grosserimpurities  havebeen  scour- 
ed ofT,  with  sand  and  pot-ash.  Pu- 
trid water  is  immediately  deprived 
ofits  offensive  smell  by  charcoal. 

Meat  which  has  been  kept  too 
long  in  summer,  may  be  deprived 
ofits  bad  smell,  by  throwing  into 
the  pot  in  which  it  is  cooked  just 
before  it  begins  to  boil,  a  quantity 
of  live  coals  destitute  of  smoke  ; 
after  a  ievf  minutes  the  water 
should  be  changed,  and  if  necessa- 
ry the  operation  may  be  repeated. 
See  the  article  Meat. 

For  a  further  account  of  the  use 
of  coal  in  agriculture,  see  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Repository, 
vol.  in.  pages  18,  19. 

CHARLOCK,  Sinapis,  a  well 
known  and  troublesome  weed.  It 
is  known  also  by  the  names  chad- 
lock,  catlock,  carlock,  and  white 
rape.  It  is  similar  to  radish.    The 


CHE 


CHE 


79 


young  plants  so  nearly  resemble 
turtiips,  that  they  are  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable, unless  it  be  by  the 
taste.  Mortimer  mentions  a  field 
of  barley,  mowed  when  the  char- 
lock \A'as  in  blossom,  which  took 
off'  only  the  tops  of  the  blades  of 
barley  ;  and  which  gave  the  bar- 
ley an  opportunity  to  get  above 
the  weeds,  and  so  it  produced  a 
good  crop.  He  supposes  cow 
dung  increases  it  more  than  any 
other  manure  :  And  recommerids 
feeding  fallows  with  sheep  when 
they  are  infesced  with  this  weed. 
It  is  well  known  that  sheep  will 
eat  this  weed  rather  than  turnips. 
The  seeds  will  live  in  the  earth 
many  years,  and  atterwards  vege- 
tate by  means  of  tillage. 

Grain  should  be  sown  thick, 
wlicre  there  is  danger  of  its  being 
injured  by  charlock,  so  that  the 
crop  may  overtop  the  weeds. — 
Barley  sown  thick  will  certainly 
prosper  in  such  a  situation. 

CHEESE,  a  sort  of  food  made 
of  milk,  purged  of  the  serum,  or 
whe),  and  dried  for  use. 

Some  cheeses  are  wholly  made 
of  unskimmed  milk,  which  are  cal- 
led new  milk  cheeses,although  part 
of  the  milk  be  kept  overnight,  or 
longer.  These  cheeses,  as  any 
one  would  expect,  are  the  fattest, 
and  most  valuable. 

Another  sort  are  called  two  meal 
cheeses,  being  made  of  the  morn- 
ing's milk  unskimmed,  together 
with  the  evening's  milk  skimmed. 
These,  when  well  made,  without 
the  mixture  of  any  sour  milk,  are 
not  much  inferior  in  quality  to  new 
milk  cheeses. 

The  third  sort  of  cheeses  are 


wholly  made  of  milk  deprived  of  its 
cream.  This  kind  is  tough,  and 
hard  to  digest ;  and  containing  on- 
ly the  glutinous  part  of  the  milk,  it 
affords  little  nourishment,  and  is 
scarcely  worth  making. 

The  method  of  making  cheese, 
in  Yorkshire  in  England,  is  as  fol- 
lows.— "  If  your  milk  be  not  just 
come  from  the  cows,  make  it  blood 
warm,  turn  it  into  a  clean  vessel 
for  the  purpose,  and  put  in  the  ren- 
net ;  be  sure  to  give  it  no  more 
than  what  will  make  it  come  light- 
ly. After  it  comes,  stir  it  with 
your  hand,  till  it  be  gathered,  and 
parted  from  the  whey.  Then  take 
the  curd  up  in  a  strainer,and  work 
it  with  your  hands,  till  you  get  as 
much  of  the  whey  from  it  as  possi- 
ble :  Then  lay  it  in  a  clean  linen 
cloth,  and  put  it  into  the  hoop  : 
After  it  is  lightly  covcicd  with  the 
cloth,  put  it  into  the  press  :  Let  it 
stand  in  the  press  two  hours  ;  take 
it  out,  and  the  cloth  from  it,  and 
rub  it  over  with  tine  salt  :  Put  it 
in  a  dry  cloth,  and  press  it  eight 
hours  :  Then  put  it  in  another 
cloth,  and  let  it  remain  in  the  press 
till  your  next  cheese  be  ready. — 
When  you  take  it  out,  rub  it  well 
with  salt,  and  wrap  the  round  ring 
of  the  cheese  with  a  garter  made 
of  linen  yarn,  and  pin  it  at  the  end, 
which  keeps  the  cheese  in  a  good 
shape  :  Then  let  it  lie  in  brine 
twenty-four  hours.  Add  a  little 
salt  to  your  brine  every  time  you 
put  in  a  new  cheese.  When  you 
find  the  brine  turning  unsavoury, 
make  new  brine  ;  and  turn  the 
cheese  in  the  brine  vat  twice  in 
twenty-four  hours,  always  rubbing 
a  little  salt  on  the  top  of  it  when  it 


80 


CHE 


CHE 


is  turned.  When  you  take  it  out 
of  the  brine,  dry  it  with  a  cloth  ; 
and  turn  it  every  day  on  the  shelf 
for  two  months.  The  shelf  should 
be  a  little  wider  than  the  cheeses, 
and  the  garters  should  continue 
round  them  live  or  six  days." 

A  dairy  woman  in  my  neigh- 
bourhood, whose  cheese  is  most 
excellent,  is  nearly  in  the  York- 
shire practice.  But  lest  the  salt 
should  no!  penetrate  the  whole  of 
the  cheese  equally  in  every  part, 
she  sprinkles  a  little  fine  salt  on 
the  curd,  when  she  breaks  it,  per- 
haps as  much  as  an  ounce  to  a 
cheese  of  fifteen  pounds  weight  ; 
and  her  cheeses  never  appear  to 
be  too  much  salted. 

This  may  be  partly  owing  to  an- 
other improvement  in  her  method. 
To  the  brine,  in  which  she  lays  a 
cheese  after  it  is  pressed,  she  al- 
lows as  much  nitre  as  would  lie  on 
a  shilling.  She  has  found,  by  long 
experience,  that  the  nitre  not  only 
gives  a  reddish  cast  to  the  rind  of 
the  cheese,  but  makes  it  more  ten- 
der after  it  is  thoroughly  dried.  It 
also  prevents  the  cracking  of  the 
rind,  which  is  a  matter  of  much 
consequence.  At  the  same  time 
it  prevents  the  distention  of  the 
cheese  by  wind,  makes  it  mellow 
and  soft  throughout,  and  improves 
the  taste. 

But  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt  the 
making  of  good  cheese,  unless  the 
rennet  be  uncorrupted,  and  per- 
fectly sweet.  See  the  Article,  Ren- 
net. 

In  this  country,  where  the  sum- 
mers are  hot,  and  flies  abound, 
cheeses  are  often  destroyed,  or 
greatly  damaged,  by  maggots.    To 


prevent  this,  every  precaution 
ought  to  be  taken  to  prevent  fly 
blows  getting  into  a  cheese  while 
it  is  making.  For  it  is  certain  that 
cheeses  will  sometimes  prove  mag- 
gotty,  which  could  not  have  been 
fly  blown  after  they  were  made. — 
To  prevent  this  evil,  the  milking 
pails,  the  cheese  tub,  &:c.  should 
be  kept  in  dark  places  till  the  mo- 
ment they  are  used,  after  being 
dried  before  a  hot  fire.  And  if 
the  milk  stand  any  time,  or  more 
than  during  one  night,  the  room  it 
stands  in  should  be  dark  :  Because 
Jiies  are  not  apt  to  lay  their  eggs 
in  dark  places. 

After  cheeses  are  made, they  will 
sometimes  have  little  flaws  in  them, 
or  cracks  in  drying,  which  the  flies 
will  be  fond  of  depositing  their  eggs 
in.  To  prevent  this,  the  cheeses 
should  be  smeared  with  a  little  tar 
mixed  with  salt  butter:  Or  the 
cracks  may  be  filled  with  a  soft 
paste  of  flour  as  often  as  they  ap- 
pear. 

But  all  this  precaution  will  be 
apt  to  prove  insufficient,  unless  the 
cheeses  be  dried  in  a  dark  room. 
As  flies  do  not  frequent  dark  pla- 
ces, cheeses  dried  in  a  dark  room 
may  be  full  of  cracks,  and  yet  es- 
cape maggots. 

Some  persons  choose  to  medi- 
cate their  cheeses  with  the  juice  of 
some  wholesome  plant,  as  sage, 
baum,  mint,  tansy,  pennyroyal,  &c. 
which  they  put  into  the  curd.  But 
1  think  this  is  no  real  improvement. 
To  give  cheese  the  hue  of  that 
which  is  made  in  Glocestershire  in 
England,  a  little  of  the  annotto 
may  be  put  into  the  milk. 

The  following  method  of  cheese 


CHE 


CHE 


81 


making  is  recommended  in  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, vol.  III.  p.  52.  The  milk  is 
universally  set  for  cheese  as  soon 
as  it  comes  from  the  cow. 

The  management  of  the  curd 
depends  on  the  kind  of  cheese  : 
thin  cheese  requires  the  least  la- 
bour and  attention. 

Breaking  the  curd  is  done  with 
the  hand  and  dish.  The  finer  the 
curd  is  broken  the  better,  particu- 
larly in  thick  cheeses.  The  best 
colour  of  this  kind  of  cheese  is  that 
of  bees-wax,  which  is  produced  by 
annotto,  rubbed  into  the  milk  after 
it  is  warmed.  The  dairy  woman 
is  to  judge  of  the  quantity  by  the 
colour  of  the  milk,  as  it  diflfers 
much  in  strength.  The  rennet  is 
prepared,  by  taking  some  whey 
and  salting  it  till  it  will  bear  an 
egg  ;  it  is  then  suffered  to  stand 
over  night,  and  in  the  morning  it  is 
skimmed  and  racked  off  clear  ;  to 
this  is  added  an  equal  quantity  of 
water  brine,  strong  as  the  whey, 
and  to  this  mixture,  some  sweet 
briar,  thyme,  or  some  other  sweet 
herbs,  also  a  little  black  pepper 
and  salt  petre  ;  the  herbs  are  kept 
in  the  brine  three  or  four  days,  af- 
ter which  it  is  decanted  clear  from 
them.  Into  six  quarts  of  this 
liquor  four  large  calves'  bags,  or 
more  properly  called  calves'  stom- 
achs, are  put.  No  part  of  the  pre- 
paration is  heated,  and  frequently 
the  calves'  bags  are  only  steeped 
in  cold  salt  and  water.  Turning 
the  milk  differs  in  different  dairies, 
no  two  dairy  women  conduct  ex- 
actly alike. 

Setting  the  milk  too  hot  inclines 
the  cheese  to  heave,  and  cooling 
11 


it  with  cold  water  produces  a  simi- 
lar effect.  The  degree  of  heat  is 
varied  according  to  the  weather. 
The  curd,  when  formed  is  broken 
with  what  is  called  a  triple  cheese 
knife.  The  use  of  this  is  to  keep 
the  fat  in  the  cheese  ;  it  is  drawn 
the  depth  of  the  curd  two  or  three 
times  across  the  tub,  to  give  the 
whey  an  opportunity  of  running  off 
clear  ;  after  a  few  minutes  the 
knife  is  more  freely  used,  and  the 
curd  is  cut  into  small  pieces  like 
chequers,  and  is  broken  fine  in  the 
whey  with  the  hand  and  a  wooden 
dish.  The  curd  being  allowed 
about  half  an  hour  to  settle,  the 
whey  is  laded  off  with  the  dish,  af- 
ter it  is  pretty  well  separated  from 
the  curd. 

It  is  almost  an  invariable  prac- 
tice to  scald  the  curd.  The  mass 
is  first  broken  very  fine,  and  then 
the  scalding  whey  is  added  to  it, 
and  stirred  a  few  minutes  ;  some 
make  use  of  hot  water  in  prefer- 
ence to  whey,  and  it  is  in  both  ca- 
ses treated  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  curd  ;  if  it  is  soft  the  whey 
or  water  is  used  nearly  boiling  ;  but 
if  hard,  it  is  used  only  a  little  hot- 
ter than  the  hand.  After  the  curd 
is  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  hot 
stuff,  it  is  suffered  to  stand  a  few- 
minutes  to  settle,  and  is  then  sepa- 
rated as  at  the  first  operation.  Af- 
ter the  scalding  liquor  is  separated, 
a  vat,  or  what  is  often  called  a 
cheese  hoop,  is  laid  across  the 
cheese  ladder  over  the  tub,and  the 
curd  is  crunibled  into  it  with  the 
hands  and  pressed  into  the  vat,  to 
squeeze  out  the  whey.  The  vat 
being  filb/d  asfiillai'd  firml>  ;^^ilie 
hand  aloue  can  fill  it,  and  rounded 


82 


CHE 


CHE 


up  in  the  middle,  a  cheese  cloth  is 
spread  over  it  and  the  curd  is  turn- 
ed out  of  the  hoop  into  the  cloth  ; 
the  vat  is  then  washed,  and  the  in- 
verted mass  of  curd,  with  the  cloth 
under  it,  is  returned  into  the  vat 
and  put  into  the  press  ;  after  stand- 
ing two  or  three  hours  in  the  press, 
the  vat  is  taken  out  and  the  cloth 
is  taken  off,  washed,  and  put  round 
the  cheese,  and  it  is  replaced  in 
the  vat  and  in  the  press.  In  about 
seven  or  eight  hours  it  is  taken  out 
of  the  press  and  salted,  the  cheese 
is  placed  on  a  board,  and  an  hand- 
ful of  salt  is  rubbed  all  over  it,  and 
the  edges  are  pared  off  if  necessa- 
ry ;  another  handful  of  salt  is  strew- 
ed on  the  upper  side,  and  as  much 
left  as  will  stick  to  it  ;  afterwards 
it  is  turned  into  the  bare  vat  with- 
out a  cloth,  and  an  equal  quantity 
of  salt  is  added  to  it,  and  the 
cheese  is  returned  into  the  press ; 
where  it  continues  one  night,  and 
the  next  morning  it  is  turned  in 
the  vat,  and  continues  till  the  suc- 
ceeding morning,  and  is  taken  out 
and  placed  on  the  dairy  shelf; 
where  they  are  turned  every  day 
or  every  other  day,  as  the  weather 
may  be.  If  it  is  hot  and  dry,  the 
windows  and  door  are  kept  shut, 
but  if  wet  or  moist,  the  door  and 
windows  are  kept  open  night  and 
day. 

Cleaning  the  Cheese.  The  cheeses 
having  remained  about  ten  days  af- 
ter leaving  the  press,  are  to  be 
washed  and  scraped  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  ;  a  large  tub  of  cold 
sweet  whey  placed  on  the  fioor,the 
cheeses  are  immerged  in  it,  where 
they  continue  one  hour  or  longer  if 
necessary,    to     soften    the    rind,  i 


They  are  then  taken  out  and  scra- 
ped with  a  common  case-knife, with 
great  care  so  as  not  to  injure  the 
tender  rind,  till  every  part  of  the 
cheese  is  smooth  ;  they  are  after 
the  last  operation  rinsed  in  the 
whey  and  wiped  clean  with  a  coarse 
cloth,  and  placed  itt  an  airy  situa- 
tion to  dry,  after  which  they  are 
placed  in  the  cheese  room.  The 
floor  of  the  cheese  room  is  gener- 
ally prepared  by  rubbing  it  with 
bean  or  potatoe  tops,  or  any  suc- 
culent herb,till  it  appears  of  a  black 
wet  colour  ;  on  this  floor  the 
cheeses  are  placed,  and  are  turned 
twice  a  week,  their  edges  are  wip- 
ed hard  with  a  cloth  once  a  week, 
and  the  floor  is  cleansed  and  rub- 
bed with  fresh  herbs  once  a  fort- 
night. They  must  not  lie  too  long 
or  they  will  stick  to  the  floor. — 
This  preparation  of  the  floor  gives 
the  cheese  a  blue  coat,  which  is 
always  considered  as  of  great  con- 
sequence. 

iStilton  Cheese,  hozD  made.  Take 
the  night's  cream  and  put  it  to  the 
morning's  new  milk  with  the  ren- 
net :  when  the  curd  is  come,  it  is 
not  to  be  broken,  as  is  done  in  oth- 
er cheeses,  but  is  to  be  taken  out 
of  the  whey  as  whole  as  possible 
with  a  large  dish,  and  placed  in  a 
sieve  to  drain  gradually,  and  as  it 
drains  keep  pressing  it  gently  till  it 
becomes  dry  and  firm  ;  then  place 
it  in  a  wooden  hoop,  afterwards 
to  be  kept  dry  on  boards, and  turn- 
ed frequently  with  cloth  binders 
round  it,  which  are  to  be  tightened 
as  occasion  requires  ;  these  cloths 
are  kept  on,  but  often  shifted  for 
clean  ones,  till  the  cheese  acquires 
firmness  enough  to  support  itself  ; 


CH  U 


CH  U 


after  which  it  must  be  nibbed  twice 
every  day  with  a  brush  for  two  or 
three  months. 

Cheese,  Skippers  in.  Wrap  the 
cheese  in  thin  brown  paper,so  that 
moisture  may  strike  through  soon  ; 
diij  a  hole  in  good  sweet  earth 
about  two  feet  deep,  in  w-hich  the 
cheese  must  be  buried  36  hours, 
and  the  skippers  will  be  found  on 
the  outside  of  the  cheese,  brush 
them  off  immediately,  and  you  will 
find  your  cheese  sound  and  good. 
To  prevent  skippers,  take  a  pod 
of  red  pepper,  and  put  it  into  a 
piece  of  hue  linen,  moisten  it  with 
a  little  butter,  and  rub  your  cheese 
frequently.  Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  vol. 
— ,  p.  314. 

To  prevent  Cheese  from  having  a 
rancid  nauseous  flavour. 

Put  about  one  table-spoonful  of 
salt  to  each  gallon  of  milk  when 
taken  from  the  cows  in  the  eve- 
ning, for  the  cheese  to  be  made  the 
next  day  ;  put  the  salt  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  vessel  that  is  to  receive 
the  milk  ;  it  will  increase  the  curd 
and  prevent  the  milk  from  growing 
sour  or  putrid  the  hottest  nights  in 
the  summer.  For  further  direc- 
tions relative  to  making  cheese, 
see  Mass,  Agr.  Rep.  vol,  V.  p. 
201,  203. 

CHICK  WEED,  the  same  as  ^l- 
sine,  a  tender  creeping  weed,often 
troublesome  in  old  gardens,  and 
which  grows  luxuriantly  in  shady 
places.  Swine  will  feed  upon  it 
when  they  are  hungry. 

CHURN,  a  wooden  vessel,  in 
which  butter  is  produced  by  churn- 
ing. It  is  broad  at  the  bottom, and 
narrow  at  the  top,  to  prevent  the 
contents  from  coming  oat  at  the  top 


during  the  agitation.  But  the 
shape  does  not  perfectly  answer 
this  design. 

Churns  are  commonly  made  of 
pine.  But  when  they  are  new, 
they  give  the  butter  a  taste  of  the 
wood;  so  that  oak  is  generally  pre- 
ferred. The  hoops  are  of  aah,and 
should  be  made  very  smooth  and 
regular,  that  the  vessel  may  be 
easily  cleaned  and  kept  sweet. 

But  on  great  farms,  and  where 
the  dairies  are  large,  the  barrel- 
churn  is  to  be  preferred.  Its  name 
gives  the  idea  of  its  shape  ;  and 
when  it  equals  a  barrel  in  size  it 
can  be  easily  managed.  On  each 
head  of  it  is  an  iron  spindle,  and  on 
each  spindle  a  winch,  by  which  the 
vessel  is  turned  on  a  horse  made 
for  the  purpose.  A  much  greater 
quantity  of  cream,  orrnilk,  maybe 
churned  in  this  than  in  the  common 
churn  ;  and  the  labour  is  easier.— 
There  are  two  boards  within  this 
churn  on  each  side  of  the  centre, 
like  shelves,  which  serve  to  agitate 
the  cream. 

The  aperture  in  the  barrel  churn 
ought  to  be  five  or  six  inches  square, 
to  which  a  stopper  must  be  exact- 
ly fitted,  which  must  be  kept  in  its 
place  by  a  bar  of  iron  across  it, 
held  fast  by  staples, 

A  great  variety  of  churns  have 
been  contrived  for  the  purpose  of 
facilitating  the  process,  (often  a 
very  tedious  one)  of  making  but- 
ter. Our  limits  will  not  permit 
descriptions  of  these  machines  ac- 
companied with  such  drawings  as 
would  be  necessary  to  make  them 
intelligible.  We  shall  therefore 
inform  our  readers  where  such  de- 
scriptions may  be  found  ;  and  would 


84 


CHU 


CID 


advise  any  person,  who  proposes 
introduce  any  machine  of  the  sort, 
to  consult  the  books  to  which  we 
refer,  to  ascertain  whether  his  in- 
vention contains  any  meritorious 
novelty. 

Mr.  WiUiam  Bowler  invented 
an  improved  churn,  for  which  the 
Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
Arts,  Manufactures  and  Commerce, 
in  England,  gave  him  thirty  guin- 
eas. This  is  described  with  draw- 
ings, in  the  Domestic  Encyclopae- 
dia, 3d  American  edition,  vol.  I.  p. 
462. 

Wright's  Churn,  described  in  the 
same  volume  and  the  same  page, 
and  made  by  Wright  &  Co.  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Willmarth,  of 
Wilton,  N.  H.  has  invented  a  Pa- 
tent Churning  Machine,  which  has 
been  thus  described.  The  body 
of  the  churn  is  square  at  the  bot- 
tom— two  opposite  sides  are  per- 
pendicular. The  other  two  oppo- 
site sides  converge  or  incline  to- 
wards the  top.  The  dasher  con- 
sists of  two  arms,  hung  on  pivots  or 
pins,  on  each  perpendicular  side  of 
the  churn,  which  projecting  down, 
almost  to  the  bottom,  have  insert- 
ed between  them  a  number  of  flats, 
or  thin  pieces  of  wood.  On  the  top 
of  these  arms  are  framed  two  levers 
at  the  centre,  so  as  to  project  ho- 
rizontally each  way,  and  connect- 
ed at  each  end  with  rounds.  The 
dasher  moves  or  vibrates  in  a  man- 
ner similar  to  that  of  the  patent 
washing  machine.  By  this  means, 
a  powerful  force  is  mechanically 
applied  to  the  cream,  uniformly 
straining  and  agitating  the  whole, 
at  jBvery  vibration,  with  great  ease 


to  the  operator.  Children  can  use 
it.  The  principal  specific  im- 
provement in  this  machine,  is  the 
Pe.nde.nl  Swing  Dasher. 

A  churn  invented  by  Mr.  An- 
drew Halliburton,  of  Portsmouth, 
N.H.  is  described  and  recommend- 
ed in  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Repositonj,  p.  164. 

An  improvement  in  the  dasher 
of  the  common  churn  has  been 
made  by  a  Mr.  Fisher,  in  England, 
who  obtained  a  premium  for  his 
discovery.  The  dasher  turns  on 
the  handle  by  being  fixed  to  it  by  a 
pivot.  The  dasher  is  two  cross 
pieces,  about  three  inches  square, 
put  together  by  being  let  into  each 
other,  which  then  form  four  wings. 
These  are  cut  bevelling  on  each 
side,  at  an  angle  of  fort)  -five  de- 
grees, so  that  they  stand  diagonal- 
ly ;  the  whole  being  very  similar 
to  the  little  wind-mills,  (so  called) 
which  are  set  up  on  poles  to  be 
turned  by  the  wind. 

As  this  dasher  goes  down  in  the 
milk  or  cream,  it  turns  one  way, 
and  as  it  comes  up,  the  other.  It  is 
so  efficacious,  that  the  churning 
must  be  performed  moderately,  or 
the  butter  will  come  too  soon,  and 
be  swelled,  as  it  is  technically  cal- 
led by  some. 

Oak  is  said  to  be  better  for 
churns  than  pine,  as  the  latter 
gives  something  of  its  taste  to  the 
butter. 

CIDER.  In  making  cider  see 
that  the  mill,  the  press,  and  all  the 
materials  be  sweet  and  clean,  and 
the  straw  free  from  must.  The 
fruit  should  be  ripe,  but  not  rotten, 
and  when  the  apples  are  ground,  if 
the  juice  is  left  in  the  pomace  from 


CID 


CID 


85 


12  to  24  hours  according  to  the 
heat  of  the  weather,  the  cider  will 
be  the  richer,  softer,  and  higher 
coloured.  The  fruit  should  be  all 
of  one  kind,  as  the  fermentafion 
will  be  more  regular.  The  juice 
of  the  fruit  as  it  comes  from  the 
press  should  be  placed  in  open 
headed  casks  or  vats  ;  in  this  situ- 
ation, it  is  likely  to  undergo  a  pro- 
per fermentation,  and  the  person 
attending  may  with  great  correct- 
ness ascertain  when  the  first  fer- 
mentation ceases  ;  this  is  of  great 
importance,  and  must  be  particu- 
larly attended  to.  The  fermenta- 
tion is  attended  with  a  hissing  noise, 
bubbles  rising  to  the  surface,  and 
its  forming  a  soft  spungy  crust  over 
the  surface  of  the  liquor.  When 
this  crust  begins  to  crack,  and  a 
white  froth  appears  in  the  cracks 
level  with  the  surface  of  the  head, 
the  fermentation  is  about  stopping. 
At  this  time  the  liquor  is  in  the  fine 
genuine  clear  state,  and  must  be 
drawn  off  immediately  into  clean 
casks  ;  and  this  is  the  time  to  fu- 
migate it  with  sulphur.  To  do 
this,  take  a  strip  of  canvas,  or  rag, 
about  two  inches  broad,  and  twelve 
inches  long — dip  this  into  melted 
sulphur,  and  when  a  few  pails  of 
worked  cider  are  put  into  the  cask, 
set  this  match  on  fire,  and  hold  it 
in  the  cask  till  it  is  consumed,then 
bung  the  cask,  and  shake  it  that 
the  liquor  may  incorporate  with, 
and  retain  the  fumes ;  after  this 
fill  the  cask  and  bung  it  up. 

When  the  apples  are  gathered, 
they  should  be  put  for  some  time 
in  piles,  and  sorted  before  they 
are  pressed.  The  first  runnings  of 
the  press  should  be  kept  separate, 


being  of  a  superior  quality  of  cider. 
When  cider  is  moved  it  must  be 
racked  off  into  other  casks,  that 
the  lees  may  not  mix  with  the  ci- 
der. The  later  apples  hang  on  the 
trees,  the  more  spirit  the  cidti  will 
contain. 

When  casks  have  a  sour  smell, 
put  in  about  a  pint  of  uislacked 
lime  for  a  barrel  of  common  size, 
and  pour  in  three  or  four  gallons 
of  hot  water;  shake  it  well,  giving 
it  vent  ;  lei  it  stund  till  cool,  and 
then  rinse  with  cold  water.  Re- 
peat the  operation  till  the  cask 
smells  perfectly  sweet.  Wood 
ashes  might  perhaps  answer  as  a 
substitute  for  lime. 

Thejuice  of  fruit  will  undergo 
three  fermentations,  the  vinous, the 
acid,  and  the  putrid.  The  first 
fermentation  is  the  only  one  which 
cider  should  undergo.  To  preserve 
it  in  this  state,  as  soon  as  the  first 
fermentation  ceases,  which  may  be 
known  by  the  liquor  ceasing  to 
throw  up  little  bubbles  to  the  top, 
draw  oft*  and  fumigate  the  liquor 
with  sulphur  as  before  directed. — 
After  this  you  may  further  improve 
it  by  adding  a  gallon  of  French 
brandy  to  each  barrel. 

If  the  cider  should  require  fur- 
ther clarifying,  it  may  be  perform- 
ed with  eggs,  skim  milk,  molasses, 
or  isinglass. 

Mr.  Joseph  Cooper,  of  New- 
Jersey,  published  an  article  in  the 
True  American,  relative  to  fining 
cider,  by  which  it  appears  that  the 
jelly  made  from  bullock's  feet  will 
answer  the  purpose.  It  should  be 
warmed,  and  mixed  with  a  little  of 
the  cider  intended  to  he  fined,  then 
strained,  and  when  cold  put  into 


86 


CLA 


CL  A 


the  vessel  which  contains  (he  rest, 
and  stirred  till  thoroughly  incorpo- 
rated. 

"  To  refine  cider  and  give  it  a 
fine  amber  colour,  the  following 
method  is  much  approved  of.  Take 
the  whites  of  six  eggs,  with  a  hand- 
ful of  fine  beach  sand,  washed 
clean  ;  stir  them  well  together  ; 
then  boil  a  quart  of  molasses  down 
to  a  candy,  and  cool  it  by  pouring 
in  cider,  and  put  this  together  with 
the  eggs  and  sand,  into  a  barrel  of 
cider,  and  mix  the  whole  together. 
When  thus  managed,  it  will  keep 
for  many  years.  A  piece  of  fresh 
bloody  meat  put  into  the  cask,  will 
also  refine  the  cider  and  serve  for 
it  to  feed  on. 

"  To  cure  oily  cider,  take  one 
ounce  of  salt  of  tartar,  and  two  and 
an  half  of  sweet  spirit  of  nitre,  in  a 
gallon  of  milk  for  a  hogshead.  To 
cure  ropy  cider  take  six  pounds  of 
powdered  allum,  and  stir  it  into  a 
hogshead  ;  then  rack  it  and  clarify 
it. 

In  bottling  cider  it  is  recom- 
mended to  raise  the  proof  by  put- 
ting about  two  tea-spoonfuls  of 
French  brandy  into  each  bottle. 

A  dozen  of  sweet  apples,  sliced 
intoacaskof  cider,have  been  found 
advantageous.  Three  quarts  of 
good  w  heat  boiled  and  hulled  put 
into  each  hogshead,  is  is  said  im- 
proves the  liquor,  and  prevents  its 
becoming  tart. 

For  further  directions  on  this 
subject,  see  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Repository,  vol.  IV.  p. 
170  to  p.  189. 

CLAY,  a  ponderous  kind  of 
earth,  consisting  of  fine  particles, 
firmly  cohenng  wlien  dry  ;   and 


when  wet,  viscid  and  tenacious. 
It  is  of  various  colours  in  different 
countries.  But  in  this  country  it 
is  mostly  either  a  dull  blue,  or  of 
the  colour  of  ashes.  In  Nova 
Scotia,  the  clay  is  of  the  colour 
of  a  well  burnt  brick. 

CLAY-SOIL,  land  which  con- 
sists almost  wholly  of  clay,  with 
perhaps  a  thin  surface  of  dark 
mould  over  it,  made  by  substances 
which  have  consumed  upon  it. 
This  kind  of  soil  abounds  in  the 
north-eastern  territories  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Clayey  lands  are  apt  to  be  very 
barren  in  their  natural  state,  un- 
less when  a  summer  is  so  divided 
betwixt  rain  and  sunshine,  that 
they  are  kept  on  a  medium  con- 
tinually betwixt  drought  and  wet- 
ness, which  seldom  or  never  hap- 
pens. In  a  wet  season,  plants 
growing  on  such  a  soil  are  drown- 
ed, as  the  closeness  of  the  clay  will 
not  suffer  the  water  to  soak  into 
the  ground :  And  in  a  dry  season, 
the  ground  becomes  so  solid  that 
the  roots  of  plants  cannot  pene- 
trate it,  some  few  strong  feeders 
excepted. 

This  kind  of  earth,  however,  is 
thought  to  contain  more  of  the 
food  of  plants  than  almost  any 
other.  But  something  needs  to 
be  done  to  bring  it  into  action. 
The  European  farmers  think  their 
clay  soils  the  richest  and  most 
valuable  of  their  land.  But  many 
of  our  farmers  despise  them,  for 
want  of  knowing  what  methods  to 
take  to  render  them  profitable ; 
or  through  fear  of  the  labour,  or 
expense,  of  doing  it. 

Some  of   these    soils,  without 


CL  A 


GL  A 


87 


much  alteration,  will  bear  good 
crops  of  grass,  if  care  only  be 
taken  not  to  feed  them  close  in 
autumn,  nor  to  let  cattle  in  upon 
them  in  the  spring.  But  the 
farmer,  who  wishes  to  keep  them 
in  tillage,  must  alter  them  by  the 
admixture  of  such  substances  as 
may  serve  to  open  the  soil,  and 
break  the  cohesion  of  its  particles. 
When  this  is  once  accomplished, 
the  land  will  become  highly  valua- 
ble ;  holding  the  manure  to  ad- 
miration, and  never  returning  to 
its  pristine  state. 

Dung  is  helpful  towards  open- 
ing a  clayey  soil,  by  the  fermenta- 
tion it  raises,  as  well  as  by  the 
mixture  of  its  earthy,  saline  and 
oily  particles.  But  dung  of  itself 
will  not  be  sufficient,  unless  it 
were  laid  on  more  plentifully  than 
farmers  can  well  afford.  A  mix- 
ture of  dung  and  sand  is  found  to 
be  a  much  better  dressing  for  this 
sortof  land,  than  dung  alone.  And 
if  sand  be  not  too  far  distant,  it 
would  be  advisable  to  put  on  a 
layer  of  it  two  or  three  inches 
thick.  Beach-sand  is  preferable 
to  any  other,  as  the  saltness  of  it 
will  help  to  make  the  ground  fruit- 
ful. But  pit-sand  will  do  very 
well ;  or  rather,  tliat  which  has 
been  washed  down  to  low  places 
in  the  roads. 

In  places  where  sand  is  not  to 
be  had,  the  ground  may  be  loos- 
ened with  other  substances.  Grav- 
el, or  light  loam,  from  neighbour- 
ing spots,  may  be  carted  upon  it  5 
dust  from  saw-pits,  chips  and  rub- 
bish from  the  back  yards  of  houses, 
straw  and  stubble,  swamp  mud, 
the  bark  of  trees  and  rotten  wood. 


or  burnt  clay.  I  have  known  a 
clayey  spot  made  very  fruitful, 
merely  by  the  remains  of  a  rotten 
log  fence,  when  mixed  with  the 
soil. 

When  a  clay  soil  is  sanded,  or 
any  other  thing  laid  on  to  open  it, 
it  will  take  several  ploughings  and 
harrowings  to  mix  it,  so  as  to 
bring  the  land  to  a  good  consis- 
tence. As  the  expense  of  mixing 
it  at  once  would  be  too  great,  it  is 
better  to  use  it  for  two  or  three 
years  after,  for  the  giowing  of 
such  tillage  crops  as  are  most 
suitable  to  clayey  soil,  such  as 
barley,  flax,  &c.  The  soil  will 
grow  better  year  after  year,  till 
the  sand,  &c.  is  thoroughly  mixed 
with  the  soil  ;  after  which  it  will 
be  fruitful  forever  without  large 
dressings.  Hoed  crops  will  mix 
it  sooner  than  any  other  method, 
and  without  any  expense. 

A  small  quantity  of  dung,  each 
year  that  it  bears  a  hoed,  or  a  green 
crop,  will  be  proper :  And  the 
most  suitable  dungs  are  those  of 
horses  and  sheep,  pigeons  and 
other  fowls,  which  by  their  heat 
will  correct  the  natural  coldness 
of  the  soil. — Folding  with  sheep 
has  an  excellent  effect  on  this 
kind  of  land. 

Such  a  stiff  soil  is  also  mended 
by  frequent  ploughings.  The 
Europeans  allow  three  ploughings 
previous  to  feeding,  to  be  enough 
for  a  free  soil  ;  but  to  a  clayey  soil 
they  give  four  or  five.  The 
ofttMier  it  is  stirred  with  the 
plough,  the  more  the  cohesion  of 
the  particles  is  broken,  and  the 
more  eaei!)'  the  roots  of  plants  can 
penetrate   it  in  search    for    their 


CL  A 


CLE 


food.  But  it  never  should  be 
ploughed  when  it  is  so  wet  as  to 
potch  with  the  feet  of  the  cattle, 
or  to  run  like  mortar.  In  this 
condition,  the  more  it  is  worked 
the  stilft-r  it  will  become.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  it  is  very 
dry,  it  cannot  well  be  ploughed, 
by  reason  of  its  hardness.  Suita- 
ble seasons  should  be  embraced, 
for  ploughing  it,  when  it  is  neither 
too  wet  nor  too  dry.  At  the  first 
ploughing  it  comes  up  in  large 
clods  ;  but  the  oftener  it  is  plough- 
ed in  fit  times,  the  smaller  the 
clods  will  be,  and  the  more  fine 
mould  will  be  among  them. 

Exposing  the  clods  to  the  sun 
and  air  has  some  tendency  to  mel- 
low the  soil :  But  a  winter  furrow 
is  of  very  great  advantage.  The 
frost  does  much  towards  breaking 
the  cohesion,  as  I  have  found  by 
experience. 

Ciay  soil,  after  all  the  meliora- 
tion that  can  be  given  them,  will 
be  more  suitable  for  some  plants 
than  for  others.  Those  plants  in 
general  which  require  a  great  de- 
gree of  heat,  or  a  long  summer, 
are  not  so  well  adapted  to  be  cul- 
tivated in  a  clayey  soil,  such  as 
Indian  corn,  tobacco,  &c.  But  it 
may  be  made  to  produce  good 
crops  of  wheat,  grass,  barley,  oats, 
flax,  cabbage,  &.c.  No  good  eat- 
ing potatoes  or  carrots  are  ever 
produced  in  such  a  soil. 

Fruit  trees,  in  general,  and  1 
think  all  sorts,  excepting  pear 
trees,  answer  but  poorly  in  a  clayey 
soil,  how  much  soever  the  surface 
may  have  been  mixt  with  other 
substances.  The  roots  of  trees 
will  need  to  draw  some   of  their 


nourishment  from  a  part  of  the  soil 
below  that  which  has  been  melio- 
rated by  mixing;  but  the  com- 
pactness of  it  will  scarcely  suffer 
them  to  penetrate  it. 

Fallowing  and  green  dressing 
may  help  to  pulverize  a  clay  soil ; 
and  sowing  it  frequently  with  pease 
is  recommended.  Any  crop  that 
forms  a  close  cover  for  the  surface 
causes  the  soil  to  putrefy,  breaks 
the  cohesion  of  its  particles,  and 
prevents  the  ground  from  harden- 
ing by  the  influence  of  the  sun. 

If  a  clay  soil  lie  so  flat  that  water 
stands  on  it  some  part  of  the  year, 
it  cannot  be  brought  to  a  good 
consistence  without  ploughing  in 
ridges,  and  water  furrowing.  The 
ridges  may  be  wider  or  narrower, 
according  to  the  degree  of  wet- 
ness to  which  it  is  subject.  Some- 
times deep  drains  will  be  necessa- 
ry to  give  it  the  needful  degree  of 
dryness.     See  Soil. 

CLEARING  OF  LAND,  an 
operation  often  necessary  to  be 
performed  in  this  new  country, 
especially  in  the  most  inland  parts. 
Lands  which  were  before  in  a  state 
of  nature,  are  said  to  be  cleared, 
when  they  are  so  freed  from  their 
natural  growth,  as  to  become  fit 
for  tillage,  mowing,  or  pasture. 

In  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  wood  is  of  little  or  no  value, 
the  method  of  clearing  upland  is 
as  follows  : — The  trees  are  felled 
in  one  of  the  summer  months;  the 
earlier  in  summer  the  better,  as 
they  will  have  a  longer  time  to 
dry,  and  as  the  stumps  will  be  less 
ai)t  to  sprout.  The  trees  lie  till 
the  following  spring;  when  the 
limbs  which  do  not  lie  very  near 


CLE 


CLE 


89 


to  the  ground  should  be  chopped 
off,  that  they  may  burn  the  belter. 
Fire  must  be  put  to  them  in  the 
driest  part  of  t^he  month  ot'  May  ; 
or  if  the  whole  of  May  prove  wet, 
it  may  be  done  to  advantage  in  fne 
beginning  of  June.  Only  the  bo 
dies  of  the  trees  will  remain  after 
burning,  and  some  of  them  will  be 
burnt  to  pieces.  Then  they  are  to 
be  cut  into  pieces  nearly  of  one 
length,  drawn  together  by  oxen, 
piled  in  close  heaps,  and  burnt  ; 
only  reserving  suitable  trees, which 
will  be  needed  for  the  fencing. — 
The  heating  of  the  soil  so  destroys 
the  green  roots;  and  the  ashes, 
made  by  burning,  are  so  beneficial 
a  manure  to  the  land,  that  it  will 
produce  a  good  crop  of  Indian 
corn,  or  wheat,  the  same  year, 
without  ploughing,  hoeing,  or  ma- 
nuring. Indian  corn  is  most  com- 
monly the  hrst  crop  ;  and  it  will 
bear  a  good  crop  of  winter  rye  the 
second  year,  if  the  seed  be  onl\ 
harked  in  with  hoes  in  September, 
before  the  Indian  corn  is  harvest- 
ed. After  which,  if  grass  seeds  be 
thrown  iu  with  the  rye,  the  land 
will  be  tit  for  pasturage,  if  not  for 
mowing.  The  few  sprouts  wb.ich 
spring  up  from  the  stumps  in  the 
first  summer,  should  be  pulled  off 
and  the  ground  is  quite  subdued. 
But  if  wheat  or  rye  be  the  first 
crop,  the  ground  must  be  well  har- 
rowed ;  once  before  sowing,  and 
once  after.  And  it  often  happens 
that  the  first  and  second  crops  pay 
the  farmer  well  for  all  the  labour 
of  clearing  and  fencing.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  sometimes  the  first  crop 
will  do  it. 

The  invention  of  this    kind  of 
12 


culture  has  been  of  essential  ad- 
vantage to  the  poorer  sort  of  peo- 
ple :  And  it  has  been  conducive  to 
bringing  forward  rapid  settlements 
in  our  new  towns  and  plantations. 
A  farm  may  be  thus  begun  in  the 
wilderness  with  little  or  no  stock. 

But  those  persons  who  are  able 
to  do  it,had  better  plough  and  har- 
row their  ground  afterburning,  be- 
fore they  seed  it.  The  ashes  will 
thus  be  well  mixed  with  the  soil  ; 
and  the  land  has  always  been  found 
to  retain  its  fertility  the  longer, 
when  so  managed. 

If  new  land  lie  in  such  a  situa- 
tion, that  the  natural  growth  may 
turn  to  better  account,  whether  for 
timber  or  fire  wood,  fencing  or 
charcoal,  it  will  be  an  unpardona- 
ble waste  to  burn  the  wood  on  the 
ground.  But  if  the  trees  be  taken 
off,  the  land  must  be  ploughed  af- 
ter clearing,  or  it  will  not  produce 
a  crop  of  any  kind.  And  some 
warm  kind  of  manure  will  be  need- 
ful, if  Indian  corn  is  planted  on  it. 
This  is  the  case  at  least  in  the  most 
northerly  parts  of  New-England. 
But  rye  will  answer  extremely 
well  without  manure. 

When  new  lands  are  destitute 
of  trees,  and  covered  with  oak 
shrubs,  the  clearing  is  more  ex- 
pensive, and  the  first  crops  not  so 
profitable.  But  such  lands  should 
not  remain  unsubdued,  as,  in  their 
present  state,  they  are  quite  un- 
profitable, and  a  nuisance.  The 
bushes  should  be  cut  with  stub 
scythes  or  axes,  piled  in  heaps, and 
burnt.  After  which  the  roots  may 
be  subdued  by  goats  ;  or  ploughed 
up  with  a  strong  team,  the  plough 
being  proportionably  strong.  Some 


90 


CLI 


CLO 


of  those  spots  will  require  a  team 
of  50  oxen  to  plough  tliem.  After 
ploughing,  the  roots  must  be  taken 
out  with  a  strong  narrow  hoe,  with 
a  good  sharp  edge. 

Other  methods  must  be  taken 
for  subduing  low  swampy  lands. — 
See  the  articles  Bog,  Bushes, 
Draining. 

CLIMATE.  Climate  depends 
on  altitude  as  well  as  latitude.  Sir 
John  Sinclair  observes,  "  It  may  be 
remarked,  that  land  in  the  same 
purailel  of  latitude,  other  circum- 
stances being  nearly  similar,  is  al- 
ways more  valuable  in  proportion 
to  the  comparative  lowness  of  its 
situation.  In  the  higher  districts, 
the  quality  even  of  the  herbage  is 
less  succulent  and  nourishing,  and 
the  reproduction  slower,  when  in 
grass  ;  while  the  grain  is  less 
plump,  nnis  more  to  straw,  is  less 
perfectly  ripened,  and  the  harvest 
is  also  later. 

"  It  has  been  estimated,  that  six- 
ty yards  of  elevation  in  the  land  are 
equal  to  a  degree  of  latitude  ;  or  in 
other  words  that  sixty  yards  per- 
pendicular higher,  are  in  respect 
of  climate  equal  to  a  degree  more 
north."  Code  of  AgricuUure,  p. 
23 — 6,  Hartford  edition. 

The  above  are  curious  facts,  but 
perhaps  would  not  apply  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  States.  In  a 
very  warm  climate,  where  vegeta- 
tion is  liable  to  be  scorched  by  ex- 
cessive heat, elevation  of  site  would 
doubtless  prove  advantageous.  In 
New-England,  however,  we  are  in- 
clined to  believe  that  the  observa- 
tions of  Sir  John,  as  it  respects  six- 
ty yards  of  elevation  being  equal 
to  a  degree  of  north  latitude,  might 
be    nearly    correct.      It    is  well 


known  that  the  spring  is  more  back- 
ward ar.d  the  harvest  is  much  later 
on  the  heights  of  land  between 
Merrimack,Connecticut, and  North 
River,  than  in  the  valiies  which  are 
pervaded  by  those  streams. 

A  valuable  paper  respecting  the 
ditrerence  between  the  climates  of 
Sweden,  England  and  Massachu- 
setts, as  ascertained  by  the  flower- 
ing and  leafing  of  plants  may  be 
seen  in  the  Massachusetts  Agricul' 
tural  Repository,  vol.  IV.   p.  135. 

With  regard  to  the  effect  of  cli- 
mate as  relates  to  a  change  of 
seeds,  see  Change  of  Seeds. 

CLOG,  a  wooden  instrument, 
fastened  to  the  neck  or  leg  of  a 
beast,  to  prevent  his  leaping  over, 
or  breaking  fences.  The  best  clog 
for  the  fetlock  of  a  horse,is  made  of 
one  piece  of  tough  wood  bent  over 
at  one  end.  Into  a  notch,  near 
this  end,  a  leathern  strap,  nailed 
to  the  long  part  of  the  clog,  is  slip- 
ped over  the  end.  It  may  be  put 
on,  or  taken  off,  in  an  instant. 

CLOVER,  Trifolium  pratense, 
a  species  of  trefoil,  esteemed  as  an 
excellent  grass  for  the  feeding  of 
cattle,  both  green  and  dried.  The 
hay  made  of  clover  is  more  suita- 
ble for  horses  than  any  other  that 
this  country  affords.  Horses  kept 
on  it  will  fatten,  even  in  the  most 
unfavourable  season  of  the  year. — 
It  answers  well  when  used  as  soil- 
ing, or  eaten  out  of  racks  without 
drying. 

Green  clover  is  known  to  be 
good  feeding  for  swine.  Keeping 
them  in  pastures,  where  there  is 
plenty  of  this  grass,  will  make  them 
grow  fast,  and  fatten  so  as  to  al- 
most become  fit  for  the  knife.  But 
when  they  go    in    pastures    they 


CLO 


CLO 


91 


should  have  rings  in  their  noses. 
Otherwise  they  will  root  out  the 
clover. 

Red  and  white  clover  are  the  only 
sorts  known  and  esteemed  in  this 
country  ;  as  to  the  wild  sort,or  vari- 
ety,with  a  rough  leaf,it  is  of  no  con- 
sequence. It  is  the  red  clover  that 
is  of  most  importance  for  mowing. 
It  is  a  biennial  grass,  and  if  it  did 
not  sow  its  own  seeds,  would  en- 
tirely run  out  the  third  year.  The 
white  is  generally  too  small  and 
short,  unless  when  it  is  drawn  to  a 
greater  height  by  being  mixed  with 
other  grasses. 

Many  farmers,  instead  of  sowing 
clean  seed  of  clover,  content  them- 
selves with  sowing  chaff  and  dust 
from  the  floors  of  their  barns- — 
This  is  a  slovenly  and  uncertain 
method,  oftentimes  attended  with 
great  loss.  Fowls  are  usually  ad- 
mitted into  barns  ;  and  when  this 
is  the  case,  none  can  tell  how 
much,  or  how  little  of  the  hay  seed 
remains  among  the  dust  :  So  that 
the  farmer  who  sows  it,  may  either 
over-seed  his  land  ;  or,  which  is  a 
more  common  case,  not  seed  it 
half  enough.  A  consequence  of 
which  last  will  be,  that  he  will 
have  no  good  crop  of  hay  from  his 
sowing.  He  must  either  plough  up 
his  land  again,  for  the  mere  pur- 
pose of  seeding  it  with  grass,  or  let 
it  lie  useless  till  the  grass  gradually 
gets  in  ;  either  of  which  expedi- 
ents will  be  attended  with  incon- 
venience and  loss.  I  am  aware 
that  farmers,  especiall}'  those  in 
the  northern  parts  of  New-Eng- 
land, will  object,  that  if  grass  do 
not  get  in  the  first  year,  it  will  the 
second.     But  they  should  consid- 


er that  the  loss  of  the  first  year's 
crop  is  considerable.  Not  only  so, 
but  it  is  losing  the  best  crop  that  is 
to  be  expected  from  a  clover  lay  ; 
and  the  land  will  beconie  bound 
and  weedy,  before  it  is  filled  with 
grass  roots  ;  so  that  no  large  crop 
will  be  had  from  it  afterwards,  nor 
any  clean  or  unmixed  crop,  from 
which  it  will  answer  to  take  clean 
seed. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  be  sown 
on  an  acre,  according  to  the  opi- 
nions of  the  best  European  cultiva- 
tors, is  not  six  or  ten  as  with  us, 
but  from  fifteen  to  twenty  pounds. 
By  this  mode  of  sowing  it  grows 
less  rank,  lodges  less,  and  is  more 
profitable  for  soiling  and  for  hay. 

It  is  no  small  recommendation 
of  this  grass,  that  it  is  adapted  to  a 
soil,  that  is  suitable  for  scarcely 
any  other  grasses,  which  are  culti- 
vated in  this  country  ;  to  a  soil  that 
IS  dry,  light  and  sandy.  It  does 
well  also  on  gravel  and  loam, 

European  farmers  recommend 
sownig  it  in  the  spring,  after  the 
grain  is  up,  and  harrowing  it  in  ; 
and  they  tell  us  the  harrowing  will 
not  damage  the  corn,  but  rather  be 
a  service  to  it,  when  it  is  either 
spring  or  winter  grain.  That  it 
should  be  sowed  in  the  spring  is 
granted,  unless  it  be  in  countries 
where  there  are  no  severe  winter 
frosts.  The  young  plants,  which 
come  up  in  the  fall,  cannot  bear 
the  frost  so  well  as  those  which 
have  had  a  whole  summer  to  bring 
them  on  towards  maturity.  Their 
reason  for  not  sowing  it  at  the  same 
time  as  the  grain  it  grows  with,  is 
an  apprehended  danger  of  its  grow- 
ing so  fast  as  to  obstruct  the  growth 


92 


CLO 


CLO 


of  the  £;rain.       But  1  have  never 
found  this  to  be  the  case  in  fact. 

Mr.  Ehot  recommends  a  diflfer- 
ent  method,  which  is  ploughint^  in 
the  seed  ;  which,  he  thinks,  and 
not  without  reason,  will  cause  it  to 
bear  drought  the  better,  and  be- 
come the  more  strongly  rooted.  I 
believe  I  may  add,  that  it  will  be 
more  likely  to  escape  in  the  frosts 
of  winter,  which  arc  so  intense  in 
this  country,  as  often  to  kill  almost 
whole  fields  of  clover. 

Peat  ashes  are  said  to  be  a  very 
proper  dressing  for  clover  grounds. 
But  this  grass  answers  so  well  in 
this  country  without  manure,  that 
the  farmers  choose  to  set  apart  the 
•whole  of  the  manure  that  they  can 
get  for  other  purposes. 
.  Some  think  clover  is  so  far  from 
needing  any  manure,  that  it  will 
recruit  lands  wliich  are  worn  out. 
That  it  will  do  it  more  than  other 
grasses  I  cannot  yet  see  any  reason 
to  believe.  It  will  bear  no  crop 
worth  mowing,  on  lands  which  are 
quite  exhausted.  But  it  is  proba- 
ble it  may  produce  good  crops,  on 
lands  which  are  much  impoverish- 
ed near  the  surface,  by  bearing 
plants  with  short,  fibrous,  or  hori- 
zontal roots;  because  clover  sends 
its  main  roots  to  a  great  depth. — 
And  while  a  iieldlies  several  years 
in  clover,  the  soil  near  the  surface 
may  be  considerably  recruited. — 
But  that  land  on  the  whole  will 
be  in  better  heart,  after  several 
heavy  crops  of  clover  are  taken 
from  it,  and  no  manure  laid  on, 
seems  incredible. 

Writers  on  agriculture  seem, 
however,  to  be  agreed,  that  a  clo- 
ver lay  is  proper  for  the  culture  of 


wheat.  The  rotting  of  its  large 
roots  and  stalks  may  answer  as  a 
good  manure  no  ways  liable  to 
distemper  thevvheat,  as  some  oth- 
er manures  are  thought  to  be. 

Some  skilful  farmers  insist  much 
on  the  propriety  of  sowing  clover- 
seed  with  barley.  I  suppose  it  will 
answer  well  with  almost  any  grain 
that  we  callEnglish.  But  with  a  crop 
of  pease, or  with  any  other  crop  that 
forms  a  close  shade  to  the  soil,  it 
will  not  answer.  'J  he  young  plants 
must  have  some  advantage  of  the 
sun  and  air,  "or  they  will  not  live. 
And  if  it  be  sown  with  flax,  at  least 
in  some  loose  soils,  the  pulling  of 
the  llax  will  be  apt  to  eradicate 
much  of  the  clover.  Crops  which 
lodge  are  also  destructive  to  the 
young  clover,  by  forming  so  close 
a  cover  as  to  stifle  it.  Therefore, 
when  clover  seed  is  sown,  either 
with  barley  or  flax,  the  ground 
should  be  rather  under  than  over 
seeded,  to  prevent  lodging. 

Clover  being  an  early  grass,  it  is 
commonly  fit  to  cut  in  June. — 
When  half  the  heads  are  turned 
from  red  to  brown,  and  on  the  de- 
cay, it  is  the  right  time  to  mow  it. 
But  if  the  seed  is  to  be  saved  for 
use,  it  must  stand  till  it  is  all  dead 
ripe,  both  heads  and  stalks.  It  re- 
quires more  care  to  make  clover 
into  hay  than  most  other  grasses. 
That  which  is  mown  in  a  morning, 
should  be  spread, turned,  and  raked 
up  before  night.  The  next  day,  if 
the  weather  be  fair,  it  must  be 
opened,  stirred  once  or  twice,  and 
cocked  up  again.  Then,  after 
sweating  a  day  or  two,  it  may  be 
put  into  the  barn.  Rank  clover 
requires  much  more  drying  than 


CLO 


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93 


that  which  is  of  a  moderate  growth. 
And  the  hay  is  not  so  good. 

In  the  most  southerly  parts  of 
New-England,  land  in  good  heart 
will  bear  two  crops  of  clover  in  a 
year.  Mr.  Eliot,  therefore,  recom- 
mends saving  the  second  crop  for 
seed,  the  first  crop  having  been 
mowed  early.  But  two  crops  are 
not  to  be  obtained  in  the  northern 
parts  of  this  country.  And,  if  they 
were,  so  frequent  a  cutting  would 
be  apt  to  make  the  roots  shorter 
lived.  It  is  advisable  to  pasture  it 
in  May,  and  then  let  it  grow  for 
seed.  It  is  best  to  cut  clover  for 
seed  on  land  that  is  soon  to  be  bro- 
ken up  :  Because  a  crop  of  seed 
weakens  the  roots  much  more  than 
a  crop  of  hay  ;  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  it  will  bear  any  considera- 
ble crop  afterwards.  Indeed,  no 
crop  of  clover  is  of  any  great  im- 
portance for  hay,  after  the  second 
year.     For  it  is  a  biennial  plant. 

The  white  clover,vulgarly  called 
honeysuckle,  is  an  excellent  grass, 
and  seems  very  natural  to  this  coun- 
try :  But  when  sown  by  itself,  it 
does  not  grow  tall  enough  for  mow- 
ing. It  is  good  for  feeding  in  pas- 
tures, during  the  fore  part  of  sum- 
mer, at  which  time  it  often  ap- 
pears in  great  plenty. 

The  hop  clover  is  new  in  this 
country,  but  seems  to  appear  not 
very  promising.  It  is  said  to  flou- 
rish on  the  most  barren  sands,  and 
continue  long  in  any  soil.  It  is  of 
two  kinds,  large  and  small,  and  the 
heads  are  yellow.  I  once  sowed 
a  small  bed  of  it.  It  did  not  pros- 
per, being  almost  wholly  destroyed 
by  the  following  winter. 

The  European  farmers  are  cau- 


tious of  turning  neat  cattle  in  to 
feed  in  afield  ofluxuriant  green  clo- 
ver, for  fear  of  their  being  hoven 
with  it,  as  it  is  called,  or  so  swelled 
by  eating  it  greedily,  as  to  be  kil- 
led by  it.  But  this  is  an  inconve- 
nience, which  I  have  never  known 
to  take  place  in  this  country.  The 
way  to  save  the  life  of  hoven  beasts 
is,  to  stab  them  between  the  hip 
and  the  short  ribs,  where  the  swel- 
ling rises  highest.  It  is  performed 
with  a  narrow,  sharp  pointed  knife, 
which  makes  an  orifice  in  the  maw, 
and  lets  out  the  air  that  oppresses. 
The  wound  soon  heals  of  itself. 

The  author  of  a  valuable  work, 
entitled,  "  A  Treatise  on  Agricul- 
ture," lately  published  in  Albany, 
directs  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  clo- 
ver seed  to  be  sown  on  an  acre,  if 
the  soil  be  rich,  and  double  the 
quantity  if  it  be  poor.  He  con- 
demns the  practice  of  mixing  the 
seeds  of  timothy  and  rye  grass,&c. 
with  that  of  clover,  "  because  these 
grasses  neither  rise  nor  ripen  at 
the  same  time.  Another  practice 
equally  bad,  is  that  of  sowing  clo- 
ver seed  on  winter  grain,  before 
the  earth  has  acquired  a  tempera- 
ture favourable  to  vegetation,  and 
when  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  two-thirds  of  the  seeds  will 
perish."  This  writer  is  of  opinion 
that  clover  should  not  be  pastured 
the  first  year,  and  observes,  that 
"  If  the  crowns  of  young  clover 
roots  be  nibbled,  or  otherwise 
wounded,  the  roots  die.  Sheep  and 
horses  (both  of  which  bite  closely) 
should  therefore  be  particularly 
excluded  from  clover,  unless  in- 
tended for  pasturage  only." 

According  to  the  same  author, 


94 


CLO 


COL 


"  the  short  period  between  the 
flowering  and  the  seeding  of  clo- 
ver, is  that  in  which  its  use  would 
be  most  advantageous,  whether  re- 
garded us  forage,  or  as  an  amehor- 
ating  crop."  But  "  when  seed  is 
the  principal  object  of  culture,  we 
cannot  do  better  than  to  adopt  the 
practice  in  Holland — where  the 
first  crop  is  cut  before  it  flowers, and 
the  second  is  reserved  for  seed." 

Green  clover  is  good  food  for 
swine  in  sumnier  ;  and  when  cut 
green,  and  salted,  after  being  a  lit- 
tle withered, with  about  half  a  peck 
of  salt  to  a  load,  it  makes  good  food 
for  swine  in  winter.  But  for  this 
latter  purpose  it  should  be  steam- 
ed, or  boiled. 

Two  sorts  of  machines  are  de- 
scribed in  the  Transactions  of  the 
New-York  Agricultural  Society, 
for  gathering  clover  seed.  They 
were  invented  in  Brookhaven, 
Suffolk  County,  New-York,by  Mr. 
L'Hommedieu.  One  of  these  ma- 
chines consists  of  an  open  box, 
about  four  feet  square  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  about  three  feet  in  height 
on  three  sides  ;  to  the  fore  part, 
which  is  open,  fingers  are  fix- 
ed, similar  to  those  of  a  cradle, 
about  three  feet  in  length,  and  so 
near  as  to  break  off  the  heads  from 
the  clover-stocks  between  them, 
which  are  thrown  back  into  the 
box  as  the  horse  advances.  The 
box  is  fixed  on  an  axle-tree,  sup- 
ported by  two  small  wheels,  two 
feet  in  diameter  ;  two  handles  are 
fixed  to  the  hinder  part,  by  means 
of  which  the  driver,  while  he  man- 
ages the  horse,  raises  or  lowers  the 
fingers  of  the  machine,  so  as  to  take 
off  all  the  heads  of  the  grass  ;  and, 


as  often  as  the  box  is  filled  with 
them,  they  are  thrown  out, and  the 
horse  goes  on  as  before. 

The  other  machine  is  called  a 
cradle,  and  is  made  of  an  oak  board 
about  18  inches  in  length,  and  10 
in  breadth.  The  fore  part  of  it  to 
the  length  of  9  inches,  is  sawed  in- 
to fingers  ;  a  handle  is  inserted  be- 
hind, inclined  towards  them,  and 
a  cloth  put  round  the  back  part  of 
the  board,  which  is  cut  somewhat 
circular,  and  raised  on  the  handle ; 
this  collects  the  heads  or  tops  of 
the  grass,  and  prevents  them  from 
scattering,  as  they  are  struck  off  by 
the  cradle,  which  may  be  made  of 
different  sizes  ;  being  smaller  in 
proportion  for  women  and  children, 
who  by  means  of  it  may  likewise 
collect  large  quantities. 

The  part  containing  the  seed 
must  be  well  dried  in  the  sun,  be- 
fore the  seed  can  be  threshed  oui. 
About  three  bushels  of  seed  may 
be  commonly  collected  from  an 
acre. 

COLE-SEED,  Brassica  Raput 
"This  plant,  which  is  generally 
known  by  the  title  of  rape,  or  cole- 
seed, is  much  cultivated  in  the  isle 
of  Ely,  and  some  other  parts  of 
England,  for  its  seed,  from  which 
the  rape  oil  is  drawn  ;  and  it  hath 
been  also  cultivated  of  late  years, 
in  other  places,  for  feeding  of  cat- 
tle, to  great  advantage. 

"  The  cole-seed,  when  cultiva- 
ted for  feeding  of  cattle,  should  be 
sown  about  the  middle  of  June. — 
The  ground  should  be  prepared 
for  it  in  the  same  manner  as  for 
turnips.  The  quantity  of  seeds  for 
an  acre  of  land  is  from  six  to  eight 
pounds,  and  as  the  price  of  seed  is 


COL 


COM 


not  great,  it  is  better  to  allow  eight 
pounds  ;  for  if  the  plants  are  too 
close  in  any  part,  they  may  be 
easily  thinned,  when  the  ground  is 
hoed  ;  which  must  be  performed 
in  the  same  manner  as  is  practised 
for  turnips,  with  this  difference  on- 
ly, of  leaving  these  much  nearer 
together  ;  for  as  they  have  fibrous 
roots  and  slender  stalks,  so  they  do 
not  require  near  so  much  room. — 
These  plants  should  have  a  second 
hoeing,about  five  or  six  weeks  after 
the  first, which,  if  well  performed  in 
dry  weather,  will  entirely  destroy 
the  weeds,  so  that  they  will  re- 
quire no  farther  culture, 

"Where  there  is  not  an  imme- 
diate want  of  food,  these  plants  had 
better  be  kept  as  a  reserve  for  hard 
weather,  or  spring  feed,  when 
there  may  be  a  scarcity  of  other 
green  food.  If  the  heads  are  cut 
oflfand  the  stalks  left  in  the  ground, 
they  will  shoot  again  early  in  the 
spring,  and  produce  a  good  second 
crop  in  April,  which  may  be  either 
fed  off,  or  permitted  to  run  to 
seeds,  as  is  the  practice  where 
this  is  cultivated  for  the  seeds  : 
But  if  the  first  is  fed  down,  there 
should  be  care  taken  that  the  cat- 
tle do  not  destroy  the  stems,  or 
pull  them  out  of  the  ground.  As 
this  plant  is  so  hardy  as  not  to  be 
destroyed  by  frost,  so  it  is  of  great 
service  in  hard  winters  for  feeding 
of  ewes  ;  for  when  the  ground  is 
so  hard  frozen  as  that  turnips  can- 
not be  taken  up,  these  plants  may 
be  cut  off  for  a  constant  supply. — 
This  will  afford  late  food  after  the 
turnips  are  run  to  seed  ;  and  if  it 
is  afterwards  permitted  to  stand  for 
seed,   one  acre   will   produce  as 


much  as,  at  a  moderate  computa- 
tion will  sell  for  five  pounds  clear 
of  charges.''  Gardener''s  Diction- 
ary. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  who  made 
some  trial  of  this  plant,  is  doubtful 
whether  it  will  answer  for  winter 
feeding  in  this  country,  because  of 
the  severity  of  our  frosts.  But  the 
above  author  adds — "The  curled 
colewort,  or  Siberian  borecole,  is 
now  more  generally  esteemed  than 
the  former,  being  extremely  hardy, 
so  it  is  never  injured  by  cold, 
but  is  always  sweeter  in  severe 
winters,  than  in  mild  seasons."-— 
A  gentleman  informs  me,  that, 
in  Boston,  he  has  made  trial 
ofthis  plant,  and  found  that  the 
winter  did  not  injure  it.  It  is  fit 
for  the  table  from  December  to 
April. 

I  myselfmade  trial  of  three  kinds 
of  borecole  the  last  year,  in  the  la- 
titude of  44.  It  grew  very  well  till 
winter  ;  but  not  one  plant  in  fifty 
had  any  life  in  it  in  the  following 
spring.  The  sorts  were  the  green, 
the  white,  and  the  red.  But  it  is 
probable  that  in  some  parts  of 
New-England,  and  in  warm  situa- 
tions, this  plant  may  be  cultivated 
with  advantage ;  though  not  in 
fields,  I  think  it  may  in  gardens. 

COMPOSITION  FOR  TREES, 
a  substance  discovered,  prepared, 
and  applied  by  Mr.  Forsyth  for 
the  purpose  of  removing  diseases, 
defects  and  injuries  in  fruit  and 
forest  trees.  It  is  directed  to  be 
composed  in  the  following  mannerj 
in  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Manage- 
ment of  Trees." 

"Take  one  bushel  of  fresh  cow- 
dung,  half  a  bushel  of  hme  rubbish 


96 


COM 


COM 


of  old  buildings  (that  from  Ihe 
ceilings  of  rooms  is  preferable,) 
half  a  bushel  of  wood  ashes,  and  a 
sixteenth  part  of  a  bushel  of  pit  or 
river  sand.  The  three  last  arti- 
cles are  to  be  sifted  hne  before 
they  are  mixed  ;  then  work  them 
well  together  with  a  spade,  and 
afterwards  with  a  wooden  beater, 
until  the  stuff  is  very  smooth  like 
fine  plaster  used  for  the  cielings  of 
rooms. 

"  The  composition  being  thus 
made,  care  must  be  taken  to  pre- 
pare the  tree  properly  for  its  ap- 
plication, by  cutting  away  all  the 
dead,  decayed  and  injured  parts, 
till  you  come  to  the  fresh  sound 
wood,  leaving  the  surface  of  the 
wood  very  smooth,  and  rounding 
off  the  edges  of  the  bark  with  a 
drawing  knife,  or  other  instru- 
ments, perfectly  smooth,  which 
must  be  particularly  attended  to  ; 
then  lay  in  the  plaster  about  one 
eighth  of  an  inch  thick,  all  over 
the  part  where  the  wood  or  bark 
has  been  so  cut  away,  finishing  off 
the  edges  as  thin  as  possible : 
Then  take  a  quantity  of  dry  pow- 
der of  wood  ashes  mixed  with  a 
sixth  part  of  the  same  quantity  of 
the  ashes  of  burnt  bones  ;  put  it 
into  a  tin  box,  with  holes  in  the 
top,  and  shake  the  powder  on  the 
surface  of  the  plaster,  till  the 
whole  is  covered  over  with  it, 
letting  it  remain  for  half  an  hour, 
to  absorb  the  moisture  ;  then  ap- 
ply more  powder,  rubbing  it  on 
gently  with  the  hand,  and  repeat- 
ing the  application  of  the  powder 
till  the  whole  plaster  becomes  a 
dry  smooth  surface. 

All  trees   cut   down    near    the 


ground  should  have  the  surface 
made  quite  smoth,  rounding  it  off 
in  a  small  degree,  as  before  men- 
tioned, and  the  dry  powder  direct- 
ed to  be  used  afterwards  should 
have  an  equal  quantity  of  powder 
of  alabaster  mixed  with  it,  in  or- 
der to  resist  the  dropping  of  trees 
and  heavy  rains. 

"  If  any  of  the  composition  be 
left  for  a  future  occasion,  it  should 
be  kept  in  a  tub,  or  other  vessel, 
and  urine  of  any  kind  poured  on 
it,  so  as  to  cover  the  surface ; 
otherwise  the  atmosphere  will 
greatly  hurt  the  efficacy  of  the  ap- 
plication. 

''  When  lime  rubbish  of  old 
buildings  cannot  easily  be  got, 
take  pounded  chalk,  or  common 
lime,  after  having  been  slacked  a 
month  at  least. 

"  As  the  growth  of  the  tree  will 
gradually  affect  the  plaster,  by 
raising  up  its  edges  next  the  bark, 
care  should  be  taken,  where  that 
happens,  to  rub  it  over  with  the 
finger  when  occasion  may  require 
(which  is  best  done  when  moisten- 
ed by  rain,)  that  the  plaster  may 
be  kept  whole,  to  prevent  the  air 
and  wet  penetrating  into  the 
wound." 

"  As  the  best  way  of  using  the 
composition  is  found  by  experi- 
ence to  be  in  a  liquid  state,"  Mr. 
Forsyth  advises  that  it  should  be 
reduced  to  the  consistence  of  pret- 
ty thick  paint  by  mixing  it  up  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  urine  and 
soap  suds,  and  be  laid  on  with  a 
painter's  brush.  The  powder  of 
wood  ashes  and  burnt  bones  is  to 
be  applied  as  before  directed,  pat- 
ting it  down  with  the  hand." 


COM 


COM 


97 


It  is  also  further  advised  that 
"  when  trees  are  become  hollow, 
to  scoop  out  all  the  rotten,  loose, 
and  dead  parts  of  the  trunk,  to  the 
solid  wood,  leaving  the  surface 
smooth :  then  to  cover  the  hollow,  ! 
and  every  part  where  the  canker  ! 
has  been  cut  out,  or  branches  top- 
ped off,  with  the  composition ; 
and  as  the  edges  grow,  to  take 
care  not  to  let  the  new  wood  come 
in  contact  with  the  dead,  part  of 
which  it  may  sometimes  be  ne- 
cessary to  leave  :  but  to  cut  out 
the  old  dead  wood  as  the  new  ad- 
vances, keeping  a  hollow  between 
them  to  allow  the  new  wood  room 
to  extend  itself,  and  thereby  till  up 
the  cavity,  which  it  will  do  in  time, 
so  as  to  make  it  as  it  were  a  new 
tree." 

And  if  the  cavity  be  large,  to 
cut  away  as  much  at  one  operation 
as  will  be  sufficient  for  three  years. 
But  in  this  to  "be  guided  by  the 
size  of  the  wound,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances. When  the  new  wood, 
advancing  from  both  sides  of  the 
wound,  has  almost  met,  to  cut  otY 
the  bark  from  both  the  edges,  that 
the  solid  wood  may  join,  which,  if 
properly  managed,  it  will  do,  leav- 
ing only  a  slight  seam  on  the  bark. 
If  the  tree  be  very  much  decayed, 
do  not  cut  away  all  the  dead  wood 
at  once,  which  would  weaken  the 
tree  too  much,  if  a  standard,  and 
endanger  its  being  blown  down  by 
the  wind.  It  will  therefore  be  ne- 
cessary to  leave  part  of  the  dead 
wood  at  first,  to  strengthen  the 
tree,  and  to  cut  it  out  by  degrees 
as  the  new  wood  is  formed.  If 
there  be  any  canker  or  gum  ooz- 
ing, the  infected  parts  must  be  par- 
13 


ed  off,  or  cut  out  with  a  proper 
instrument.  When  the  stem  is 
very  much  decayed,  and  hollow,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  open  the 
ground  and  examine  the  roots." 

COMPOSTS.  "  The  utility  of 
composts  has  been  proved  by  the 
experience  of  numbers,  in  various 
districts.  The  subject  may  be  con- 
sidered under  the  following  heads  : 
1 .  The  materials  used  ;  2.  The  soils 
or  crops  to  which  it  should  be  ap- 
plied ;  and,  3. The  effects  produced. 
"•  1.  Materials.  Unslacked  lime, 
and  earth  of  different  sorts,  are 
the  substances  commonly  used. 
Quick  lime  is  the  proper  stimulus 
for  bringing  the  powers  of  a  com- 
post into  action  ;  operating  upon 
a  heap  of  earth  in  some  degree  as 
yeast  does  upon  a  quantity  of  flour 
or  meal.  Enough  ought  to  be  ap- 
plied to  excite  a  species  of  fer- 
mentation in  the  heap,  and  to 
neutralize  any  pernicious  mineral 
substances  which  may  exist  in  it. 

"  The  formation  and  convey- 
ance of  compost  being  attended 
with  much  expense,  where  cir- 
cumstances will  admit  of  it,  hor- 
ses, instead  of  manual  labour, 
ought  to  be  employed  in  the  pro- 
cess of  preparation,  and  the  com- 
post should  be  prepared  in  the 
field  to  which  it  is  afterwards  to 
be  applied. 

"  It  has  been  ascertained  by  a 
number  of  experiments,  that  two 
bushels  of  unslacked  lime  are 
sufficient  for  each  cubic  yard  of 
earih  of  a  medium  quality,  and  as 
80  cubic  yards  of  earth  are  suf- 
ficient to  manure  an  acre,  160 
bushels  of  unslacked  lime  is  the 
quantity  required.    To  obtain  this 


98 


COM 


COM 


quantity  of  each,  it  is  the  practice 
of  some  farmers  to  plough  the 
head  ridges  at  both  ends  of  the 
field,  ten  inches  deep,  and  to  col- 
lect one  half  of  this,  which  can  be 
often  spared,  without  any  loss,  as 
the  head  ridges  are  generally  too 
high,  in  consequence  of  the  earth 
accumulated  in  the  course  of 
years,  from  the  plough  being 
cleared  every  time  it  turns.  It 
has  been  calculated,  that  where  a 
head-ridge  is  18  feet  broad,  72 
feet  of  it  in  length,  ploughed  ten 
inches  deep,  will  produce  40  cubic 
yards  of  earth,  and  consequently 
the  two  head-ridges  will  produce 
80  cubic  yards  of  compost  for  the 
field  to  be  manured. 

"Composts are  frequently  made 
of  various  materials,  as  several 
sorts  of  earth,  lime,  old  mortar 
and  plaster,  green  vegetables,  be- 
fore they  run  to  seed,  soft  chalk, 
tanners'  bark,  saw  dust,  soap- 
ashes,  dung,  &c.  It  is  recom- 
mended, that  instead  of  being 
laid  in  regular  layers,  they  should 
be  mixed  as  much  as  possible,  in 
forming  the  heap.  A  fermenta- 
tion is  soon  excited,  and  the  of- 
tener  the  heap  is  turned,  so  much 
the  more  will  fermentation  be 
promoted. 

"  A  mode  of  making  compost 
■was  suggested  by  the  late  Lord 
Meadowbank,  of  which  peat  is  the 
basis.  It  was  not  unusual  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  Scotland,  to  bed  cat- 
tle, and  even  sheep,  with  peat,  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  the 
quantity  of  manure;  but  Lord 
Meadowbank  was  the  first  individ- 
ual in  this  country  who  investigat- 
ed the  properties  of  that  species 


of  manure,  and  explained  them 
upon  scientific  principles.  The 
result  is  that  one  ton  of  dung,  will 
ferment  three  tons  of  peat,  or 
moss  earth.  This  is  a  most  valua- 
ble discovery,  and  must,  if  duly 
attended  to,  greatly  enrich  many 
hitherto  neglected  districts.  The 
great  advantage  of  this  compost 
is,  that  it  has  nothing  but  inert 
vegetable  matter  to  act  upon, 
whereas,  when  lime  is  mixed  with 
rich  earth,  it  may  have  the  eflfect 
of  dissipating  the  gaseous  matters 
it  contains,  and  of  rendering  it 
proportionably  less  valuable. 

2.  Composts  are  peculiarly  well 
calculated  for  grass  lands,  and 
ought  to  supersede  the  offensive, 
and  wasteful  practice  of  laying 
putrescent  matter  on  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  by  which  a  very  large 
proportion  of  its  most  valuable 
component  parts  is  lost  in  the  at- 
mosphere. They  are  likewise  of 
great  use  to  moorish  lands,  aug- 
menting their  staple,  and  adding 
to  them  a  number  of  valuable  and 
enriching  substances.  In  regard 
to  sandy  or  clayey  soils,  composts, 
principally  consisting  of  articles 
different  from  their  general  nature 
respectively,  will  improve  their 
texture  and  convert  them  into 
loams. 

3.  "  The  effects  of  composts 
are  highly  satisfactory.  In  regard 
to  grass  lands,  experience  has 
shown,  that  they  at  once  improve 
their  quality,  and  checks  for  years, 
the  progress  of  moss  or  even  un- 
profitable grasses.  In  thin  moor- 
ish soils,  composts  properly  and 
repeatedly  applied,  alter  the  na- 
ture of  the  soil ;  it  becomes  more 


C  O  T 


COT 


99 


fertile,  retains  its  moisture  better, 
and  does  not  suffer  by  the  sum- 
mer's drought,  which  would  oth- 
erwise burn  up  the  crops.  The 
effects  of  the  Meadowbank  com- 
posts are  still  more  extraordinary  ; 
a  farmer  in  Roxburghshire,  hav- 
ing raisi'd  as  good  turnips,  and  as 
productive  crops  of  wheat,  after 
fallow,  on  good  soils,  manured 
with  this  compost,  as  from  dung. 

•'  It  is  a  circumstance  not  to  be 
omitted,  that  lime  will  operate  in 
compost,  upon  lands  that  had  been 
exhausted  by  the  over  frequent, 
or  too  abundant  application  of  lirne 
or  marl,  even  when  it  had  not 
succeeded  when  used  by  itself. 
This  is  a  strong  recommendation 
of  such  mixed  manure,  as  land 
may  be  thus  cultivated  to  advan- 
tage, that  would  otherwise  remain 
unproductive."  The  Code  of 
Agriculture. 

CORN-SHELLER.  A  machine 
for  shelling  Indian  Corn  has  been 
invented  in  Massachusetts,  and  a 
patent  obtained  by  the  inventor. 
The  expence  of  the  machine  is 
said  to  be  about  twenty  dollars. 
Two  hands  with  this  machine,  can 
shell,  it  is  said,  at  the  rate  of 
about  half  a  bushel  a  minute. 

COTTON,  {Gossyplum)  is  a 
genus  of  plants,  comprising  twelve 
species,  all  of  which  are  natives  of 
warm  climates,  though  four  only 
are  cultivated.  In  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina  two  kinds  of  cotton 
are  planted ;  one  of  which  grows 
upon  the  upland,  is  of  a  short  sta- 
ple, and  has  green  seed.  Another 
kind  of  a  long  staple  and  silky  fine- 
ness, having  black  seed,  is  cultivat- 
ed upon  the  islands  on  the  coast  of 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina. 


Pierce  Butler,  Esq.  who  success- 
fully cultivates  cotton  on  the  island 
of  St.  Simons,  State  of  Georgia, 
gives  the  following  directions  for 
raising  it. 

"  If  the  land  has  been  recently 
cleared,  or  has  long  remained  fal- 
low, turn  it  up  deep  in  winter ;  and 
in  the  first  week  in  March  bed  it 
up  in  the  following  manner.  Form 
25  beds,  in  105  square  feet  of 
land,  (being  the  space  allotted  to 
each  able  labourer  for  a  days 
work  ;)  this  leaves  about  four  ieei, 
two  and  one  half  inches  from  the 
centre  of  one  bed,  to  the  centre  of 
the  next.  The  beds  should  be 
three  feet  wide  and  flat  in  the 
middle.  About  the  1 5th  of  March, 
in  the  latitude  from  29  to  30°,  the 
cultivator  should  commence  sow- 
ing, or  as  it  generally  termed, 
planting.  The  seed  should  be 
well  scattered  in  open  trenches, 
made  in  the  centre  of  the  beds, 
and  covered :  the  proportion  of 
seed  is  one  bushel  to  one  acre ; 
this  allows  for  accidents  occasion- 
ed bv  worms  or  night  chills.  The 
cotton  should  be  well  weeded  by 
hoes,  once  every  twelve  days,  till 
blown,  and  even  longer  if  there  is 
grass,  observing  to  hoe  up,  that  is 
to  the  cotton  till  it  pods,  and  hoe 
down  when  the  cotton  is  blown,  in 
order  to  check  the  growth  of  the 
plant.  From  the  proportion  of 
seed  mentioned,  the  cotton  plants 
will  come  up  plentifully,  too  much 
so  to  suffer  all  to  remain.  They 
should  be  thinned  moderately  at 
each  hoeing.  When  the  plants 
have  got  strength  and  growth, 
which  may  be  about  the  third 
hoeing,  to  disregard   worms    and 


100 


cow 


cow 


bear  drought,  they  should  be  thin- 
ned according  to  the  fertihty  of 
the  soil,  from  six  inches  to  near 
two  feet  between  the  stocks  or 
plants.  In  rich  river  grounds  the 
beds  should  be  from  5  to  6  feet 
apart,  measuring  from  centre  to 
centre ;  and  the  cotton  plants, 
when  out  of  the  way  of  the  worms, 
from  two  to  three  feet  apart.  It 
is  advisable  to  top  cotton  once  or 
twice  in  low  grounds,  and  also  to 
remove  the  suckers.  The  latter 
end  of  July  is  generally  considered 
a  proper  time  for  topping. — 
Gypsum  may  be  used  with  success 
on  cotton  lands  not  near  the  sea. 
In  river  grounds  draining  is  pro- 
per; yet  these  lands  should  not  be 
kept  too  dry.  In  tide  lands,  it  is 
beneficial  to  let  the  water  flow 
over  the  land  without  retaining  it. 
In  river  lands  a  change  of  crops  is 
necessary.  From  actual  experi- 
ment it  has  been  proved  that  river 
tide  lands  having  the  preceding 
year  had  rice  sown  on  them,  yield- 
ed much  more  cotton  the  succeed- 
ing year  than  they  would  have  af- 
forded by  a  continuation  of  cotton. 

"  The  mere  growing  of  cotton 
is  but  a  part  of  the  care  of  the 
planter ;  very  much  depends  on 
classing  and  cleansing  it  for  mar- 
ket, after  it  has  been  housed ; 
sorting  it  before  it  goes  to  the 
Jennies,  moating  and  removing 
any  yellow  particles,  are  essential 
to  assure  a  preference  at  a  com- 
mon market  of  competition.  Do- 
mestic Encyclopaedia. 

COW,  "  the  female  of  the  ox 
kind.  The  marks  of  a  good  cow, 
according  to  some,  are  these  :  The 
forehead  broad,  the  eyes  black,the 


horns  large  and  clean,  the  neck 
long  and  straight,  the  belly  large 
and  deep,  the  thighs  thick,  the  legs 
round  with  short  joints,  and  the 
feet  broad  and  thick."  Die.  of  Arts, 

I  may  add  here,  if  the  cleaning 
of  a  cow  after  calving  be  delayed, 
it  may  be  promoted  by  giving  her 
a  pail  of  warm  water  with  some 
ashes  in  it. 

Cows  should  be  milked  regular- 
ly, morning  and  evening,  and  al- 
ways at  the  same  hours,  as  nearly 
as  may  be.  At  six  in  the  morning, 
and  six  at  night,  is  a  good  general 
rule,  as  the  times  of  milking  will 
be  equidistant  from  each  other. — 
But  if  they  are  milked  three  times 
a  day,  as  a  modern  writer  on  hus- 
bandry recommends,  it  may  be 
done  at  five,  one  and  eight.  He 
believes  that  if  they  are  full  fed, 
they  will  give  half  as  much  again 
milk,  if  milked  thrice,  as  if  only 
twice.  At  the  same  time,  it  would 
prevent  a  too  great  distention  of 
(heir  bags,  to  which  our  best  cows 
are  liable.  If  the  milking  be  once 
omitted,  they  will  give  much  more 
at  the  next  milking  ;  but  it  will 
cause  them  to  give  less  milk  on  the 
whole,  and  tend  to  dry  them  up. 

No  animals  that  we  keep  are 
more  profitable  than  cows.  Not- 
withstanding this  is  generally 
known,  and  admitted  by  farmers, 
they  are  too  apt  to  act  as  if  they 
believed  the  reverse  to  be  true. — 
They  often  keep  two  bad  cows, 
which  will  not  give  on  an  average, 
through  the  year,  more  milk  or 
butter  than  one  good  one,  while 
they  will  consume  double  ;  and 
they  are  easily  tempted,  by  a  small 
extra  price,  to  sell  the  best  cow  in 


cow 


cow 


101 


their  herd,  not  reflecting,  that  this 
excellent  cow  must  be  as  profitable 
to  them  as  the  purchaser  ;  and 
that  by  this  course,  often  repeated, 
they  gradually  deteriorate,  or  make 
worse  the  quality  of  their  stock,  by 
the  loss  of  all  the  calves  which 
such  a  valuable  cow  might  have 
brought ;  and  by  being  thus  com- 
pelled to  raise  stock  from  inferior 
animals. 

If  cows  are  lean  when  calving, 
no  management  afterwards  will 
ever  bring  them  to  yield,  for  that 
season,  any  thins  like  the  quantity 
of  milk  they  would  have  furnished, 
had  they  been  kept  all  winter  in 
high  condition. 

"  Pure  water  is  an  essential  ar- 
ticle for  cows.  Dr.  Anderson 
says,  he  knew  a  man  who  acquired 
great  wealth,  by  attending  to  things 
of  this  nature,  and  one  of  his  prin- 
cipal discoveries  was  the  impor- 
tance of  having  a  continued  supply 
of  the  purest  water  that  could  be 
obtained  for  his  cows,  and  he  would 
on  no  account  permit  a  single  ani- 
mal to  set  a  foot  into  it,  nor  allow 
it  to  be  tainted  even  by  the  breath 
of  animals. 
"  Inflamed  teats  should  be  washed 
with  two  drachms  of  sugar  of  lead 
in  a  quart  of  water.  Should  tumours 
appear  apply  a  common  warm 
marsh  with  bran  with  a  little  lard. 

"  To  prevent  cows  from  sucking 
their  own  milk,  we  are  informed 
that  rubbing  the  teats  frequently 
with  the  most  foetid  cheese  that 
can  be  procured  has  proved  an  ef- 
fectual remedy."  Domestic  Ency- 
cloposdia. 

COW  HOUSE,  that  apartment 
in  a  barn,  in  which  cows  and  other 


neat  cattle,  are  tied  up  and  fed, 
dur'ing  the  winter,  and  part  of  au- 
tumn and  spring. 

Farmers  may  think  they  need 
but  little  teaching  concerning  these 
apartments,  as  they  have  been  so 
long  acquainted  with  them.  But 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  give  them 
the  following  directions, which  they 
may  receive  or  reject,  as  they  think 
fit. 

hi  the  first  place,  it  is  of  no  small 
importance  that  the  floor  under  a 
cow  house  be  very  tight,  so  that 
none  of  the  stale  may  be  lost, which 
is  of  great  value  as  a  manure,when 
mixed  with  other  substances.  A 
farmer  would  be  no  more  blame- 
worthy for  throwing  away  the  dung 
than  the  urine  of  beasts,  which 
contains  abundance  of  fertilizing 
salts  and  oils.  But  if  it  be  suffer- 
ed to  run  through  the  floor,  it  is  en- 
tirely lost. 

The  stale  should  be  conveyed 
through  the  floor  into  the  cellar  ; 
or  if  there  be  no  cellar  under  the 
barn,  let  it  pass,  in  constructed 
channels  through  the  sides  to  the 
dung-heap,  or  stercorary  ;  but  by 
no  means  into  earth  or  sods,  laid 
on  the  floor,  and  against  the  sides, 
(as  directed  in  a  former  edition  of 
this  work)  as  the  frequent  repairs, 
thus  rendered  necessary,  would  be 
nearly  equivalent  to  the  value  of 
the  urine  so  saved. 

When  a  farmer  thinks  himself 
not  well  able  to  be  at  the  expense 
of  a  floor  of  good  planks,  let  him 
get  a  quantity  of  good  clay,  make 
mortar,  and  lay  a  bed  of  it  a  foot 
thick  or  more,  for  a  floor  ;  giving 
it  a  proper  descent  backwards,that 
the  cattle  may  lie  dry,  and  raising 


102 


COW 


CRE 


it  at  the  hinder  border,  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  urine.  The  floor 
will  grow  thinner  by  being  gradu- 
ally shoveled  up  with  the  dung ; 
but  it  is  easy  to  repair  it  ;  and  the 
faster  it  wears  away,  the  more  the 
quantity  of  manure  is  increased. 

Also,  the  floors  over  a  cow  house 
should  be  more  tight  than  they 
commonly  are.  It  would  prevent 
the  descent  of  dust  and  chaff*.  It 
would  cause  the  hay  above  it  to  be 
less  injured  by  the  air  ;  as  well  as 
less  contaminated  by  the  breath  of 
the  cattle,  and  the  steam  of  their 
excrements. 

There  are  different  ways  of  tying 
up  cattle.  Some  prefer  one  way, 
and  some  another.  I  prefer  stan- 
chions to  bows  :  Not  only  because 
the  cattle  take  up  less  room  in  this 
way,  but  are  less  apt  to  waste  their 
fodder.  They  are  also  more  se- 
cure in  this  way  ;  so  that  they  do 
not  so  often  break  loose,  and  worry 
and  wound  each  other. 

A  cow  house  should  be  in  the 
southerly  part  of  a  barn,  when  it 
can  well  be  so  ordered.  The  cat- 
tle will  be  less  pinched  with  the 
cold  northerly  winds.  Another 
advantage  is,  that  the  heaps  of 
dung  thrown  out  on  that  side,  being 
in  a  sunny  place,  will  be  thawed 
earlier  in  the  spring,  so  as  to  befit 
to  be  carted  out  in  season.  On 
the  north  side,  ice  will  sometimes 
remain  in  the  heaps,  or  under 
them,  till  the  last  of  May,  or  be- 
ginning of  June. 

In  this  climate,  cattle  must  be 
housed  near  half  the  year  ;  from 
the  middle  of  November  to  the  last 
of  April,  and  occasionally  at  other 
times.     Though  they    must  have 


fodder  for  two  or  three  weeks  be- 
fore and  after  these  periods,  I  think 
it  advisable  to  let  them  lie  in  the 
barn  yard,  and  eat  out  of  a  rack, 
unless  the  weather  be  stormy  or 
the  air  uncommonly  cold.  For  if 
they  be  kept  too  warm  in  the  fall, 
they  will  become  tender,  and  not 
winter  so  well  ;  or  if  lodged  too 
warm  in  the  spring,  they  are  more 
apt  to  be  lousy. 

CRADLE,  a  frame  joined  to  a 
scythe,  useful  in  harvesting,  by  the 
help  of  which,  three  times  the 
quantity  of  grain  may  be  cut  down 
in  a  given  time  that  can  be  with  a 
sickle,  and  laid  tolerably  even  and 
regular,  for  binding  in  bundles.  It 
is  oftener  used  for  cutting  oats  and 
rye  than  for  wheat.  There  is  dan- 
ger, however,  of  too  much  waste 
in  cradling,  when  the  corn  is  thick 
and  heavy,  or  does  not  stand  up- 
right ;  the  labour  also  would  be 
too  painful  and  tiresome. 

CREAM,  the  fat  part  of  milk 
which  rises  to  the  surface. 

To  produce  the  greatest  quanti- 
ty of  cream,  the  pans  in  which  the 
milk  is  set)  should  be  flat  shaped, 
so  that  the  milk  may  not  be  more 
than  three  inches  deep.  Those  in 
common  use  are  not  much  amiss. 
They  should  be  well  scalded  with 
hot  water,'  as  often  as  milk  is  set  in 
them,  and  be  thoroughly  cooled. 
If  the  place  where  milk  is  set  be 
too  warm,  it  will  be  apt  to  turn 
sour,  before  the  cream  has  had  suf- 
ficient time  to  ascend  ;  and  none 
will  rise  after  the  milk  begins  to 
coagulate.  If  the  place  be  too  dry, 
the  cream  will  become  tough  and 
hard  before  it  is  taken,  oft'.  If  the 
place  be  so  cold  as  to  freeze  the 


cue 


cue 


103 


milk,  every  one  knows  that  but 
little  creann  will  be  gotten  from  it. 
The  time  of  skimming  must  be  re- 
gulated by  the  weather  and  other 
circumstances  :  But  nearly  the 
whole  will  rise  to  the  top  in  twen- 
ty-four hours.  In  large  dairies  it 
may  be  troublesome  to  let  it  stand 
longer. 

Milk  may  be  advantageously  set 
in  pans  placed  on  a  floor,  covered 
to  a  small  depth  with  spring  wa- 
ter, which  is  practised  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Some  set  their  milk  in  trays  lin- 
ed with  lead.  This  should  never 
be  done.  For  the  least  acidity  in 
the  milk  will  dissolve  the  lead,  and 
poison  the  milk.  Tin  pans  are 
good,  being  light  and  handy,  and 
wooden  trays  answer  very  well,  if 
kept  sweet. 

CUCUMBERS,  Cucumis,  a  cold 
fruit,  which  is  pleasant  to  the  taste 
of  most  people,  and  much  used  by 
those  who  find  themselves  able  to 
digest  them.  They  are  rendered 
wholesomer  by  pickling. 

The  method  of  growing  them  is 
simple  and  easy.  They  should  not 
be  planted  till  after  Indian  corn  : 
For  the  least  degree  of  frost  en- 
tirely destroys  them.  The  dung 
of  swine  should  be  put  under  them, 
which  makes  them  grow  more  ra- 
pidly than  any  other  manure  which 
I  have  ever  tried. 

Some  steep  the  seeds,  and  cause 
them  to  sprout,  before  they  are 
planted  :  But  1  have  never  found 
any  advantage  in  it.  It  is  not 
amiss,  however,  to  wet  them  a  lit- 
tle, and  coat  them  with  powdered 
soot. 

Mr.   Miller    thinks    the    seeds 


should  not  be  sown  till  they  are 
three  or  four  years  old.  Four 
plants  are  enough  to  stand  in  a  hole 
together  ;  therefore,  when  they 
get  into  rough  leaf,  they  should  be 
thinned  to  this  number.  The  vines 
should  be  so  conducted  as  to  inter- 
fere as  little  as  possible  with  each 
other.  They  who  wish  to  raise 
them  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,may 
consult  the  Gardener'' s  Dictionary, 

The  following  directions  for  stop- 
ping or  topping  cucumbers,melons, 
&c.  are  taken  in  substance,  from 
The  American  Gardener's  Calen- 
dar. 

The  young  plants  should  be  stop- 
ped or  topped  at  the  first  joint,  by 
pruning  olTthetop  of  the  first  run- 
ner bud.  This  operation  should 
be  performed  when  the  plants  have 
two  rough  leaves,  and  when  the 
second  is  about  an  inch  broad,  hav- 
ing the  first  runner  bud  rising  at 
its  base  ;  the  sooner  this  is  de- 
tached, the  sooner  the  plants  ac- 
quire strength,  and  put  out  fruitful 
runners. 

You  will  see  arising  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  plant,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  second  rough  leaf,  the  end  of 
the  first  runner,  like  a  small  bud  ; 
which  bud  or  runner,  being  the  ad- 
vancing top  of  the  plant,  is  now  to 
be  taken  off  close,and  may  be  done 
either  with  the  point  of  a  pen-knife 
or  small  scissors,  or  pinched  off 
carefully  with  the  finger  and  thumb, 
being  careful  not  to  go  so  close  as- 
to  wound  the  joint  from  whence  it 
proceeds.  In  ten  or  twelve  days, 
each  plant  will  begin  to  send  forth 
two  or  three  runners  ;  which  run- 
ners will  probably  show  fruit  at  its 
first,  second,  or  third  joints  •,  for  if 


104 


CUR 


CUR 


the  main  or  first  runner  was  not  to 
be  stopped  as  above,  it  would  per- 
haps run  half  a  yard,  or  two  feet 
in  length,  without  putting  out  more 
runners,  probably  without  shewing 
a  single  fruit.  When  the  said  lat- 
eral shoots  have  three  joints,  if  any 
of  them  do  not  show  fruit  at  either 
of  these,  it  will  be  proper  to  pinch 
off  the  tops  of  such  shoots  at  the 
third  joint  ;  which  will  promote 
their  putting  forth  a  supply  of  two 
or  three  new  shoots,  some  or  all  of 
which  will  most  likely  be  fruitful  ; 
and  after  this  according  as  they  ad- 
vance in  growth,  train  the  runners 
along  in  regular  order,  cut  out 
casual  very  weakly  vines,  and  thin 
others  where  very  irregularly 
crowded. 

To  preserve  cucumbers,  squash- 
es, &c.  from  bugs  and  flies,  sprin- 
kle the  plants  with  a  strong  in- 
fusion of  elder  leaves  ;  that  of 
hops  is  likewise  recommended. — 
Or,  suspend  a  diamond-formed 
piece  of  white  paper,  shingle,  or 
other  piece  of  wood  by  a  thread 
tied  to  the  end  of  a  stirk  stuck  in 
the  ground  a  small  distance  from 
the  hill,  so  that  the  paper  will  hang 
directly  over  the  hill  and  near  the 
plants.  The  air,  by  constantly  vi- 
brating the  paper  or  shingle,  will 
have  a  tendency  to  prevent  insects 
from  alighting  on  the  plants.  It  is 
said  sprinkling  the  plants  with  the 
fine  dust  of  slacked  lime,  while 
they  are  wet  with  dew  or  rain  will 
preserve  them  from  insects. 

Cucumbers  are  rendered  more 
wholesome  by  slicing  them  into  a 
basin  of  cool  spring  water. 

CURRANT,  Ribes,  a  species 
of  fruit    tree.     There  are    three 


kinds  of  currants  produced  in  this 
country,  red,  white  and  black. 
The  red  and  the  white  are  a 
wholesome  cooling  fruit,  and  flour- 
ish well  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. They  are  easily  propagated 
by  cuttings,  setting  the  young 
twigs  in  the  ground,  which  will 
furnish  themselves  with  roots  ;  and 
will  bear  fruit  the  second  year. 
Some  plant  them  singly,  others  in 
clumps.  The  latter  method  is 
disapproved  by  the  best  gardeners. 
If  they  be  set  single  round  the 
borders  of  a  garden,  close  to  the 
fence,  and  fastened  to  the  fence, 
to  prevent  their  being  bowed  to 
the  ground  when  loaded  with 
fruit,  they  will  take  up  little  or  no 
room,  and  make  an  agreeable  ap- 
pearance. And  it  will  be  easy  to 
keep  them  free  from  weeds.  When 
they  are  planted  on  the  south,  or 
southeast  side  of  a  wall,  the  fruit 
will  be  ripe  in  June;  but  on  the 
north  side,  Ihey  may  be  kept  till 
October  on  the  bushes,  in  a  sound 
state. 

A  wine  that  is  not  unpleasant  is 
made  of  the  red  kind;  but  that 
which  is  made  of  the  white  is 
preferable  ;  and  this  ought  to  be 
more  attended  to.  This  wine 
meliorates  exceedingly  by  age, 
becoming  equal  to  the  best  of 
Malaga  wine,  after  being  bottled 
a  year  or  two. 

The  way  to  make  currant  wine 
is  as  follows  :  Take  ripe  currants, 
wash  them,  clear  them  from  the 
stems,  add  a  gallon  of  water  to  a 
gallon  of  currants,  and  bruise 
them  well  in  the  water.  Strain 
it  through  a  cloth.  Then  to  one 
gallon    of   the    mixed   juice  and 


cus 


CIO 


105 


water,  put  two  pounds  and  three 
quartersof  good  brown  sugar.  Stir 
it  well.  When  the  sugar  is  dissolv- 
ed, put  the  wine  into  a  cask  not 
stopped.  When  the  tirst  fermen- 
tation is  over,  bung  it  up  tightly, 
and  in  six  nrionths  it  will  be  tit  for 
bottling. 

CUSTOM,  an  habitual  man- 
ner of  doing  anything.  Methods 
of  agriculture,  as  well  as  methods 
of  doinj;  other  things,  are  not  sel- 
dom founded  merely  on  custom. 
Farmer?  do  many  things,  for  which 
they  can  assign  no  other  reason 
than  custom.  They  usually  give 
themselves  little  or  no  trouble  in 
thinking,  or  in  examining  their 
methods  of  culture,  which  have 
been  handed  down  from  father  to 
son,  from  time  immemorial. 

In  some  countries,  this  practice 
answers  tolerably  well.  It  does 
best  in  old  countries,  where  meth- 
ods, which  have  not  been  found  to 
answer  well,  have  been  gradually 
laid  aside  in  a  long  course  of  years. 
But  this  customary  culture  has  a 
very  pernicious  effect,  when  igno- 
rant farmers  remove  to  a  ditferent 
climate.  They  naturally  continue 
in  the  ways  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed.  Their  crops 
often  prove  to  be  unsuitable  to  the 
region  they  inhabit.  They  plant, 
sow  and  harvest,  at  the  wrong  sea- 
sons. They  sow  seeds  in  unsuita- 
ble soils.  The  conseqrsences  are, 
that  their  labour  is  misapplied, 
their  time  is  lost,  they  grow  poor 
and  disheartened.  Perhaps  they 
remove  to  other  places,  hoping 
to  mend  their  circumstances ; 
and  when  they  come  thither, 
their  habitual  methods  will  answer 
14 


still  worse,  rather  than  better,  un- 
less they  go  back  to  their  first  sit- 
uation, or  towards  it. 

CUTTINGS  OR  SLIPS," in  gar- 
dening,  the  branches  or  sprigs  of 
trees,  or  plants,  cut  or  slipped  ofT, 
to  set  again,  which  is  done  in  any 
moist  fine  earth.  The  best  time 
for  this  operation,  is  from  the  mid- 
dle of  August  to  the  middle  of 
April  ;  but  when  it  is  done,  the 
sap  ought  not  to  be  too  much  in 
the  top ;  neither  must  it  be  very 
dry  or  scanty,  for  the  sap  in  the 
branches  assists  it  to  strike  roots. 
If  done  in  the  spring,  let  them  not 
fail  of  having  water  in  the  summer. 
In  providing  them,  such  branches 
as  have  burs,  knobs  or  joints,  are 
to  be  cut  off,  &c.  and  the  leaves 
are  to  be  stripped  ofT  so  far  as 
they  are  placed  in  the  earth,  leav- 
ing no  side  branch.  Small  top 
sprigs,  of  two  or  three  years 
growth,  are  the  best  for  this  op- 
eration."    Did.  of  Arts, 

Cuttings  of  the  grape  vine, 
gooseberry,  willow  and  currants, 
are  easily  made  to  strike  root; 
those  taken  from  the  quince  will 
commonly,  and  the  apple  tree  will 
sometimes  do  so,  if  the  earth  be 
kept  very  moist.  It  is  best  to  set 
them  a  good  depth  in  the  earth, 
not  less  than  twelve  or  fifteen 
inches,  or  the  greater  part  of  their 
whole  length.  In  this  country, 
the  best  time  that  I  have  found  to 
set  them  is  in  April.  It  should  be 
done  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  quite 
out  of  the  ground. 

CION,  OR  SCION,  a  young  sprig 
or  sprout  of  a  tree.  Scions,  for 
grafting,  should  always  be  taken 
from  the  most  thrifty    trees,   not 


106 


D  A  I 


DAI 


from  those  especially  which  are 
old  and  decaying.  The  time  to 
cut  them  is  in  February  or  March, 
just  before  the  buds  begin  to  swell, 
and  appear  fresh,  which  will  be 
earlier  or  later,  according  to  the 
season  and  climate.  They  should 
be  taken  from  the  ends  of  limbs  of 
the  former  year's  growth,  not  from 
young  suckers  of  an  over  quick 
growth;  and  kept  moist  in  a  cel- 
lar, with  the  lower  ends  inserted 
in  moist  clay,  or  mud,  till  the  pro- 
per time  for  grafting.  In  such  a 
position  they  will  keep  well  for 
two  months  or  more,  before 
grafting. 

D. 

DAIRY.  Butter  is  oftener  well 
managed  than  cheese.  But  there 
are  few  who  salt  early  made  butter 
so  that  it  will  keep  good  and 
sweet.  An  ounce  and  a  half,  or 
more,  of  the  strongest  and  best 
salt,  very  tinely  powdered,  should 
be  worked  into  a  pound  of  butter, 
and  so  thoroughly  mixed  that  every 
part  may  be  equally  salt.  For  if 
ever  so  small  a  part  misses  of  be- 
ing salted,  it  will  turn  rank,  and 
communicate  its  ill  taste  to  the  re- 
mainder. It  should  then  be  put 
into  tubs  that  are  quite  sweet,  and 
so  closely  packed  and  crowded, 
that  no  air  can  be  in  contact  with 
the  butter ;  which  should  be  care- 
fully covered  with  a  piece  of  tine 
cloth,  after  dipping  it  in  melted 
sweet  butter.  When  more  is  to 
be  put  into  the  tub,  take  up  the 
cloth ;  and  after  that  is  well  crowd- 
ed in,  and  levelled,  put  on  the 
cloth  again   so  nicely  as  to  shut 


out,  if  possible,  every  particle  of 
air.  The  same  should  b<  done  as 
often  as  any  is  taken  out  for  use. 
The  tubs,  during  summer  arid  fall, 
should  stand  on  the  bottom  of  the 
coldest  part  of  the  cellar.  When 
there  is  occasion  to  carry  butter  to 
any  distance  for  sale,  in  hoi  weath- 
er, let  not  the  tubs,  or  boxes,  be 
exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  traveling 
horse,  by  lying  against  his  sides. 
For  by  this  practice  it  is  known 
that  a  great  deal  of  butter  is  great- 
ly damaged. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Packard  of 
Marlborough,  made  an  answer  to 
a  question,  which  we  wish  was 
pasied  up  in  every  dairy-room  in 
the  state  : — The  last  year,  said  he 
(1799,)  three  cows  in  this  town 
produced  278  pounds  of  butter.  If 
their  calves  had  been  taken  from 
them  at  a  week  old,  they  would 
have  njade  451  pounds  of  butter. 
These  three  cows  were  a  more 
productive  dairy  than  six  usually 
are,  with  ordinary  feed.  Farmers 
egregiously  mistake  when  they 
overstock  their  farms.  Were  dai- 
ries estimated  by  the  pails  of  milk 
they  produce,  instead  of  the  num- 
her  of  C07DS,  many  fiirmers  wives, 
instead  of  asking  their  husbands  to 
buy  another  cow,  would  urge  them 
to  sell  two  to  enrich  their  dairies." 
Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  vol.  v.  p.  74. 
See  Butter  and  Cheese. 

DAIRY,  OR  DAIRY-ROOM,  a 
house  or  apartment  where  milk  is 
kept,  &c. 

Our  farmers  and  their  wives 
seem  to  think  it  necessary,  or 
highly  convenient,  to  have  a  dairy- 
room  annexed  to  their  dwelling 
house,   partly   above    and    partly 


DAI 


DAI 


107 


below  ground,  that  they  may  dry 
their  cheeses  in  the  upper  part, 
and  set  milk  and  cream  in  the  low- 
er. This,  in  wooden  houses,  is 
certainly  not  the  best  practice,  and 
occasions  much  loss.  For  such 
an  apartment  will  be  too  hot  in 
summer,  and  too  cold  in  winter,  to 
keep  miik  in  it;  neither  will  it  be 
possible  to  keep  it  so  sweet  as  it 
ought  to  be  kept. 

An  apartment  in  a  very  sweet, 
and  perfectly  ventilated  cellar  is 
better  on  every  account  to  keep 
milk  in.  As  to  drying  of  cheeses, 
they  should  never  be  kept  to  dry  in 
the  same  room  where  milk  is  set; 
for  they  will  undoubtedly  com- 
municate an  acidity  to  the  sur- 
rounding air,  which  will  tend  to 
turn  all  the  milk  sour  that  stands 
within  the  'same  enclosure.  And 
a  drier  room  would  be  better  for 
the  cheeses ;  only  let  it  be  kept 
dark,  that  the  flies  may  not  come 
at  them.  So  that,  instead  of  a 
place  called  a  dairy,  there  should 
be  a  milk  room,  and  a  cheese 
room,  in  a  farm  house. 

A  room  in  a  cellar  may  be  kept 
so  nearly  of  an  equal  coolness,  by 
meansof  burning  a  few  coals  in  it; 
when  the  weather  is  cold,  that  the 
milk  will  neither  grow  sour  in  sum- 
mer, nor  freeze  in  winter  :  So  that 
nothingwillobstructtherisingof  all 
the  cream.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
warmth  of  the  air  in  a  milk  room 
ought  to  be  from  50  to  55  degrees 
on  Farenheit's  thermometer.  But 
a  few  degrees  over  or  under  will 
produce  no  very  disagreeable  ef- 
fects. The  cellar  should  have  such 
windows  as  will  afford  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  light,  and  be   on  the 


most  northern  side  ;  and  they 
should  be  opened  now  and  then  to 
let  in  fresh  air;  particularly  in  the 
coolest  of  the  mornings  in  summer. 
The  room  should  be  ceiled  with 
plaister,  to  prevent  the  descent  of 
dirt  ;  and  the  top  and  sides  white 
washed,  to  increase  the  light,  and 
fill  up  chinks  that  harbor  insects. 
Every  part  should  be  kept  extreme- 
ly clean  and  sweet,  and  nothing 
should  enter  into  it,  which  can  cor- 
rupt the  air.  The  floor  should  be 
made  of  stones,  bricks  or  tiles,  and 
be  frequently  washed  in  summer 
with  the  coldest  water,  to  cool  and 
sweeten  the  air  in  the  room  ;  and 
milk  should  not  be  suffered  to  stand 
in  it  till  it  becomes  sour,  lest  the 
sourness  be  communicated  to  that 
which  is  sweet.  For  the  same 
reason,  cream  which  is  put  by  for 
churning,  ought  not  to  be  kept  in 
that  apartment  which  contains  the 
milk.  Because  acidity  in  cream  is 
expected,  and  necessary  before 
butter  will  come. 

Those  who  have  large  dairies, 
m  hot  climates,  having  a  spring  or 
brook  near  the  dwelling-house, 
might  find  it  worth  while  to  build 
a  milk  room  over  it,  with  a  stone 
floor,  and  a  channel  in  the  floor  to 
pass  the  water  all  round,  near  the 
insides  of  the  walls.  The  pans 
may  be  set  in  the  channels,  and 
water  let  in  at  pleasure,  to  cool  the 
milk  in  the  hottest  season.  An 
arch  of  brick  should  be  turned  over 
the  building.  The  windows,  to  let 
in  light  and  air,  should  be  on  the 
northerly  side,  or  end.  To  shel- 
ter the  arch  from  the  weather,  a 
story  of  wood  may  be  erected  over 
it,  for  a  cheese  room.     The  arch 


108 


DIT 


DI  T 


will  be  Ihe  cooler  in  summer  and 
warmer  in  winter,  as  well  as  more 
durable,  as  it  will  be  defended  from 
rain,  &:c. 

If  rats  and  mice  cannot  enter  the 
milk  room,  there  will  be  no  need 
of  having  shelves  in  it.  The  floor 
is  the  best  place  to  set  the  vessels 
of  milk  on, it  being  coolest  in  sum- 
mer,aud  perhaps  warmest  when  the 
weather  is  frosty.  See  BiUter  and 
Cheese. 

DARNEL,  Lolium,  a  trouble- 
some weed,  which  sometimes  ap- 
pears among  grain,  and  is  often  so 
fruitful  as  to  spoil  a  crop.  The 
seeds  of  it  resemble  corns  of  blast- 
ed rye,  but  are  more  light  and 
chafTy.  These  weeds  should  be 
pulled  up  before  they  go  to  seed. 
But  grain  for  sowing  may  be  mostly 
cleared  of  the  seeds  by  swimming 
it  in  water. 

DIBBLE.  A  tool,  used  by 
gardeners  and  farmers  in  Europe, 
chiefly  in  transplanting.  It  con- 
sists of  a  stick  about  a  foot  or  eigh- 
teen inches  long,  slightly  sharpen- 
ed at  the  end,  with  which  a  hole  is 
made  to  receive  the  plant  or  seed. 
Gardeners  prefer  an  old  spade 
or  shovel  handle  that  has  been 
broken,  retaining  the  upper  part 
of  the  handle,  and  sharpening  the 
lower  end.  This  is  very  handy, 
and  with  care  will  last  many  years. 

DITCH,  a  narrow  channel,  of 
great  use  in  agriculture.  Ditches 
serve  two  purposes,  to  enclose 
grounds  and  to  carry  oif  superflu- 
ous water.  When  used  for  fences, 
a  hedge  should  be  planted  on  their 
sides,  otherwise  they  will  not  keep 
out  cattle  or  sheep.  The  earth 
faken  out  of  ditches  should  Dot  be 


suffered  to  lie  in  heaps  on  the  bor- 
ders to  the  great  loss  of  time  in 
mowing,  and  the  crop.  It  is  too 
precious  a  material  for  compost 
heaps,  to  be  suffered  to  remain  in  a 
state  worse  than  useless. 

A  ditch  should  be  three  times 
wider  at  the  top  than  at  the  bot- 
tom, to  prevent  the  falling  in  of 
the  sides. 

DITCHING,  the  making  of  ditch- 
es.  This  work  is  most  commonly 
performed  in  summer,  or  early  in 
autumn.  When  this  work  is  to  be 
done  in  very  low  and  wet  land,  a 
hot  and  dry  season  is  best  ;  that 
the  water  may  not  prove  trouble- 
some, neither  by  its  quantity,  nor 
by  its  coldness.  When  it  is  to  be 
performed  in  a  salt  marsh,  not  only 
a  dry  and  warm  time  should  be 
chosen  forthebusiness,butit  should 
be  done  also  at  a  time  when  the 
tides  are  lowest.  On  high  lands, 
ditches  may  be  made  at  almost  any 
season,  when  the  ground  is  not 
frozen.  But  in  the  spring  the  dig- 
ging will  be  the  easiest,  the  ground 
being  softened  by  the  preceding 
frosts.  But  as  the  ground  is  driest 
in  autumn,  then  is  the  best  time  for 
ditching  in  most  of  our  low  lands. 
At  least,  the  month  of  September 
is  a  good  season.  But  farmers 
mu*t  be  governed,  as  to  the  time, 
in  some  measure,  by  their  own 
conveniency.  It  must  be  done 
when  no  other  business  of  greater 
importance  demands  the  whole  of 
their  attention  and  exertion. 

When  bushy  ground,  full  of 
strong  roots,  is  to  be  ditched,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Eliot  wisely  recommends 
beginning  the  ditch  in  the  winter, 
when  the  ground  is  frozen  two  or 


DIV 


DOO 


109 


three  inches  deep.  The  surface 
may  be  chopped  into  pieces  hy  a 
broad  axe  with  a  long  helve,  and 
the  sods  pulled  out  with  an  instru- 
ment made  like  a  dun^  croom. — 
The  farmer  may  probably  hit  upon 
a  good  time  for  this  work  in  De- 
cember, when  there  happens  to  be 
no  snow,  and  when  it  will  not  in- 
terfere with  other  farming  business. 
The  lower  part  of  the  ditch  may 
be  done  in  the  following  summer, 
or  autumn.  In  a  free  and  firm  soil, 
a  ditch  may  be  begun  with  a 
plough,  drawn  by  an  orderly  team 
that  will  keep  to  the  line.  This 
saves  labour. 

To  make  a  ditch  straight,  and 
equal  in  all  its  parts,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  the  work  be  regulated 
by  a  frame  of  slit  deal,  nailed  to- 
gether, to  the  exact  size  of  the  in- 
tended ditch.  It  may  be  a  rod  or 
more  in  length,  and  as  wide  as  the 
intended  ditch. 

DIVISIONS,  of  a  Farm,  lots  en- 
closed for  the  convenience  of  til- 
lage, pasturing,  mowing,  &c. 

The  judicious  dividing  of  a  farm 
into  lots,  may  save  much  labour, 
especially  much  travelling  from 
one  part  to  another.  The  more 
square  lots  are  made,  the  more  is 
saved  in  fencing.  Crooked  fences 
should  if  possible  be  avoided,  not 
only  to  save  expense,  but  to  add 
beauty  to  a  field,  or  plantation. — 
All  tillage  lots,  and  especially  small 
ones,  should  be  nearly  of  equal  di- 
mensions on  all  sides  ;  for  if  a  lot 
be  out  of  square,  the  labour  of 
ploughing  will  be  increased,  as 
there  must  be  a  number  of  short 
furrows.  If  a  lot  be  long  and  nar- 
row, crosa  ploughing  will  be  either 


prevented,  or  the  labour  of  it  much 
increased. 

When  it  can  conveniently  be  so 
ordered,  the  lots  designed  chiefly 
for  tillage  should  be  nearest  to  the 
house  and  barn,  to  save  labour  in 
carting  manure,  and  to  prevent  loss 
in  getting  in  the  crops.  The  near- 
er grain  is,  the  less  it  will  shatter 
out  in  carting.  The  mowing  lots 
should  be  next  to  the  tillage,  if  the 
soil  permits;  as  these  must  be 
dunged,  and  their  crops  carted  : 
The  lots  for  pasturage  should  be 
contrived  to  be  next,  and  the  wood 
lots  farthest  of  all  the  lots  from  the 
house,  that  so  the  view  of  the  oth- 
er lots  may  not  be  obstructed  too 
much  by  trees, 

DOOR  DUNG,  a  manure  taken 
from  the  back  yards  and  doors  of 
dwelling  houses. 

Though  it  may  seem  to  be  made 
up  of  chips,  saw  dust,  and  several 
other  matters  that  appear  unpro- 
mising, yet  there  are  various  sub- 
stances intermixed  with  them,  and 
soaked  into  them,  which  contain 
food  for  plants  in  abundance,  A 
large  proportion  of  the  dung  of 
swine  and  of  fowls,  which  are  ex- 
cellent manures,  are  contained  in 
the  compost.  It  has,  besides,  the 
sweepings  of  the  house,  blood, 
small  borjes,  shells,  and  other  ani- 
mal substances  ;  also  suds,  ashes, 
soot,  urine,  together  with  salt  par- 
ticles, which  are  some  of  the  best 
of  manures. 

It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  if  this 
filth  is  found  to  be  very  conducive 
to  the  growth  of  plants,  as  it  really 
is. 

Some  think  it  best  to  let  it  lie 
year  after  year  in  the  yard,  that  it 


no 


DR  A 


DRA 


may  grow  fine  and  mellow.  But 
it  is  wasted  by  this  practice,  the 
sun,  air,  and  rain,  depriving  it  of 
its  volatile,  fine,  and  most  fructify- 
ing particles.  I  choose  to  be  rid 
of  its  putrid  steams,  and  place  it 
where  it  may  do  good  and  not 
hurt.  I,  therefore,  have  it  sCraped 
up  clean  every  spring,  clearing  it 
of  the  largest  and  brightest  chips  ; 
and  after  it  has  lain  in  a  heap  for  a 
few  days  to  ferment,  apply  il  to  the 
soil  in  the  field,  though  it  be  not 
fine  enough  for  the  garden  ;  or  else 
add  it  to  the  compost  dunghill.  1 
find  it  to  be  a  very  proper  manure 
for  land  that  is  stiff  and  clayey  ; 
and  it  will  do  great  service  in  any 
soil. 

Those  farmers  are  certainly  guilty 
of  bad  husbandry, who  take  no  care 
to  avail  themselves  of  this  excel- 
lent manure,  of  which  they  all  have 
more  or  less ;  and  that  is  common- 
ly best,  where  the  greatest  number 
of  swine  are  permitted  to  run, 
which,  however,  is  a  slovenly  and 
wasteful  practice. 

DRAIN,  a  channel  made  in  the 
soil  to  carry  off  superfluous  water, 
or  divert  its  course. 

Drains  are  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance in  agriculture :  For,  by 
means  of  them,  lands  that  are  so 
wet  and  fenny  as  to  be  entirely  use- 
less, may  oftentimes  become  by  far 
the  most  valuable  part  of  a  farm. 
It  would  be  happy  for  this  country, 
if  the  husbandmen  were  fully  con- 
vinced of  the  vast  utility  of  them. 
The  real  value  of  some  estates 
might  be  doubled,  by  a  small  ex- 
pense in  draining. 

Drains  used  in  farming  are  of 
two  kinds,  open,  and   hollow,  or 


covered.  The  open  drains  are 
mostly  used,  because  more  easily 
made.  But  if  the  first  cost  be  less, 
the  expense,  in  the  long  run,  may 
not  be  less,  but  greater  than  that 
of  covered  drains.  For  they  will 
be  continually  filling  up  ;  and, 
therefore,  will  often  need  to  be 
mended. 

Open  drains  are  to  be  shaped 
like  other  ditches,  wider  at  the 
surface  than  at  the  bottom.  And, 
for  a  general  rule,  they  should  be 
carried  through  the  lowest  and 
wettest  parts  of  the  soil,  though  it 
should  cause  them  to  be  crooked 
and  unsightly.  The  water  will  be 
carried  off  more  effectually  ;  and 
some  labour  in  digging  will  be  sa- 
ved ;  for  if  they  pass  through  the 
higher  parts,  the  ditch  must  be 
dfieper,  at  least  in  some  places. — 
But  where  a  plain  is  incommoded 
with  too  much  water  descending 
from  an  adjacent  height,  the  water 
must  be  cut  off  by  an  open  drain 
drawn  along  at  the  foot  of  the  high 
ground,  and  the  earth  which  is  ta- 
ken out  should  be  laid  on  the  side 
towards  the  plain. 

Open  drains  serve  well  enough 
in  swamps,  if  the  soil  be  not  too 
loose,  so  as  to  fill  them  up  soon.  In 
this  case  the  covered  drains  are 
certainly  best,  especially  where 
materials  for  making  them  are  easi- 
ly obtained. 

The  earth  that  is  thrown  out  of 
open  drains  in  swamps  should  not 
lie  in  banks  by  the  side  of  them. 
This  will  tend  to  prevent  the  water 
from  passing  freely  into  them,  and 
conduce  to  their  filling  up  the  soon- 
er. It  should  be  spread  over  the 
surface  of  the  drained  land,  which 


DRA 


DRA 


HI 


will  make  it  drier,  and  sometimes 
answer  as  a  good  manure.  And, 
in  this  operation,  there  will  be  oft- 
en a  mixing  of  soils,  attended  with 
considerable  advantage. 

To  judge  rightly,  whether  it  will 
be  worth  while  to  attempt  the 
draining  of  a  swamp,  it  is  first  to  be 
considered  what  wilhbe  the  cost  of 
digging  at  the  outlet,  where  it  will, 
in  some  cases,  be  necessary  to  go 
very  deep.  If  large  rocks  should 
be  found  in  the  way,  they  may  be 
blown  to  pieces  with  gun-powder. 
But  doing  this,  is  somewhat  expen- 
sive. Also,  the  depth  of  the  black 
soil  in  the  swamp  must  be  examin- 
ed, and  the  stratum  next  under  it. 
If  the  under  stratum  be  clay,  the 
swamp  may  be  well  worth  draining, 
though  no  more  than  six  inches  of 
till  or  mud  be  above  it  ;  for  the 
mud  and  clay  mixed,  will  make  an 
excellent  soil.  But  if  the  under 
stratum  be  gravel,  or  white  sand,  it 
will  not  be  best  to  undertake  drain- 
ing, unless  the  depth  of  black  mud 
be  as  much  as  from  fifteen  to  eigh- 
teen inches.  For  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  the  soil  will  settle 
after  draining,  and  be  not  so  deep 
as  it  was  before.  If,  after  draining 
and  hardening,  there  should  be  a 
sufficient  depth  for  tillage,  the  soil 
will  be  most  excellent  5  and  will 
pay  well  for  an  expensive  draining. 

The  manner  ofdraining  a  swamp 
is  as  follows  :  Beginning  at  the 
outlet,  pass  a  large  ditch  through 
it,  so  as  mostly  to  cut  the  lowest 
parts.  Then  make  another  ditch 
quite  round  it,  near  to  the  border, 
to  cut  off  the  springs  which  come 
from  the  upland,  and  to  receive 
the  water  that  runs  down  from  the 


hills  upon  the  surface,  in  great 
rains.  These  ditches  are  to  be 
larger  or  smaller  in  some  propor- 
tion to  the  bigness  of  the  swamp, 
having  a  regular  descent  for  the 
water,  that  not  much  of  it  may 
stand  in  them.  If  the  swamp  be 
large,  it  may  be  necessary  that 
some  smaller  cross  drains  should  be 
cut  in  several  of  the  lowest  parts. 
The  bottom  of  the  main  ditches, 
when  the  soil  is  not  of  an  extraor- 
dinary depth,  must  be  lower  than 
the  bottom  of  the  loose  soil ;  oth- 
erwise the  soil  will  never  become 
sufficiently  dry  and  firm.  When 
the  swamp  comes  to  be  sufficiently 
dry  for  tillage,  such  of  the  drains 
may  be  converted  into  hollow 
ones,  as  cannot  profitably  be  kept 
open  for  fences.  Thus  the  quan- 
tity of  improveable  land  will  be 
increased. 

If  a  bridge  over  any  of  the  drains 
should  be  wanted,  the  best  way  to 
make  one.  will  be  by  filling  up  a 
short  piece  of  the  drain  with  stones, 
or  wood,  that  is,  by  making  it  hol- 
low in  that  part.  This  will  be  less 
expensive  than  a  common  bridge, 
and  answer  the  purpose  better. 

Those  who  are  willing  to  be  con- 
vinced of  the  amazing  fruitfulness 
of  drained  swamps,  should  read 
Mr.  Eliot  on  the  subject.  He  re- 
presents them  as  producing  tur- 
nips, clover,  oats,  &c.  to  great  ad- 
vantage ;  English  hay,  four  tons 
per  acre,  and  Indian  corn  at  the 
rate  of  more  than  ninety  bushels 
per  acre,  without  manuring. 

Such  lands  are  highly  advanta- 
geous, as  they  require  no  dung ; 
and  cannot  be  easily,  if  at  al!,worn 
out    by  cropping:    Also,  as  thev 


112 


DRA 


DR  A 


bear  drought  remarkably  well.  As 
this  country  very  often  has  its 
crops  greatly  diminished  by  dry 
seasons,  it  would  be  well  if  every 
farmer  had  continually  some  of  this 
kind  of  soil  in  tillage,  or  mowing, 
or  in  both. 

Covered  or  hollow  drains  are 
more  used  for  the  drying  of  springy, 
wet  and  spungy  uplands.  They 
may  be  used  with  advantage  on 
gentle  declivities,  where  the  soil 
appears  spewy  and  cold,  by  means 
of  springs.  They  will  cause  the 
soil  above  and  below  them,  to  be 
more  dry  and  fruitful.  But  if  the 
descent  be  very  steep,  or  if  the 
wetness  of  declivities  be  owing  on- 
ly to  water  running  down  oji  the 
surface,  the  open  drains  are  to  be 
preferred  :  For  if  they  were  cov- 
ered, the  water  would  pass  over 
them,  and  the  drain  would  be  of 
little  advantage. 

To  make  a  hollow  drain,  dig  a 
channel  between  thirty  and  thirty- 
six  inches  wide  at  the  top,  and  six 
inches,  or  the  breadth  of  a  spade, 
at  the  bottom,  and  three  feet  deep, 
giving  it  just  descent  enough  to 
make  the  water  run  briskly.  Fill 
it  half  full,  or  more,  with  small 
stones,  thrown  in  at  random,  and 
cover  them  with  a  layer  of  straw, 
leaves,  or  the  small  branches  of 
trees  with  the  leaves  on  them  ;  then 
fill  it  up  to  a  level  with  the  surface, 
with  the  earlh  that  was  thrown  out. 
Such  a  drain,  as  it  will  not  choke 
or  fill  up,  will  never  need  repair- 
ing. If  the  descent  should  be  but 
just  so  much  as  to  make  the  water 
run  slowly,  there  may  be  some  dan- 
ger of  its  choking  up  and  ceasing  to 
run  at  all.     But  this  danger  will  be 


greater  or  less  according  to  the 
difference  of  soils.  There  will  be 
no  danger  of  it,  in  a  soil  that  does 
not  easily  dissolve  in  water. 

If  stones  be  scarce,  long  faggots, 
or  fascines,  laid  in  the  trench,  will 
answer  as  well,  so  long  as  they  last ; 
which  being  secluded  from  the  air, 
will  not  rot  soon.  Some  say  they 
have  known  them  to  answer  well 
for  forty  years,  but  this  must  only 
be  in  places  where  they  are  always 
kept  wet.  Ill  situations  exposed 
to  wet  and  dryness,  they  perish  in 
five  or  six  years. 

If  a  plain  piece  of  ground  be  too 
wet  to  be  made  fit  for  tillage  by 
ridge  ploughing,  it  should  be  made 
drier  by  hollow  drains.  If  no  low- 
er place  be  adjoining,  where  the 
drains  may  have  an  outlet,  holes 
should  be  dug  in  some  of  the  low- 
est parts  of  the  plain,  to  examine 
what  strata  are  under  the  soil.  It 
is  likely  that  a  stratum  of  clay,  or 
of  some  other  earth  not  easily 
penetrated  by  water,  is  the  real 
cause  of  the  wetness  of  the  soil.  If 
you  find  it  so,  then  dig  through  the 
stratum,  and  below  it,  till  you  come 
to  loose  gravel,  sand,  or  something 
that  will  easily  imbibe  water  :  Fill 
up  the  hole  with  stones,  and  direct 
your  hollow  drains  to  it.  It  will 
serve  for  a  perpetual  outlet  ;  and 
conduce  much  to  the  drying  of  the 
soil. 

The  peculiar  advantages  of  hol- 
low drains  are,  that  they  will  not 
need  repairing,  as  they  do  not  fill 
up  ;  that  no  soil  is  wasted,  or  ren- 
dered useless  by  them ;  that  a 
plough  may  pass  over  them  to  as 
great  a  depth  as  is  necessary  in  any 
kind  of  tillage  ;  and  carts  and  oth> 


DR  A 


DRE 


113 


cr  carriages  are  not  obstructed  or 
incommoded  by  them.  So  that 
these  drains  may  pass  across  roads 
without  detriment,  when  the  des- 
cent requires  it.  It  is  often  neces- 
sary to  hollow  drain  roads  to  lay 
them  dry,  and  found  to  be  of  great 
advantage. 

The  draining  of  a  marish,  or 
shaking  meadow,  which  seems  to 
be  a  soil  floating  on  the  water,  is 
sometimes  practicable.  I  shall 
give  the  reader  the  method  of  do- 
ing it  in  the  words  of  the  ingenious 
Mr.  Dickson. — "  To  drain  a  ma- 
rish," says  he,  "  it  is  necessary,  in 
the  first  place,  to  convey  away  all 
the  stagnating  water  :  And  this  wa- 
ter can  be  conveyed  away  in  no 
other  manner,  than  by  a  large 
open  drain,  with  a  sufficient  fail. 
This  fall  must  be  such,  as  to  carry 
off  the  water  from  the  bottom  of 
the  marish  ;  otherwise  little  advan- 
tage is  to  be  expected  from  it.  By 
conveying  away  all  the  stagnating 
water,  some  land  on  each  side  will 
be  gained  :  For  the  water  being 
removed,  the  earth  by  degrees  will 
subside,  and  become  firm  and  solid. 
By  this,  likewise,  the  bottom  will 
become  firm  ;  which  will  allow  the 
drain,  by  degrees,  to  be  carried 
forward  through  the  middle  of  the 
marish.  If  the  springs,  by  which 
the  marish  is  supplied,  arise  near 
the  middle,  this  principal  drain, 
with  some  branches  cut  from  each 
side,  where  the  springs  are  largest, 
or  most  numerous,  will  be  suffi- 
cient. But  if  there  are  springs  in 
all  places,  as  is  frequently  the  case, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  make  drains 
at  the  sides,  as  nearly  parallel  to 
the  principal  drain,  as  the  situa- 
15 


lion  of  the  marish  will  allow,  to  in- 
tercept the  water  that  comes  from 
the  heights, and  supplies  the  springs. 
It  will  be  necessary,  likewise,  to 
make  communications,  by  cross 
drains,b€(wixt  the  parallel  drains  at 
the  sides,  and  the  principal  drain  in 
the  middle."  It  is  no  wonder  if  the 
cost  of  draining  a  shaking  meadow 
should  be  considerable,  as  it  seems 
like  a  soil  floating  upon  water. — 
But  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  its 
becoming  some  of  the  best  soil, 
when  so  drained  as  to  give  firmness 
to  it. 

DRAY,  or  car^  a  slight  kind  of 
carriage  drawn  by  one  horse.  It 
consists  of  a  pair  of  thills,  connect- 
ed by  two  or  three  cross  bars.  The 
hinder  ends  of  the  thills  slide  along 
on  the  ground.  It  draws  heavily 
on  bare  roads,  but  on  grass  land 
much  more  easily.  The  horse 
must  carry  much  of  the  load  on  his 
back.  In  case  of  necessity,  it  is 
better  than  no  carriage. 

DRESSING,  the  application  of 
dung,  or  other  manures,  to  soils,  to 
increase  their  fruitfulness.  Dres- 
sing differs  from  manuring  in  gen- 
eral, only  as  it  is  chiefly  intended 
for  the  increasing  of  one  single 
crop.  Not  only  are  dressings  ne- 
cessary for  poor  and  weak  soils  5 
but  they  are  profitably  applied  to 
those  which  are  rich  and  strong  ; 
especially  when  seeds  are  sown 
which  need  much  nourishment,  or 
will  make  good  return  for  it. 

There  are  four  things  chiefly  to 
be  regarded  in  dressing;  the  suita- 
bleness of  the  dressing  to  the  soil, 
and  to  the  crop  ;  and  the  manner 
and  the  season  of  applying  it. 

To  light,  warm,  or  sandy  soils. 


114 


DRE 


DRI 


the  coldest  manure  should  be  appli- 
ed ;  such  as  the  dung  of  hogs, 
cows,  oxen,  &;c.  Dung  that  is 
much  mixed  with  straw  does  best 
in  such  a  soil,  as  the  straw  soon 
rots  and  becomes  food  for  plarits. 
Cold  and  stiff  soils  should  be  dres- 
sed with  the  hottest  and  driest  ma- 
nures, as  the  dung  of  horses,  sheep 
and  fowls.  Wet  soils  should  have 
manures  that  have  the  greatest 
power  of  absorbing  moisture. — 
Lime,  where  it  is  cheap  and  plen- 
ty, may  be  used  with  great  advan- 
tage ;  ashes,  coals,  and  saw  dust, 
are  also  very  proper. 

Some  kinds  of  dressing  should  be 
well  mixed  with  the  soil,  by  the 
plough  and  harrow  5  especially 
such  as  are  apt  to  lose  their 
strength,  by  being  exposed  to  the 
air.  Of  this  sort  are  dungs  in  gen- 
eral, and  some  other  manures. — 
Dung  is  to  be  ploughed  in  with  a 
light  furrow.  Composts,  which 
consist  of  dung,  earth,  and  other 
substances,need  only  to  be  harrow- 
ed. If  dressings  are  laid  too  deep, 
as  under  deep  furrows,  they  will 
be  in  a  manner  lost  ;  the  roots  of 
most  kinds  of  annual  plants  will 
scarcely  reach  them  ;  and,  before 
the  next  ploughing,  the  strength  of 
them  will  be  sunk  still  deeper  into 
the  earth. 

There  are  other  manures  which 
should  be  used  only  as  top  dres- 
sings. Their  exposure  to  the  air 
takes  away  httle  or  none  of  their 
virtue,  being  of  an  alkaline  na- 
ture, such  as  ashes,  lime,  and  the 
like.  They  are  speedily  settled 
into  the  soil  by  rains,  and  melting 
snows  ;  and  afford  a  more  kindly 
nourishment  to  the  roots  of  grass 


and  grain,  than  if  they  were  buried 
in  the  soil.  Being  laid  lower  than 
the  surface,  their  strength  would  be 
more  apt  to  be  carried  lower  than 
the  roots  of  plants  commoni)  reach. 

Some  dressings  are  thought  to 
be  more  successfully  applied  some 
time  before  sowing.  Such  a  one 
lime  is  said  to  be,  as  being  apt  to 
burn,  or  too  much  heal  the  seed. 
But  this,  1  think,  can  be  only  when 
it  is  laid  on  unslacked,  and  in  large 
quantities. 

Other  dressings  answer  best  at 
the  time  of  sowing.  This  is  the 
case  as  to  most  kinds  of  dung  that 
are  used,  and  of  several  other  ma- 
nures. 

But  those  manures  which  exert 
all  their  strength  suddenly,  are  al- 
lowed to  be  best  used  only  as  lop 
dressings,  after  the  plants  are  up, 
such  as  soot,  ashes,  certain  warm 
composts,  and  malt  dust.  If  they 
are  laid  on  winter  grain  in  autumn, 
there  will  be  danger  of  their  caus- 
ing too  rapid  a  growth  :  In  conse- 
quence of  which,  the  grain  will  be 
afterwards  stinted,  and  languish, 
unless  another  and  larger  dressing 
be  given  it  in  the  following  spring, 
or  summer.  It  is  probably  best  to 
apply  these  dressings  just  before 
the  time  when  the  plants  will  need 
the  greatest  supply  of  vegetable 
nourishment,  which  is  when  their 
growth  is  most  rapid,  or  near  the 
time  when  the  ears  are  shooting 
out. 

The  adapting  of  dressings  to  the 
nature  of  plants  will  be  found,  in 
those  parts  of  this  work,  where  the 
most  useful  plants  are  treated  of. 

DRILL  HUSBANDRY.  Sir 
John  Sinclair  has  the  following  re- 


DRI 


DRO 


11^ 


marks  on  this  subject.  "  In  com- 
paring the  drill  and  broad-cast  pys- 
tems,  the  following  maxims  may  be 
laid  down  :  I.  That  it  is  of  little 
or  no  advantage  to  drill  autumn,or 
winter-sown  wheat,  as  the  crop  is 
rarely  injured  by  annual  weeds, 
and  they  can  be  easily  and  com- 
pletely extirpated  by  hand-hoeing 
and  weeding  ;  and  when  the  soil  is 
much  infested  by  root-weeds,  as 
the  crop,  in  ordinary  cases,  will 
completely  meet  in  the  rows,  be- 
fore the  root-weeds  make  much 
appearance,  it  is  impossible,  with- 
out injuring  the  crop,  to  render 
much  benefit  to  the  land  by  the 
hoe.  2.  On  all  lands  where  annu- 
al weeds  are  abundant,  and  where 
a  number  of  hands  can  be  procur- 
ed for  using  the  hoe,  white  crops, 
sown  in  the  spring,  may  be  drilled, 
for  the  advantage  of  clearing  the 
land  more  effectually.  By  weed- 
ing broad-cast  crops  carefully,  an 
addition  of  four  and  an  half  bushels 
of  wheat,  fifteen  bushels  of  barley, 
and  ten  of  oats  has  been  obtained. 
The  adoption  of  that  practice, 
therefore,  would  probably  equal 
the  average  advantage  from  dril- 
ling ;  so  that  the  difference  be- 
tween broad-cast  crops,  properly 
weeded,  and  the  drilled,  may  not 
be  material.  3.  That  though  the 
hoeing  of  the  crops,  and  the  stirring 
of  the  soil,  has  no  injurious  effects 
in  light,  poor,  or  even  strong  soils, 
like  those  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk, 
where  drilling  has  succeeded  ;  yet 
where  the  soil  is  fertile  by  nature, 
or  enriched  by  art,  drilling  forces 
up  the  straw,  and  consequently  di- 
minishes the  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  grain  in  so  great  a  degree,as 


to  render  the  crop  unproductive. 
Hence,  in  rich  soils,  drilling  has 
been  so  frequently  given  up.  and 
hence  it  is  that  Tull  probably  con- 
sidered dung  as  prejudicial. 

"  There  doubtless  must  be  some 
radical  defect  in  the  system  of 
drilling,  when  after  a  full  trial  of 
its  merits,  by  a  number  of  intelli- 
gent fanners,  in  several  districts, 
but  more  especially  in  the  counties 
of  Hertford, and  Lincoln, it  has  been 
given  up, with  hardly  an  exception, 
in  so  far  as  respects  crops  of  grain. 
These  facts  confirm  the  almost 
general  result  throughout  the  king- 
dom, that  drilling  will  be  found  to 
answer  to  a  certain  extent,  and 
with  a  certain  degree  of  skill  and 
attention  ;  but  when  the  scale  is  ex- 
tended, the  attention  is  apt  to  flag, 
and  the  conclusions  drawn  from 
one  or  two  fields  are  not  found  ap- 
licable,  unless  where  the  operation 
is  very  skillfiilly  conducted,  to  a 
whole  farm*."  See  New  Husban- 
dry. Likewise  Massachusetts  Ag- 
ricultural Repository,  vol.  IV.  p. 
217,  to  p.  234,  in  which  opinions 
in  some  respects  different  from  the 
above  are  maintained. 

For  a  description  of  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  drills,  see  Willich^s 
Domestic  Encyclopedia,  2d  Ame- 
rican edition,  vol.  IF. 

DROUGHT,  such  a  continu- 
ance of  dry  weather,  that  plants 
cannot  draw  a  sufficiency  of  nou- 
rishment from  the  earth,  to  give 
them  their  full  growth  and  perfec- 
tion. 

Some  countries  are  much  more 
liable  to  this  inconvenience  than 
others.  New  England,for  instance, 
is  oftener  troubled  with  it  thanGreat 


116 


DRO 


DRO 


Britain  ;  one  occasion  of  which  is, 
the  greater  heat  of  our  summers, 
by  which  lands  grow  dry  faster  here 
than  there.  Another  cause  may 
be  our  having  a  greater  quantity  of 
fair  weather.  And  our  being  more 
liable  to  drought,  makes  it  neces- 
sary that  our  methods  of  culture 
should  be  different  from  those  prac- 
tised in  that  country.  Heating  ma- 
nures are  generally  more  needful 
there  than  here  ;  and  ridge  plough- 
ing is  a  more  proper  kind  of  til- 
lage for  the  English  than  for  us — 
though  it  might  be  of  great  service 
in  many  of  our  fields.  I  have  found 
considerable  advantage  from  it  in 
land  that  is  flat  and  wet. 

To  plough  our  driest  lands,  in 
ridges,  would  undoubtedly  be  lost 
labour,  unless  for  certain  particu- 
lar crops,  as  it  would  cause  a 
drought  to  be  more  hurtful  to  the 
crops,  and  there  is  no  danger  of 
too  much  wetness.  And  yet  it 
may  be,  that  when  an  over  dryness 
of  soil  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  is  owing 
to  the  rain's  running  ofi"  before  it 
has  time  to  soak  into  the  soil, 
ploughing  the  land  into  ridges,  and 
making  the  gutters  nearly  parallel 
with  the  horizon,  may  cause  the 
soil  to  retain  moisture  the  better. 

It  is  in  the  power  of  the  farmer 
in  good  measure  to  guard  against 
the  ill  efTects  of  drought.  It  is  a 
matter  that  certainly  ought  to  be 
attended  to  in  this  countrj^,  in 
which  almost  half  of  our  summers 
are  complained  of  by  many,as  being 
very  dry.  The  best  method  is,  to 
have  more  of  our  lowest  lands  un- 
der the  best  improvement  in  til- 
lage. If  this  were  the  case,  we 
should  not  so  often  hear  of  a  scar- 


city caused  by  drought.  If  it 
were  become  customary  to  plant 
and  sow  on  drained  lands,  and  in 
those  which  are  so  low  and  wet  as 
to  need  laying  in  ridges,  possibly 
our  dry  summers  would  be  as  fruit- 
ful on  the  whole  as  our  wet  ones. 
But,  as  we  manage  our  lands  at 
present,  the  case  is  far  otherwise. 
A  great  number  of  people  are  al- 
ways reduced  to  a  distressed  con- 
dition by  a  dry  summer.  And  they 
are  too  ready  to  consider  the  short- 
ness of  their  crops  in  a  dry  year  as 
a  divine  judgment,  though  they 
might  have  prevented  it  by  a  more 
prudent  management. 

Another  way  to  guard  against 
having  our  crops  pinched  by  d  rought 
is,  to  have  a  variety  of  different 
crops  on  a  farm  each  year,  some 
that  are  least  injured  by  a  drought, 
and  some  that  require  the  most 
rain.  Thus,  let  a  season  happen 
as  it  will,  we  may  hope  to  gain  in 
one  crop,  what  we  lose  in  anoth- 
er; or  at  least  that  some  of  our 
crops  will  be  very  good,  if  others 
should  fail. 

Sometimes  land  is  so  shaped  by 
nature,  that  the  water  of  a  rivulet, 
or  of  a  plentiful  spring,  may  be  led 
by  gutters,  or  narrow  channels,  to 
moisten  places  which  would  other- 
wise suffer  by  drought.  When  it 
can  be  performed  without  too 
much  expense,  it  will  be  found  to 
bean  excellent  piece  of  husbandry. 
In  some  cases  it  may  be  a  double 
advantage,  making  a  wet  place 
drier,  by  diverting  the  water  to 
places  that  need  it.  Deep  tillage 
is  also  of  very  great  importance  to 
prevent  the  ill  efTects  of  a  dry  sea- 
son.    For  the  dryness  of  three  or 


DRO 


DUN 


ir 


four  inches  in  depth  would  scarce- 
ly alter  the  condition  of  the  plants. 
But  if  the  plough  has  gone  only  to 
this  depth,  a  severe  drought  will 
be  fatal  to  the  crop. 

It  would  greatly  advantage  the 
farmer,  if  he  could  foretel  whether 
a  season  will  be  dry  or  wet.  But 
as  he  knows  this  is  impossible,  he 
should  so  conduct  his  crops,  and 
other  matters,  that  he  may  be  pre- 
pared for  either  extreme. 

The  earlier  a  drought  begins,the 
more  distressing  it  generally  proves 
in  this  country.  For,  after  the 
grass  crops  and  English  grain  have 
nearly  got  their  growth,  a  drought 
is  less  detrimental  than  before,  be- 
cause the  Indian  corn,  by  means  of 
the  tillage  given  while  the  plants 
are  growing,  bears  it  so  well  as  to 
be  seldom  cut  short  by  it :  And  In- 
dian corn  is  the  principal  of  our 
late  crops. 

Pasture  lands  are  often  so  dried 
up,  that  both  the  meat  and  drink 
of  the  cattle  are  cut  off  at  once. — 
This  shews  the  propriety  and  ne- 
cessity of  having  some  low  lands  in 
pasture,  when  it  is  practicable. — 
And  a  few  trees,  growing  at  proper 
distances  in  a  pasture,  will  partial- 
ly shade  the  soil,  and  prevent  its 
drying  so  rapidly.  More  grass 
will  be  produced  :  and  the  cattle 
will  be  refreshed  by  the  shade  ; 
besides  the  advantage  the  farmer 
will  gain  in  fuel  and  timber.  In 
those  parts  of  the  country  where 
trees  have  become  scarce,  the 
omission  of  planting  quick-growing 
trees  in  our  pasture  grounds  is  un- 
pardonable. When  a  pasture  is 
destitute  of  water,  Mr.  Eliot  ad- 
vises to  dig  a  well  on  the  side  of 


some  hill  in  the  pasture,  and  hav- 
ing come  to  water,  to  dig  a  trench 
below,  level  with  the  bottom  of  the 
well,  and  bring  the  water  through 
a  hollow  drain  out  to  the  surface, 
where  it  may  be  kept  in  a  little  ba- 
sin, made  in  the  soil,  for  a  water- 
ing place.  This  practice  is  now 
common  in  some  part*  of  our  coun- 
try, and  even  the  conveyance  of 
water  \n  aqueducts. 

DUNG,  the  excrements  of  ani- 
mals, used  to  increase  the  fertility 
of  land.  Dung  may  be  said  to  be 
almost  of  the  same  importance  to 
th,e  farmer,  as  stock  in  trade  is  to 
the  merchant.  There  are  but  few 
lots  or  pieces  of  lots,  in  this  coun- 
try, which  can  be  tilled  to  any 
great  profit,  in  the  common  way  of 
culture,  without  manure  ;  and  dung 
is  of  all  manures  the  most  useful. 
The  very  best  of  soils,  when  dung- 
ed, will  more  than  pay  for  it,  by 
the  increase  of  their  crops,  and  the 
poorest  will  produce  next  to  no- 
thing without  manure.  Some  think 
it  more  profitable  to  apply  dung  to 
their  best  soils  than  to  their  poor- 
est, as  they  think  the  increase  from 
it  to  be  greater  in  the  former  case 
than  in  the  latter.  This  opinion  is 
probably  founded  in  truth. 

The  sorts  of  dung  which  are,  or 
may  be  used,  are  that  of  black  cat- 
tle, sheep,  horses,  swine,  goats, 
hens,  pigeons,  ducks,  geese  and 
rabbits,  besides  human  ordure. 

The  dung  of  animals  consists  of 
oils,  fixed  and  volatile  salts,  togeth- 
er with  nitrous  and  earthy  parti- 
cles.»  But  in  different  sorts  of  dung 
these  principles  are  differently 
compounded  ;  so  that  the  dung  of 
one  animal  is  a  proper  manure  for 


118 


DUN 


DUN 


one  kind  of  soil,  and  thatof  another 
for  another.  And  yet  there  is  no 
kind  of  soil  that  may  not  be  enrich- 
ed, in  some  degree,  by  any  kind  of 
dung. 

The  dung  of  oxen  and  cows  is  a 
cool,  mild  and  oily  substance  ;and 
is,  therefore,  most  suitable  for 
warm,  sandy,  and  gravelly  soils.  It 
tends  to  prevent  the  soiPs  becom- 
ing too  dry,  and  keeps  the  plants 
on  it  from  being  pinched  for  want 
of  moisture. 

The  dung  of  sheep  is  more  hot 
and  fiery  than  that  of  black  cattle  ; 
it  ferments  quicker ;  it  is  fitter, 
therefore,  for  cold,  heavy  lands. — 
Perhaps  the  best  way  of  applying 
the  dung  of  sheep  to  land  is  by 
folding,  in  countries  especially 
which  are  not  greatly  infested  by 
wolves.  For  in  this  method  their 
urine  is  all  saved,  as  well  as  their 
dung.  But  it  ought  to  be  turned 
in  with  the  plough  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, that  the  sun  and  air  may  not 
deprive  the  land  of  it. 

In  Flanders,  it  is  the  practice  to 
house  their  sheep  at  night,  under 
slight  sheds,  the  ground  being 
spread  with  dry  sand,  about  four 
or  five  inches  thick,  laying  on 
a  little  more  fresh  every  night. — 
This  is  cleared  out  once  a  week, 
and  carried  to  a  dung-hill,  or  ap- 
plied to  the  soil.  This  mixture  of 
sand  and  hot  dung,  makes  a  very 
excellent  dressing  for  cold  and  stiff 
land.  For  there  is  scarcely  a  rich- 
er manure  than  the  dung  and  urine 
of  sheep.  M.  Quintinie  thinks  it 
the  greatest  promoter  of  fruitful- 
ness,  in  all  sorts  of  ground.  This 
method  of  folding  sheep  in  a  cov- 
ered fold,  and  of  mixing  their  dung 


with  stiff  earth  or  sand,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  soil  it  is  intend- 
ed for,  is,  also,  with  much  reason, 
recommended  by  Mr.  Mortimer  ; 
who  also  says,  "  that  he  has  known 
vast  crops  of  rye  upon  barren 
lands,  that  have  been  old  warrens, 
well  dimged  by  rabbits,  and  large 
oak  and  ash  trees  upon  the  same, 
though  the  soil  was  very  shallow," 

Some  have  recommended  the 
reducing  of  sheep-dung  to  powder, 
by  pounding  it  with  mallets,  and 
using  it  as  a  top  dressing  for  grain, 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  bushels  on  an 
acre.  But  this  is  a  tedious  piece 
of  work,  and  of  no  lasting  advan- 
tage :  Whereas  too  much  can 
hardly  be  said  in  praise  of  the  Flan- 
ders method  of  using  it.  A  prodi- 
gious quantity  of  good  manure  may 
thus  be  obtained  from  a  flock  of 
sheep,  by  housing  them  regularly 
every  night. 

If  a  light  soil  is  intended  to  be 
manured  with  this  compost  ;  in- 
stead of  sand,  clay,  pond  mud,  or 
the  mud  of  fiats  may  be  used, these 
substances  having  been  first  mel- 
lowed by  the  frosts  of  winter.  The 
dung  of  goats  is  supposed  to  be 
nearly  of  the  nature  of  sheep's 
dung. 

Horse  dung  is  a  still  hotter  ma- 
nure, as  appears  by  its  quick  fer- 
mentation in  heaps,  even  in  cool 
weather.  It  is  consequently  fittest 
for  hot  beds,  when  it  is  new,  and 
for  nourishing  those  plants  which 
require  the  greatest  degrees  of 
heat.  The  dung  of  horses  that  are 
fed  on  grain,  is  a  richer  manure 
than  that  of  those  fed  only  on  grass 
and  hay. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  that 


DUN 


DUN 


119 


borse  dung  be  not  spoiled,  by  being 
overheated,  or  burnt  in  the  heaps, 
before  it  is  used.  For,  in  this  coun- 
try, it  is  very  commonly  the  case. 
When  it  has  been  so  heated  as  to 
give  it  a  white  and  mouldy  appear- 
ance, the  virtue  of  it  is  gone.  It  is 
difficult  to  give  it  age,  without  mix- 
ing it  with  other  substances.  A 
mixture  of  horse  and  cow  dung  is 
very  proper  for  land  that  is  neither 
too  light  nor  too  stiff.  Horse  dung 
is  a  much  stronger  manure  than  it 
is  supposed  to  be  by  those  whose 
constant  practice  is  to  suffer  it  to 
be  spoilt  by  overheating  in  the 
heaps.  This  manure,  when  used 
as  an  ingredient  in  composts,  has 
an  excellent  effect,  as  by  its  quick 
and  strong  fermentation,  it  speedi- 
ly dissolves  other  substances  that 
are  mixed  with  it.  j, 

Mr.  Miller  says  he  has  frequent- 
ly seen  new  horse  dung  buried  as 
it  came  from  the  stable  in  very 
cold,  moist  land;  and  always  ob- 
served that  the  crops  have  suc- 
ceeded better  than  where  the 
ground  was  dressed  with  very  rot- 
ten dung. 

The  dung  of  swine  is  a  very  rich 
and  fat  manure,  and  so  cool  as  to 
ferment  very  slowly.  It  is  so  rich 
and  oily,  as  to  be  double  in  value 
to  neats'  dung.  It  will  render  the 
moist  dry  and  hungry  soils  exceed- 
ingly fruitful  in  a  wettish  season, 
as  I  have  found  by  experience.  It 
resists  the  ill  effects  of  drought, 
and  does  most  service  in  a  hot 
country.  By  its  steady  and  grad- 
ual supply  of  a  rich  nourishment, 
it  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the 
growing  of  hops,  pumpions,  run- 
ning beans,  and  every  plant  which 


has  long  vines.  Nothing  can  e- 
qual  it  for  the  growing  of  potatoes. 
It  has  produced  me  more  than  a 
peck  in  a  hill  on  the  poorest  hun- 
gry sands.  Or  rather  I  might  say, 
straw  only  a  little  impregnated 
with  the  dung  of  hogs  has  done  it. 
This  is  so  strong  a  manure,  that  it 
answers  well,  when  mixed  with  a 
large  proportion  of  earth,  weeds, 
straw,  or  other  such  substan- 
ces. It  is  almost  incredible  how 
great  a  quantity  of  good  manure 
may  be  obtained,  by  supplying  a 
hogsty  with  rubbish  to  mix  with 
the  dung.  I  have  heard  of  40 
loads  of  manure  being  made  in  a 
year  by  means  of  one  hogsty. 
And  I  have  no  doubt  of  its  being 
practicable. 

The  dung  of  ducks  and  geese, 
is  deemed  too  hot  and  burning. 
But  if  the  farmer  would  gather  it 
in  a  heap,  and  mix  it  with  the  dung 
of  cattle,  he  would  bring  it  to  a 
temperate  heat,  and  draw  from  it 
such  advantage  as  woald  indemni- 
fy him  for  the  pains  he  should 
take.  The  virtue  of  this  method 
is  known  by  experience.  A  farm- 
er having  abandoned  a  piece  of 
ground  to  his  geese  for  twelve 
years,  afterwards  turned  them  out 
to  let  the  grass  grow,  and  it  rose 
so  thick  and  strong  that  the  scythe 
would  scarcely  pass  through  it. 
Hen  dung  is  recommended  to  be 
scattered  in  small  quantities  upon 
land  intended  to  be  sown,  and  on 
account  of  its  heat  it  is  never  used, 
unless  when  rain  is  foreseen.  It 
is  an  excellent  manure  for  mea- 
dows. Pigeon's  dung  is  much  the 
same  with  that  of  poultry,  the  only 
difference  being  its  superiour 
heat.''     Scots  Farmer, 


120 


Du:s 


DUN 


1  should  think  it  better  to  mix 
the  dung  of  poultry  and  pigeons 
with  other  substances,  to  allay 
their  heat,. before  they  are  applied 
to  the  soil.  And  thus  qualitied, 
they  would  be  an  excellent  top 
dressing  for  corn,  especially  in 
cold  and  wet  lands.  On  old  mow- 
ing grounds,  I  have  found  the  grass 
abundantly  increased,  by  a  spriuk- 
hng  of  earth  taken  out  of  an  apart- 
ment used  as  a  hen  house,  though 
there  was  little  or  none  of  their 
dung  visible  amongst  it. 

"  Human  ordure  is  a  very  fat 
and  hot  manure,  full  of  fertilizing 
salts  and  oils ;  and,  therefore,  ex- 
tremely proper  for  all  cold,  sour 
soils ;  especially  if  it  be  mixed 
with  other  dung,  straw,  or  earth, 
to  give  it  a  fermentation,  and  ren- 
der it  convenient  for  carriage. 
Some  do  not  like  the  use  of  it,  on 
account  of  its  bad  smell  ;  and 
others  imagine,  that  it  gives  a  fetid 
taste  to  plants.  But  in  this  they 
seem  to  carry  their  delicacy  too 
far.  Mr.  Bradley  says,  it  is  kept 
in  pits  made  on  purpose,  in  for- 
eign countries,  till  it  be  one,  two, 
three  or  four  years  old  :  That  of 
four  years  old  is  accounted  the 
best,  that  of  three  years  tolerable. 
Perhaps  it  may  owe  great  part  of 
its  richness  to  the  urine  with  which 
it  is  mixed;  for  though  the  human 
urine  be  destructive  to  vegetables, 
whilst  it  is  new,  by  reason  of  its 
burning  sal  ammoniaca!  spirit,  as 
Glauber  terms  it,  yet  time  will  di- 
gest the  urine,  and  render  it  an 
extraordinary  fertilizer  of  every 
kind  of   soil."     Complete  Farmer. 

This  kind  of  manure  should  be 
compounded  with  a  large  quantity 


of  earth,  and  lie  one  or  two  sum- 
mers at  least,  that  it  may  be  thor- 
oughly mixed.  The  contents  of 
an  old  vault  would  thus  make  a 
surprising  quantity  of  excellent 
manure. 

As  dung  in  general  is  so  impor- 
tant a  manure,  every  possible 
method  should  be  taken  to  pre- 
vent its  being  wasted,  a?  indeed  a 
great  proportion  of  it  is,  by  the 
common  management  of  our  farm- 
ers. In  no  wa}  is  it  more  wasted, 
than  by  its  being  too  much  expos- 
ed to  the  sun,  air,  and  rains. 
Mixing  of  dry  earth,  or  other  ab- 
sorbent substances,  with  heaps  of 
dung,  will  do  much  towards  pre- 
venting this  loss.  Or  slight  sheds 
may  be  made  over  them  to  pre- 
vent their  strength  being  too  much 
wasted  by  heavy  rams ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  to  prevent  a  too  great 
exhalation  from  them.  Som'^  cov- 
er them  with  turfs,  when  they 
choose  to  keep  dung  till  it  be  old. 
This  is  not  a  bad  practice ;  for 
the  turfs  in  that  situation  will  be- 
come good  manure.  I  would 
hope  farmers  need  not  be  told, 
that  the  grassy  side  should  be  laid 
on  the  dung.  Otherwise,  instead 
of  consuming,  it  will  produce  a 
crop  of  grass. 

If  the  heaps  lie  at  the  sides  of 
barns  or  under  the  eaves,  the  least 
that  should  be  done  to  prevent  the 
wasting  of  the  dung,  is  to  put  up 
gutters,  that  the  heaps  may  not  be 
washed  with  the  streams  from  the 
eaves.  And  besides,  some  loose 
boards  should  be  set  against  the 
sides  of  the  barn,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  prevent  the  greatest  part  of 
the  rain  from  falling  on  the  heaps 
of  dung. 


DUN 


DUN 


121 


"  The  quality  of  the  dung  of 
every  animal,  will  in  a  great  meas- 
ure be  proportioned  to  the  rich- 
ness or  poverty  of  its  food.  Hence 
the  dung  from  the  stables  and  cow- 
houses is  preferred  to  that  of  young 
cattle  kept  in  the  farm  yard,  on 
food  of  a  less  nourishing  quality. 
Next  to  animal  excrement,  straw 
is  the  chief  material  of  a  dung  hill; 
and  too  much  attention  cannot  be 
paid  to  collecting  it.  For  that 
purpose,  the  greatest  care  is  taken 
by  the  diligent  husbandman  to  cut 
his  crops  low.  When  reaping  is 
carelessly  executed,  it  has  been 
calculated,  that  one  fourth  part  of 
the  straw  is  left  upon  the  ground, 
where  its  strength  and  substance  is 
wasted  by  the  rains  and  storms  of 
autumn  and  winter ;  whereas  by 
attention  to  the  reaping  process, 
one  ton,  and  even  more  of  addi- 
tional manure /)er  acre,  can  be  ob- 
tained. The  value  of  straw  is 
great,  not  only  in  consequence  of 
its  own  substance,  but  from  the 
quantity  of  liquid  matter  it  absorbs. 
By  an  experiment,  carefully  made, 
it  appeared  that  diy  wheat  straw 
had  increased  in  quantity  from  300 
to  719  stone,  making  an  increase 
of  not  less  than  419  stone  during 
a  period  of  seven  months. 

"  As  in  heavy  rains,  notwith- 
standing every  precaution,  some 
water  will  run  from  the  yard,  there 
ought  to  be  a  covered  reservoir  to 
receive  it,  so  situated  that  the 
liquid  can  either  be  pumped  upon 
the  dunghill  if  it  requires  it,  or 
upon  heaps  of  earth,  collected  for 
that  purpose.  The  stables  and  cow- 
houses ought  also  to  be  regularly 
washed,  as  is  done  in  Flanders ; 
16 


and  much  useful  matter  might  in 
this  way  be  collected,  and  convey- 
ed to  the  reservoir.  Where  land 
lies  conveniently  beneath  the  farm 
yard,  the  contents  of  this  reservoir, 
or  the  overflowings  of  the  dung- 
yard,  may  be  conveyed  to  it  for 
the  purposes  of  irrigation."  Code 
of  Agriculture. 

There  are  different  opinions 
relative  to  the  preparation  which 
dung  should  undergo  before  it  is 
applied  to  the  soil.  It  is  remark- 
ed by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  that 
straw  fermented  is  a  more  manage- 
able substance,  and  furnishes  more 
manure  for  a  single  crop,  than  un- 
fermented.  In  the  latter  state  it 
decomposes  more  slowly,  and  con- 
sequently, though  its  influence  will 
be  more  lasting,  yet  it  produces  at 
first  less  effect. 

It  is  observed  by  Sir  John  Sin- 
clair, that  "  the  old  practice  of 
frequently  stirring,  turning,  and 
mixing  the  dung,  without  in  gen- 
eral even  covering  the  heap  with 
earth,  when  it  was  turned,  is  now 
very  properly  laid  aside  by  every 
judicious  farmer,  as  the  finer  and 
more  volatile  parts  of  the  soluble 
matter,  escaped  in  a  gaseous 
form,  into  the  atmosphere,  and 
left  behiad  only  the  earthy  and 
coarser  parts  of  the  mass." 

"  In  the  Netherlands,"  says  the 
same  writer,  "  the  more  opulent 
pave  and  line  with  brick  the  re- 
ceptacles for  their  dung,  which  is 
thus  kept  constantly  plunged  in  a 
mass  of  liquid  matter.  The  fibrous 
parts  of  the  vegetables,  are  thus 
completely  decon)poseil,  and  four 
tons  of  this  manure,  go  as  far  as 
five,  collected  and  kept  with  less 
precaution. '^ 


122 


DUN 


DUN 


"  In  Switzerland  the  farmers 
consider  liquid  manure  as  the  most 
efficacious,  and  after  the  dung  is 
fermented,  they  dilute  it  in  water, 
and  the  liquid  alone  is  carried  to 
the  field,  and  scattered  over  it. 
The  straw  that  remains,  after  the 
dung  is  thus  washed,  is  applied  as 
manure  for  potatoes. 

The  Hon.  Richard  Peters,  of 
Penn.  is  opposed  to  the  use  of  un- 
fermented  manures.  In  a  letter 
to  Josiah  Quincy,  Esq.  published 
in  the  Agricultural  Repository, 
vol.  iv.  page  328,  Mr.  Peters  ob 
serves,  "  1  insist  that  all  the  hot 
muck  ferments  over  violently  in 
the  earth.  My  opponents  say, 
(and  so  does  Sir  H.  I  believe,) 
that  the  earth  checks  fermenta- 
tion. And  so  it  may  to  a  certam 
degree.  But  strawy  muck  cannot 
be  rtg.ilarly  spread.  The  animal 
tnaiter  is  not  mixed  with  the  straw, 
but  Hesin  masses  par  se  ;  this  over 
ferments,  and  throws  up  your 
crops,  in  bunches  or  spots,  over 
luxuriantly  ;  and  it  lays,  smuts,  or 
mildews.  The  earth  prevents  fer- 
mentation in  the  straw  ;  and  this 
dry  rots  and  becomes  a  caput  mor- 
tuum,  1  have  experienced  this 
effect  over  and  over  again.  1 
think  reasonably  fermented  dung 
goes  further.  All  the  straw  and 
additional  matter  is  impregnated, 
and,  being  decomposed,  spreads 
with  the  animal  ejections  more 
equally,  and  to  infinitely  better 
advantage,  assisting  your  crops  in 
more  points,  and  operating  equally 
and  more  efficiently  on  the  whole." 

DUNGHILLS,  heaps  of  ma- 
nure laid  up  to  ferment,  consisting 
of  dung  and  earth,  together  with 


lime,  or  marie,  and  any  animal  or 
vegetable  substances,  which  easily 
putrify  and  consume. 

It  would  be  well  if  every  farmer 
had  some  of  them  preparing,  to  be 
carted  out  in  autumn,  or  to  lie  two 
summers,  when  it  is  found  conven- 
ient. He  would  avail  himself  of 
much  manure  that  might  be  col- 
lected between  spring  and  fall  ; 
for,  in  the  summer,  the  crop3  on 
the  ground  must  prevent  carting 
it ;  so  that  it  should  be  preserved 
in  the  best  manner  to  prevent 
waste.  And  this  can  in  no  way  be 
so  well  prevented,  as  by  mixing  it 
with  other  substances. 

Farmers  should  have  such  dung- 
hills, some  at  their  barns,  or  cow- 
yards,  one  at  a  hogsty,  when 
swine  are  shut  up,  and  another  not 
too  far  from  the  back  door  of  a 
house.  They  may  be  tended,  and 
augmented  at  odd  times,  when  no 
other  business  stands  in  the  way. 
That  at  the  back  door,  especially, 
may  be  very  easily  made  up,  of  a 
variety  of  rich  and  fertilizing  in- 
gredients, besides  dung;  such  as 
the  scrapings  of  the  yard  after 
rain  ;  soot  and  ashes  ;  shells,  lime 
and  bones ;  the  sweepings  of  the 
kitchen ;  oil  dregs,,  and  any  fat 
things  ;  woollen  rags ;  bloody  wa- 
ter, in  which  meat  or  fish  has  been 
washed ;  greasy  water  ;  suds ; 
ashes,  although  the  lie  has  been 
drawn  from  them;  old  useless 
brine;  urine;  and,  in  short,  any 
animal  or  even  vegetable  sub- 
stance, that  has  not  too  much  acid. 
Or,  even  acids,  if  they  be  over- 
balanced by  plenty  of  alkaline 
substances. 

To  prevent  the  heaps  being  too 


DUN 


D  YK 


123 


much  torn  and  spread  about  by 
swine,  or  by  the  scratching  of 
dunghill  fowls,  the  heaps  may  be 
included  in  pens  made  with  wide 
boards ;  or  some  rocks  may  be 
laid  round  them.  Turfs  may  be 
laid  over  them,  to  prevent  their 
evaporating ;  as  well  as  under 
them,  to  prevent  their  soaking  in- 
to the  earth. 

The  heaps  should  have  such  a 
degree  of  moisture  as  best  pro- 
motes fermentation  and  corrup- 
tion. A  cavity  may  be  made 
close  to  the  lower  side  of  the 
heap,  to  receive  the  superfluous 
moisture  as  it  runs  from  it  after 
rain  ;  and  this  liquid,  highly  im- 
pregnated with  the  strength  of  the 
manure,  should  be  thrown,  from 
time  to  time,  on  the  top  of  the 
heaps,  with  a  scooping  shovel.  In 
a  wet  season,  the  heaps  will  need 
some  slight  sheds  over  them.  In- 
deed it  would  be  best  to  cover 
them  in  all  seasons,  and  to  apply 
water  to  them  when  they  need  it. 

Heaps  about  the  barn  or  cow- 
yard,  may  be  augmented  with 
some  of  the  nearest  earth,  swamp 
mud,  straw,  weeds,  &c.  those  at 
the  hogsty  with  the  same,  together 
with  the  dung  of  fowls,  or  other 
hot  manures,  as  the  dung  of  swine 
is  naturally  cold.  But  the  farmer 
should  acquaint  himself  with  the 
nature  of  different  manures ;  and 
always  let  that  ingredient  in  his 
heaps  be  predominant,  which  is 
best  adapted  to  correct  and  melio- 
rate the  soil  on  which  it  is  to  be 
laid.  If  it  be  destined  for  a  sandy 
soil,  clay  will  be  an  excellent  in- 
gredient in  the  composition  of  the 
beaps.     If  it  be  designed  to  lay 


on  a  clayey  soil,  sand  is  proper. 

DUTCH  HOE,  sometimes  cal- 
led a  Scuffle ;  an  iron  instrument, 
with  a  sharp  steeled  edge,  nearly 
in  the  shape  of  the  letter  D.  with  a 
shank  from  the  rounding  part,  five 
or  six  inches  long,  which  passes  in- 
to a  handle  of  about  six  feet  in 
length.  It  is  of  use  to  clean  walks 
and  avenues  in  gardens.  No  gard- 
ener should  be  without  one  of  these 
instruments. 

DYKE,  OR  DIKE,  a  sort  of  dam, 
constructed  of  earth,  timber,  fas- 
cines, &c.  to  oppose  the  entrance 
of  water  from  rivers  and  from  the 
sea. 

Dykes  made  to  exclude  the  sea 
from  marshes,  are  built  with  sods 
cut  out  of  the  marsh,  so  as  to  make 
a  ditch  near  the  dyke,  or  else  a 
ditch  on  each  side.  The  sods  are 
laid  as  a  wall  sloping  on  both  sides ; 
they  should  be  laid  very  close,that 
the  water  may  not  enter  ;  and 
some  slender  bushes  should  be  laid 
between  them,  that  the  work  may 
hold  together  the  better.  Some  of 
the  bushes  should  have  roots  to 
them,thatthey  may  grow,and  more 
strongly  bind  the  sods  together. — 
Shrubs  without  roots  will  not  live 
placed  in  the  dykes  at  mid-summer, 
the  time  when  dykes  should  be 
built.  But  they  may  be  inserted 
afterwards,  at  a  proper  season. 

A  dyke,  seven  or  eight  feet  wide 
at  bottom,  and  three  a-top,  and 
made  a  little  higher  than  the  high- 
est spring  tides  rise,  will  be  suffi- 
cient on  high  marsh.  When  a 
dyke  passes  through  a  low  place,or 
through  a  creek,  it  must  be  wider 
at  bottom  in  proportion  to  the 
depth  of  the  hollow,  or  creek,  so 


124 


EAR 


EAR 


that  the  sides  of  the  d^-ke  may  be 
perfect  incHned  planes.  Though 
this  will  make  it  very  thick  at  bot- 
tom, it  is  necessary,  that  it  may  re- 
sist the  greatest  pressure  of  water 
against  that  part. 

When  we  build  on  an  oozy,  soft 
spot,  it  is  best  to  fill  the  mud  with 
piles,  driven  as  deep  as  they  will 
easily  go,  and  then  cut  off  even 
with  the  surface  or  a  little  above 
it.  This  will  give  stability  to  the 
foundation, and  prevent  the  water's 
undermining  the  dyke.  On  a  side- 
ling place,  stakes  should  be  driven 
through  the  dyke  into  the  marsh, 
to  hold  the  sods  in  their  places. — 
There  should  be  many  of  them, 
and  they  should  be  strong. 

In  the  creek,  or  creeks,  there 
must  be  sluices,  larger  or  smaller 
in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
fresh  water  that  will  need  to  pass 
out.     See  Sluice, 

E. 

EARTH,  the  soil,  or  land,  in 
which  the  roots  of  plants  find  nou- 
rishment. There  are  several  sim- 
ple kinds  of  earth,  considered  only 
with  respect  to  husbandry  ;  as  clay, 
marie,  loam,  gravel,  sand,  peat,and 
black  mould.  Perhaps  these  are 
nearly  all  the  simple  soils  that  are 
found  on  or  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  in  this  country  ;  though  oth- 
ers, distinct'  from  them  all,  are 
found  by  digging  deep.  There  is 
not  one  of  these  earths,  in  its  un- 
mixed state,  that  is  so  friendly  to 
the  growth  of  plants,  as  when  mix- 
ed with  some  other  sorts  ;  and  it 
is  happy  for  us  that  nature  in  most 
places  has  blended  them.  Though 


the  original  soils  are  so  (ew,  they 
are  so  variously  compounded  in 
different  places,  as  to  present  us 
with  an  endless  variety  of  soils, 
some  or  other  of  which  are  most 
suitable  to  nourish  every  different 
plant.  But  for  most  of  the  pur- 
poses of  husbandry  a  sandy  loam  is 
as  good  as  any. 

Good  earth  for  the  general  pur- 
poses of  husbandry,  is  most  com- 
monly of  a  dark  colour,  or  quite 
black,  unctuous  to  the  touch,  easi- 
ly ploughed,  on  a  due  medium  be- 
twixt dry  and  wet,  not  compact, 
nor  too  loose  and  open,  and  easily 
made  to  ferment. 

Mortimer  observes,  ''  That  mix- 
ed soils  are  best ;  especially  where 
the  mixtures  happen  to  be  of  the 
right  kind,  as  those  of  the  hot  and 
dry  soils,  blended  with  the  cold  and 
the  moist.  All  sands  are  hot,  and 
all  clays  are  cold,  and,  therefore, 
laying  sand  on  clayey  lands,orclay 
upon  sandy  lands,  is  the  best  of  all 
manure  for  both.  This  alters  and 
changes  for  the  better,  the  very- 
nature  of  the  land  itself,  whereas 
dung  only  improves  it  for  a  time, 
and  after  that  leaves  it  nearly  as 
bad  as  it  was  before.  It  is  not  on- 
ly the  nature  of  the  soil  we  are  to 
consider,  but  the  depth  of  it,  and 
what  kind  of  earth  is  underneath  ; 
for  the  richest  soil,  if  it  be  only 
eight  or  ten  inches  deep,  and  lies 
upon  a  cold  clay,  or  upon  a  quarry 
of  stone,  will  not  be  so  fruitful,  or 
advantageous  to  the  farmer,  as  the 
leaner  soil  that  lies  upon  better  un- 
der strata." 

But  an  under  stratum  of  clay,  not 
too  near  to  the  surface,  and  where 
the  ground  has  not  too  much  wet- 


ELF 


EMP 


12- 


ness,  is  found  to  be  good,  as  the 
strength  of  manures  does  not  es- 
cape through  it.  A  stratum  of 
clayey  gravel,  or  mere  clay,  or  al- 
most any  that  is  not  too  easily  pen- 
etrated, is  good  :  But  one  of  loose 
sand  or  gravel  must  necessarily  be 
bad,  as  the  soil  above  it  will  not 
hold  its  manure.     See  Soil. 

EFFLUVIA.  The  effluvia  of 
rotten  s-ubstances  are  supposed  to 
breed  diseases.  The  farmer,there- 
fore,  should  be  cautious  that  he  do 
not  breathe  in  the  steams  of  his  old 
dung-hills  more  than  is  necessary, 
especially  when  they  have  a  disa- 
greeable stench.  And  the  greatest 
care  should  be  taken  to  remove  or 
cover  up  all  the  filth  of  the  house, 
and  of  the  hog-pen,  which  no  doubt 
occasions  some  of  those  autumnal 
epidemic  diseases,  not  unfrequent- 
ly  as  fatal  in  country  villages,  in 
proportion  to  numbers,  as  in  the 
thicker  settled  towns  on  the  coast. 

ELDER,  Sambucus  nigra,  an  ill 
smelhng  shrub,  which  grows  plen- 
tifully in  most  parts  of  this  country, 
produces  a  black  berry,  and  is  too 
well  known  to  need  describing.  I 
mention  it,  because  it  is  believed 
to  be  an  excellent  antidote  against 
destructive  insects.  It  may  be 
well  for  farmers  to  try  solutions  of 
it,  by  sprinkling  it  over  plants,  in- 
fected with  lice  or  insects  of  any 
sort. 

The  juice  of  elder,  it  is  said,kills 
skippers  in  meat,  cheese,  &;c. 

ELFSHOT,  OR  ELFSHOT- 
TEN,  a  disease  in  horned  cattle, 
the  symptoms  or  concomitants  of 
which  are  slugglishness  and  loss  of 
appetite.  The  original  of  the  name 
seems  to  have  been  a  superstitious 


opinion,  that  cattle  were  shotten 
and  wounded  by  elves,  or  fairies. 
The  disease,  however,  is  not  ima- 
ginary. It  is  believed  to  be  an 
opening  in  the  peritonaeum,  or  film 
of  the  belly,  caused  by  relaxation. 
It  resembles  a  hole  made  by  a  bul- 
let, and  may  be  felt  through  the 
skin  which  remains  unhirt.  These 
openings  are  closed,  and  the  ani- 
mals cured,  by  rubbing  the  part 
with  salt  and  water.  It  should  be 
repeated  two  or  three  times  in  the 
course  of  a  day. 

ELM,  Ulmus  Americana,  a  tree 
that  is  commonly  found  in  our  for- 
ests. It  is  tall  and  beautiful,  long- 
lived,  and  grows  to  a  large  size. — 
The  wood  is  not  apt  to  split,  or 
crack  ;  and  is  very  fit  for  the  naves 
of  wheels  for  carriages.  Of  this 
tree  there  are  said  to  be  two  varie- 
ties, the  white  and  the  red.  The 
elm  is  a  proper  tree  to  plant  in 
groves.  It  is  sightly  and  durable  ; 
and  not  apt  to  be  broken  by  high 
winds. 

EMPLOYMENT.  No  one 
that  considers  the  condition  of  a 
farmer,  can  doubt  of  his  having 
sufficient  employment.  He  has  so 
many  objects  to  attend  to,  that  his 
life  must  be  filled  up  with  careful- 
ness or  exercise.  If  he  grow  re- 
miss, he  will  soon  find  that  he  has 
lost  something  through  neglect,  or 
failed  of  availing  himself  of  some 
advantage. 

In  our  climate,  besides  care,the 
farmers  are  necessarily  hurried 
with  their  business  during  much  the 
greater  part  of  the  year,that  is,  from 
April  to  November  inclusive.  But 
in  the  winter,they  may  be  in  som^ 
danger  of  spending  some  of  their 


126 


EWE 


EXP 


time  idly,  if  they  do  not  take  care 
to  prevent  it.  Feeding  and  tend- 
ing their  cattle,  if  they  do  it  faith- 
fully, will  take  some  considerable 
part  of  each  day,  if  the  stock  be 
large.  The  dressing  of  hemp  and 
flax  requires  some  time,  and  ought 
to  be  done  in  winter.  Getting 
home  fuel  for  maintaining  fires 
through  the  year,  and  hauling  stuff 
and  fitting  it  for  the  building  and 
repairing  offences;  threshing  and 
cleaning  of  corn  and  grain,  and 
preparing  farming  implements, may 
ail  be  done  at  this  season.  And  these 
things  ought  to  be  done  at  this  time 
of  the  year,  to  prevent  hurr)-  at  a 
more  busy  season.  So  that,  though 
our  fanners  cannot  plough,  or  do 
an}'  thing  to  the  soil  in  winter,  un- 
less it  be  sometimes  in  part  of  De- 
cember, they  need  not  be  idle.  In 
maritime  places  they  may  employ 
themselves  and  their  teams  in  get- 
ting manure  from  flats  and  creeks, 
and  drawing  it  to  their  hungry  high 
lands.  This  will  turn  to  very  good 
account,  and  pay  them  well  for 
their  labour.  Holes  may  be  dug 
in  the  ice  over  flats,  from  whence 
rich  mud  may  be  taken, and  drawn 
upon  sleds  to  the  high  parts  of  a 
farm.  And  this  will  be  found  to  be 
a  profitable  employment. 

ENCLOSURE,a  piece  of  ground 
fenced  by  itself,  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  cattle,  &c.  In  some  pla- 
ces men  farm  in  common  fields. — 
But  this  method,  pasturing  except- 
ed, is  not  eligible.  Some  lose 
more  by  it  than  enough  to  pay  for 
enclosing.  And  it  is  too  often  the 
occasion  of  quarrels,  and  endless 
uneasiness  among  neighbours. 
EWES,  the  females  of  sheep. 


That  they  may  be  profitably  man- 
aged, we  should  keep  none  for 
breeders  that  have  not  long  and 
fine  fleeces.  The  rest  should  be 
killed  otf  during  the  first  year. — 
Otherwise  the  stock  will  degener- 
ate ;  and  a  large  proportion  of 
their  wool  will  be  coarse,  or  too 
short,  and  of  little  value. 

From  the  first  of  October,  to  the 
twentieth  of  November,  the  rams 
should  be  kept  from  them  ;  that 
so  their  lambs  may  not  come  till 
the  twentieth  of  April,  when  the 
ground  is  most  commonly  bare,and 
the  grass  begins  to  spring  in  many 
places. 

For  a  few  days,  or  weeks,  before 
yeaning  time,  they  should  be  more 
generously  fed.  Some  juicy  food, 
which  they  are  fond  of,  should  be 
given  them,  such  as  turnips,  pota- 
toes, (Sic.  that  (hey  may  have  plen- 
ty of  milk  for  their  lambs  :  For  it 
is  the  opinion  of  careful  observers, 
that  want  of  milk  is  the  cause  of 
the  dying  of  so  many  lambs  in  the 
first  stage  of  their  existence. 

From  their  first  going  to  pasture 
to  the  last  of  June,  or  the  middle 
of  July,  the  ewes  should  have 
plenty  of  feed,  by  means  of  which 
the  lambs  will  come  forward  ra- 
pidly in  their  growth,  so  as  to  be 
fit  for  weaning.  Nor  will  the  ewes 
become  so  lean,  but  that  they  may 
be  fattened  in  autumn  ;  which 
would  be  otherwise. were  the  lambs 
to  suck  them  as  long  as  they  are 
permitted  to  do  in  this  country. 

EXPERIExMCE.  Perhaps  no 
man  ever  attained  to  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  husbandry  merely  by 
books,  or  by  oral  information.  Ex- 
perience is  needful  to  fix  the  know- 


EXP 


EXP 


127 


ledge  of  the  multifarious  branches 
of  it  in  our  minds.  It  is  needful, 
also,  to  teach  us  the  easiest  meth- 
ods of  performing  a  thousand  things 
which  depend  on  circumstances  so 
minute,  that  they  were  never  com- 
mitted to  paper,  and  scarcely  are 
thought  to  be  worth  mentioning. 

But  experience,  however  neces- 
sary, is  not  all  that  is  needful  to 
make  an  accomplished  farmer. — 
Observation  is  equally  necessary. 
And  without  argumentation,  none 
will  be  fit  for  any  thing  greater  than 
going  on  in  the  most  beaten  tracks. 
None  ought  to  conclude  from  their 
having  had  the  longest  experience, 
that  they  have  the  greatest  degree 
of  knowledge  :  For  some  will  learn 
more  by  experience  in  one  year, 
than  others  will  in  forty.  Theory 
and  practice  should  certainly  con- 
cur, to  render  persons  skilful  in 
husbandry,  or  in  any  other  profes- 
sion. An  early  apprenticeship  is 
as  necessary  to  the  attainment  of 
this  arr,  as  any  other ;  as  socne 
have  been  convinced,  who  have 
entered  on  farming  when  they  were 
past  the  meridian  of  life. 

EXPERIMENTS,  trials  of  prac- 
tice in  husbandry.  It  is  greatly  to 
be  wished,  that  more  of  these  were 
made  in  this  youni'^  ociintry,  where 
the  knowjt  Jj  ■  *  tignculture  is  yet 
in  its  inta.icy.  Experiments  made 
in  other  countries  are  not  to  be  re- 
lied on,  as  proofs  of  the  utility  of 
one  mode  of  culture  in  preference 
to  another,  in  this  country.  There- 
fore, we  should  not  trust  to  the 
experiments  of  Europeans,  but 
make  experiments  for  ourselves. 
Till  this  is  done,  we  are  not  to  look 
for  great  improvements  in  husban- 
dry. 


It  may  be  true,  that  he  who  makes 
a  new  experiment  is  in  some  haz- 
ard of  losing  more  or  less  by  it. — 
Therefore,  1  would  not  press  it  up- 
on farmers  in  indigent  or  low  cir- 
cumstances, to  venture  upon  any 
thing  of  the  kind,  unless  it  be  in 
very  small  matters,  or  on  a  small 
scale  ;  for  the  failure  of  one  year's 
crop  would  almost  reduce  them  to 
beggary.  They  would  do  well, 
however,  to  compare  the  profit  of 
one  crop  with  another,  reckoning 
the  cost  laid  out  upon  each  ;  and 
of  one  course  of  crops  with  anoth- 
er ;  and  the  success  of  different 
manures  on  the  same,  or  on  differ- 
ent soils.  Thus  they  may  find 
which  of  the  old  methods  is  to  be 
preferred,  by  a  small  degree  of  at- 
tention, without  any  risk,  which  is 

a  matter  of  some  consequence. 

For  we  need  to  learn  what  meth- 
ods to  drop,  or  discontinue,  as  well 
as  what  to  adopt  or  bring  into  use. 
Gentlemen  of  large  estates,  who 
can  bear  some  considerable  loss 
without  feeling  it,  in  case  they  fail 
of  success,  are  the  persons  that 
should  try  new  crops,  or  new  ways 
of  raising  old  ones.  Love  of  their 
country  should  prompt  them  to  it ; 
for  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  but 
that  our  husbandry  may  admit  ofa 
variety  ofimportant  improvements. 
It  is  wished  that  an  enterprising 
spirit  were  more  excited,  th&t  we 
might  have  reason  to  hope  for  great 
improvements  in  husbandry. — 
There  is  an  extensive  field  for  ex- 
periments ;  and  making  them  might 
be  a  good  and  laudable  amusement 
to  persons  who  have  leisure. — - 
Trench  ploughing,  which  has  nev- 
er yet  been  attempted  in  this  coun 


1*28 


EXP 


Pal 


try,  ought  to  be  tried,  at  least,  by 
those  who  have  deep  soils,  clear  of 
rocks  and  other  obstacles.  Trials 
should  be  made  of  the  advantage 
of  ploughing  tlat  land  in  ridges  ; 
and  whether  ridge  ploughing  will 
not  secure  grain  from  destruction 
by  winter  frosts.  Attempts  should 
be  more  extensively  made  to  raise 
winter  wheat,  which  is  the  most 
valuable  of  all  grain.  We  should 
endeavour  to  tind  out  the  best 
steeps  for  grain  and  other  seeds,  to 
quicken  their  vegetation,  and  to 
secure  them  against  insects  and 
smut ; — what  are  the  best  quanti- 
ties of  seed  for  sowing  in  ditTerent 
grounds  ; — whether  sowing  seeds 
with  a  drill  be  not  the  best  method 
when  horse  hoeing  is  not  applied  ; 
when  is  the  best  time  for  sowing  of 
winter  grain  ; — whether  good  peat 
and  marie  be  not  to  be  found  in  plen- 
ty in  various  parts  of  the  country,and 
the  advantage  of  marling,and  sow- 
ing peat  ashes  ; — whether  drained 
swamps  are  not  the  most  profitable 
of  all  our  lands  ; — whether  new 
dung  or  old  will  produce  the  best 
crop,  and  whethercompost  will  not 
do  better  than  either  ; — how  lime 
will  answer  as  a  manure  in  our  hot 
summers — on  what  kind  of  soil  it 
is  most  serviceable,  &ic.  &c. 

But,  in  making  experiments, 
great  care  should  be  taken  that  we 
do  not  draw  a  conclusion  too  has- 
tily ;  certainly  we  must  not  do  it 
from  one  single  trial.  For  a  thing 
may  answer  well  at  one  time,owing 
to  the  peculiarity  of  a  season,  or  to 
some  indiscernible  circumstances, 
which  will  not  at  another.  If  men 
allow  themselves  to  be  too  sanguine 
^nd  sudden  in  their    conclusions 


iVom  single  experiments,  they  will 
rather  embarrass  and  paislead,  than 
increase  agricultural  knowledge. 

But  if  improvements  be  wished 
for,  experiments  should  be  care- 
fully recorded.  If  this  be  neglect- 
ed, husbandry  must  be  expected 

I  to  remain  in  its  present  low  state. 
For  want  of  such  recoids,  a  great 

I  deal  of  useful  knowledge  has  been 
already  lost.  Though  many  have 
made  experiments,  by  which  they 
have  satisfied  themselves,  but  few 
have  recorded  them.  The  exper- 
imenters themselves  have  forgot- 
ten them,  to  such  a  degree,  that 
they  are  apt  to  misrepresent  them, 
when  they  attempt  to  relate  them. 
And  too  many  sufTer  useful  discov- 
eries to  die  with  them.  To  pre- 
vent these  evils,  the  forming  of 
societies  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  might  be  of  great  use. 


F. 


FAGGOT,  a  bunch  of  bushes, 
or  limbs  of  trees,  bound  together 
by  a  withe.  Faggots  for  fuel 
are  cut  to  the  length  of  about  two 
feet.  In  many  parts  of  this  coun- 
try, the  scarcity  of  fire  wood  makes 
it  expedient  that  farmers  should 
no  longer  go  on  in  the  practice  of 
burning  such  materials  on  the 
ground.  They  should  preserve 
them  in  faggots  for  fuel  in  their 
houses.  They  will  serve  to  heat 
stoves  ;  and  for  heating  ovens 
there  is  no  better  wood. 

FALL,  of  the  year. 

In  a  country  where  the  springs 
are  backward,  as  in  the  northern 
parts  of  New- England,  farmers 
should  do  all  they  can  in  autumn, 


FAL 


F  AL 


129 


10  diminish  or  lighten  the  labours 
of  the  following  spring,  when  they 
will  have  much  work  to  perform 
in  a  short  time.  Summer  dung 
and  composts  should  be  carted  out 
at  this  season.  Fences  should  be 
built  or  repaired,  not  only  to  pre- 
vent having  them  to  do  in  the 
spring,  but  to  keep  cattle  from  in- 
juring the  lands  with  their  feet. 
All  the  ground  should  be  ploughed 
in  the  fall,  that  is  to  be  seeded  the 
following  spring.  That  which  is 
intended  for  spring  wheat  should 
be  ploughed  twice.  Though  all 
that  is  ploughed  in  the  fall,  for 
spring  tillage,  must  be  ploughed 
again  before  seeding,  the  fall 
ploughing  saves  labour,  as  one 
ploughing  may  answer  in  the 
spring  where  two  would  be  other- 
wise needful.  It  is  saving  labour 
at  a  time  when  teams  are  most 
apt  to  be  faint  and  feeble,  ai»d 
when  there  is  too  often  a  scarcity 
of  food  for  them.  But  ploughing 
in  autumn  is  of  great  importance 
in  a  clay  soil,  as,  by  exposing  it 
to  the  frost,  the  cohesion  of  its 
parts  is  much  broken. 

Some  prefer  fall-transplanting 
of  trees.  It  would  be  very  con- 
venient if  it  could  be  done  at  this 
season  as  well,  but,  however  it  may 
answer  in  the  middle  and  southern 
states,  experience  has  shown  that 
it  will  not  do  as  well  in  the  New- 
England  States. 

FALLOWING,  is  one  of  the 
words  which  requires  a  more  dis- 
tinct definition  than  it  has  yet  had, 
because  we  are  persuaded  that  the 
term  is  differently  applied  in  dif- 
ferent countries.  In  England,  it 
invariably  means  a  suspension  of 
17 


crops  of  any  sort,  for  a  greater  or 
less  period  of  time,  accompanied 
by  constant  ploughing  and  harrow- 
ing of  the  land,  on  which  the  crops 
are  so  suspended,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  rooting  out  pernicious 
weeds,  and  of  dividing  and  pulver- 
ising the  soil  more  perfectly. 

There  are  also  theoretical  no- 
tions, perhaps  true,  but  of  which  we 
have  no  evidence,  that  during  this 
repose  from  bearing  crops,  and  by 
the  means  of  these  repeated 
ploughings,  the  land  collects  some 
principles  or  elements  from  the 
atmosphere,  which  contribute  to 
its  fertility.  A  vast  many  obscure 
remarks,  and  conjectures  have 
been  made  upon  this  subject, 
which  if  they  had  not  been  incom- 
prehensible would  have  been  ad- 
mitted to  be  nonsense.  It  seems 
now  to  be  generally  acknowledg- 
ed, that  the  principal  benefit  of 
fallows,  upon  the  British  plan, 
arises  from  the  destruction  of 
weeds,  and  the  more  perfect  divi- 
sion of  the  soil — and  it  is  a  little 
surprising  that  this  idea  never 
suggested  itself  to  the  earlier 
writers  on  this  subject,  when  they 
were  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
benefit  of  trenching, — a  practice, 
which  seemed  to  lead  to  so  direct 
and  necessary  a  conclusion,  that  a 
minute  subdivisioji  of  the  soil,  ren- 
dering it  not  only  more  permeable 
by  water,  and  by  the  roots  of 
plants,  but  also  more  retentive  of 
moisture,  was  in  truth  the  great 
secret  of  the  advantages  of  fallow- 
ing, and  of  the  frequent  use  of  the 
plough.  Much  idle  speculation 
might  thus  have  been  spared  in 
agricultural     inquiries,     and     we 


130 


FAL 


F  AL 


should  not  have  been  compelled 
to  read  so  much  about  the  collec- 
tion ofnitre,  and  other  salts  from  the 
atmosphere,  when  there  was,  in 
fact  no  proof  that  any  such  deposits 
were  made,  and  when  it  is  quite  as 
probable  that  these  if  any,  which 
were  in  the  land  before,  might  es- 
cape by  this  exposure  to  the  air, 
as  that  any  more  should  be  collect- 
ed. We,  however,  mean  to  con- 
fine ourselves  in  this  article,  sim- 
ply to  facts,  which  are  important 
to  the  farmer,  leaving  to  those, 
who  prefer  to  plunge  into  the  mists 
of  theory,  the  pleasure  of  so  doing. 

Though  the  English  farmer  un- 
derstands by  Fallowing,  a  season 
of  greater  or  less  labour  on  his  un- 
cropped  lands,  the  French,  and 
some  of  the  American  Farmers 
understand  by  it  an  entire  aban- 
donment of  the  soil  to  such  weeds, 
or  plants,  as  are  useless,  or  nearly 
so  to  man  and  animals,  fora  geater 
or  less  period,  under  some  vague 
notion,  that  the  land  will  recruit 
itself,  in  a  few  years,  and  be  fit 
again  for  cultivation.  There  are, 
however,  many  American  farmers, 
who  pursue  the  English  mode  of 
fallowing,  and  instead  of  a  period 
of  repose,  the  land  is  constantly 
moved  by  the  plough,  and  the 
harrow. 

We  understand,  that  what  we 
have  described  as  the  plan  of  some 
American  and  French  farmers — 
that  of  letting  the  land  lie  un- 
touched has  been  of  late  years  en- 
tirely exploded  by  every  man  of 
sense  in  both  countries  ;  And,  if 
it  were  necessary,  for  the  recruit- 
ing of  exhausted  lands,  to  abandon 
the  raising  of  grain,   potatoes,  or 


other  roots,  it  would  be  better  io 
plant  such  lands  with  any  species 
of  trees  that  would  thrive  in  it, 
rather  than  to  abandon  it  to  such 
useless  plants  as  might  voluntarily 
spring  up  upon  it. 

With  respect  to  the  spirited, 
and  expensive  mode  of  summer 
fallowing  adapted  in  England, 
which  often  extends  to  four,  five, 
and  even  seven  successive  opera- 
tions on  the  soil,  in  one  summer, 
it  is  thought  that  it  may  be  useful, 
iij  lands  peculiarly  troubled  with 
pernicious  weeds  as  the  most  suc- 
cessful mode  of  extirpating  them. 
But  in  general,  it  is  now  thought, 
even  in  that  country,  that  a  judi- 
cious rotation  of  crops  is  much 
preferable  on  every  account.  It 
saves  the  loss  of  income  in  lands 
left  in  fallow  ;  and  as  it  is  now  be- 
lieved on  better  evidence  than  the 
theories  can  boast,  at  which  we 
have  just  smiled,  that  each  plant 
has  a  preference  to  some  species 
of  nourishment  over  others;  and 
that  when  this  is  exhausted  in  any 
given  soil,  and  the  plant  will  no 
longer  thrive,  another  plant  may 
flourish  perfectly  well  on  the  same 
lands,  it  seems  to  be  probable,  that, 
by  a  rotation  of  crops,  and  a  pro- 
per application  of  manures  we 
may  render  fallows  entirely  un- 
necessary. Such,  at  least,  we  be- 
lieve to  be  the  prevailing  opinions 
of  intelligent  men,  in  Great  Britain, 
France  and  the  United  States. 

WINTER      FALLOWING,      IS     Only 

breaking  up  the  land,  or  plough- 
ing it  in  the  fall,  and  leaving 
it  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
frosts  of  winter.  There  is  no 
country  in  the  world,  where  this 


FAL 


FAL 


131 


can  be  done  more  easily,  or  with 
more  benefit  than  ours.  Our  win- 
ter sets  in  early.  We  cannot  of- 
ten plough  till  Christmas.  Our 
frosts  are  very  severe.  Our 
ground  more  open  than  that  of 
our  easterly  neighbours ;  and  high- 
ly beneficial  effects  must  be  pro- 
duced in  pulverising  the  soil  by 
the  power  of  frost,  one  of  the  most 
irresistible  agents  in  nature. 

The  following  observations  from 
English  writers  of  great  respecta- 
bility will  serve  to  corroborate 
some  of  the  sentiments  which  we 
have  advanced  on  this  subject. 

"  The  raising  clean,  smothering, 
green  crops,  and  feeding  stock 
with  them  upon  the  land,  is  not 
only  much  more  profitable,  as  far 
as  relates  to  the  value  of  the  crop 
substituted  in  lieu  of  a  fallow,  but 
is  also  a  more  effectual  method  of 
procuring  large  crops  of  wheat,  or 
any  other  crop,  which  may  suc- 
ceed the  green  crop. 

"  The  smothering  and  hoeing 
crops  of  tares,  turnips,  potatoes, 
cabbages,  savoys,  cale,  hemp,  and 
other  plants,  which  cover  the 
ground,  and  cause  a  stagnation  of 
air,  preserve  the  moisture  of  the 
soil,  and  promote  the  putrefaction 
and  decomposition  of  such  animal 
and  vegetable  matter,  as  may  be 
contained  in  the  soil,  are  more 
likely  to  prove  economical  and 
beneficial  than  any  system  of  fal- 
lowing."     Code   of  Agriculture. 

"  When  weeds  are  buried  in 
the  soil,  by  their  gradual  decom- 
position they  furnish  a  certain 
quantity  of  soluble  matter ;  but  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  there  is 
as  much  useful  manure  in  the  land 


at  the  end  of  a  clean  fallow,  as  at 
the  time  the  vegetables  clothing 
the  surface  were  first  ploughed  in. 
Carbonic  acid  gas  is  formed  during 
the  whole  time  by  the  action  of 
the  vegetable  matter  upon  the 
OX)  gene  of  the  air,  and  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  lost  to  the  soil  in  which 
it  was  formed,  and  dissipated  in 
the  atmosphere. 

"  The  action  of  the  sun  upon 
the  surface  of  the  soil  tends  to  dis- 
engage the  gaseous  and  the  vola- 
tile fluid  matters  that  it  contains  ; 
and  heat  encreases  the  rapidity  of 
fermentation:  and  in  the  summer 
fallow,  nourishment  is  rapidly  pro- 
duced at  a  time  when  no  vegeta- 
bles are  present  capable  of  ab- 
sorbing it. 

"  Land,  when  it  is  not  employ- 
ed in  preparing  food  for  animals, 
should  be  applied  to  the  purpose 
of  the  preparation  of  manure  for 
plants ;  and  this  is  effected  by 
means  of  green  crops,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  absorption  of  carbon- 
aceous matter  in  the  carbonic  acid 
of  the  atmosphere.  In  a  summer's 
fallow  a  period  is  always  lost  in 
which  various  vegetables  may  be 
raised,  either  as  food  for  animals,  or 
as  nourishment  for  the  nest  crop  ; 
and  the  texture  of  the  soil  is  not 
so  much  improved  by  its  exposure 
as  in  winter,  when  the  expansive 
powers  of  ice,  the  gradual  dissolu- 
tion of  snows,  and  the  alternations 
from  wet  to  dry,  tend  to  pulverize 
it,  and  to  mix  the  different  parts  to- 
gether.     Agricultural  Chemistry, 

FALSE  QUARTER,  a  rift  or 
chink  in  the  quarter  of  the  hoof  of 
a  horse,  from  top  to  bottom.  It 
happens  generally  on  the  inside, 


132 


F  AL 


FAR 


that  being  the  weakest  and  thin- 
nest ;  and  proceeds  from  the  dry- 
ness of  the  hoof,  but  especially 
when  a  horse  is  ridden  in  dry, 
sandy,  or  stony  ground,  in  hot 
weather,  or  in  frosty  vveather,\vhen 
the  ways  are  flinty  and  hard.  It  is, 
likewise,  caused  by  bad  shoeing, 
and  all  other  accidents  whereby  a 
horse  becomes  hoof  bound  :  For 
the  narrowness  of  the  heels  ,i.  1 
brittleness  of  the  quarters,  contin;- 
ally  expose  a  horse  to  all  the  said 
accidents. 

"  This  accident  is  both  danger- 
ous and  painful ;  for  as  often  as  a 
horse  sets  his  foot  to  the  ground, 
the  chink  widens  ;  and  when  he 
lifts  it  up,  the  sharp  edges  of  the 
divided    hoof    wound    tbe  tender 
flesh  that  covers  the  col^iii   bone, 
which  is  for  the  most  part  followed 
with  blood  ;  and  it  must  of  course 
be  apt  to  render  a  horse  lame,  as  it 
is  very  dithcuil  to  form  a  re-union. 
To  1 3rT)edy  this  imperfection.  First, 
drnv,'  the  <  '  "'le  length  of  the  cleft 
withyu...r  ^'rauing  uou,  then  anoint 
the  hoof  wiih  tar,  honey.  audsiuM, 
molten  together  ;  for  notuuig  can 
be  more  proper  for  tbe  hoof;  and 
lay  a  tinn  pledgit  dipt  in  the  same 
along  the  cleft.     After  this,  take 
rope-yarn,  such  as  the  sailors  use, 
which  is  no  other  than  hemp  moist- 
ened in  melted  tar,  and  spun  loose  : 
Apply  the  yarn  all  down  the  hoof, 
beginning  at  the  coronet  and  de- 
scending downwards,  one  lay  after 
another,  as  close  as  the  binding  of 
the  hoops  of  wine  casks,  laying  a 
smooth  pledgit  of  flax  behind,  to 
keep  it  from  fretting  the  heel. — 
This  should    be  opened   once  in 


three  or  four  days,  that  the  clefts 
may  be  drest.  And  to  prevent  any 
inconveniency  that  may  happen  by 
the  opening,  a  thin  staple  may  be 
also  contrived  with  points  like 
horse-shoe  nails,  cast  olf  obliquely; 
to  take  a  slender  hold,  the  plate  of 
it  crossing  the  cleft,  where  part  of 
the  shoe  js  cut  oir(as  it  must  be 
under  the  cleft)  and  the  nails  com- 
ing out  on  each  side  of  the  cleft,on 
the  upper  part,  to  be  clinched  as 
the  other  nails.  By  this  method  a 
cleft  in  any  part  of  the  hoof  may  be 
easily  cured,  if  the  horse  be  not 
very  old,  or  diseased."  Gibson's 
Farriery. 

FARCY,  a  disease  in  horses,  si- 
milar to  the  scurvy  in  men,  and 
arising  from  a  similar  cause.  The 
farcy  is  caused  in  horses  from  their 
being  for  a  long  time  confiiied  to 
dry  meal.  And  as  the  scurvy  in 
men  is  cured  by  a  diet  of  green 
vegetables  ;  so  the  farcy  in  horses 
ma)  be  cured  by  turning  them  into 
a  good  fresh  pasture.  But  it  is  on- 
ly in  the  bcgmiiing  oi  the  disease 
that  it  can  be  so  easily  cured. — 
Gibson  prescribes  bleeding,  and 
moderate  purging  ;  and  afterwards 
doses  of  antiniony.  See  his  Far- 
riery. Mr.  Mills  calls  it  a  cording 
of  the  veins,  and  the  appearance  of 
small  tumours  in  several  parts  of 
the  body.  Mr.  Bartlet  deems  this 
distemper  easy  of  cure,  when  it 
appears  on  the  head  only.  Mr. 
Bourgelat  says,  a  decoction  of  the 
woods,  antimony, powder  of  vipers, 
with  some  mercurial  preparations, 
are  looked  upon  as  so  many  spe- 
cifics in  this  disease — and  that  hem- 
lock will  cure  it. 


FAR 


FAR 


133 


FARM.  A  writer  in  the  Mass. 
Agr.  Repository,  vol.  V.  p.  320,  in 
treating  "  on  (he  extent  of  land  ne- 
cessary for  a  farm,  and  sufficient  to 
support  a  family  well  and  inde- 
pendently," has  the  following 
among  other  valuable  remarks  : 
"  We  know  men,  active.intelligent 
and  industrious,  possessed  of  thirty 
or  forty  acres  of  land,  who  are  la- 
bouring for  others, or  taking  charge 
of  their  neighbours'  concerns  upon 
the  avowed  reason,  that  they  can- 
not support  their  families  on  so 
small  an  extent  of  land.  But  they 
do  not  realize  the  actual  efficiency 
of  the  soil.  Undoubtedly  there  are 
many  honourable  exceptions  to  the 
observation  we  are  about  to  make  ; 
as  a  general  rule,  however,  it  may 
be  asserted,  that  the  farmers  of 
Massachusetts  are  yet  to  learn 

THE    immense    productive   POWER 
OF  A  PERFECTLY  CULTIVATED  ACRE. 

Instead  of  seeking  riches  in  aug- 
menting the  number  of  their  acres, 
let  them  be  sought  in  better  modes 
of  husbandry.  As  a  general  truth, 
we  believe  it  may  be  asserted  that 
every  farmer  in  xMassachusetts, pos- 
sessed of  one  hundred  acres  of  land, 
might  divide  them  fairly  by  quan- 
tity and  quality,  into  thirds,  and  by 
a  suitable  cultivation,  make  either 
third  more  productive  than  his 
whole  hundred  acres  are  at  pres- 
ent. This  is  the  operation  at  which 
those  interested  in  the  agriculture 
of  Massachusetts  ought  to  aim — to 
make  farmers  realize  what  culti- 
vation can  effect,  and  to  teach  the 
modes,  by  which  the  productive 
powers  of  the  soil  can  best  be  elicit- 
ed." 

FARMER.     "  It  is  indispensa- 


ble for  the  success  of  every  under- 
taking that  a  sufficient  capital  to 
carry  it  on,  should  be  at  command  ; 
and  for  that  of  farming  in  particu- 
lar.    When  the- re  is  any  deficiency 
with  respect  to  that  important  par- 
ticular, the  farnjt.   cannot  derive 
sufficient  profit  from  his  exertions; 
for  he  may  often  be  obliged  to  dis- 
pose of  his  crops  at  an  undervalue, 
to  procure    ready  money  ;  or  he 
may  be  prevented  from  purchasing 
the  articles  he  may  require, though 
a  favourable  opportunity  may  pre- 
sent itself.     An  industrious,  frugal 
and  intelligent  farmer,who  is  punc- 
tual in  his  payments,  and  hence  in 
good  credit,  will  strive  with  many 
difficulties,    and  get  on  with  less 
money,  than  a   man    of  a    differ- 
ent  character.       But    if  he  has 
not  sufficient    stock  to   work    his 
lands  properly  ; — nor  sufficiency  of 
cattle  to  raise  manure  ; — nor  mo- 
ney to  purchase    the  articles    he 
ought  to  possess,  he  must, under  or- 
dinary circumstances,    live  in    a 
state  of  penury  and   hard  labour  ; 
and  on  the  first  unfavourable  sea- 
son, or  other  incidental  misfortune, 
he  will  probably  sink    under  the 
weight  of  his  accumulated  burdens. 
In  general,  farmers  are  apt  to  be- 
gin with  too  small  a  capital.    They 
are  desirous  of  taking  large  farms, 
without   possessing   the  means  of 
cultivating  them.     This  is  a  great 
error  ;  for  it  makes  many  a  person 
poor,  upon  a  large  farm, who  might 
live  in  comfort,  and  acquire  pro- 
perty upon  a  small  one.     No  ten- 
ant can  be  secure  without  a  sur- 
plus at  command,  not  only  for  de- 
fraying the  common   expenses  of 
labour,  but  in  case  any  untoward 


134 


FEN 


FEN 


circumstance  should  occur.  When 
a  farmer  on  the  other  hand,  farms 
within  his  capital,  he  is  enabled  to 
embrace  every  favourable  oppor- 
tunity of  buying  with  advantage, 
while  he  is  not  eompelled,  if  the 
markets  are  low,  to  sell  with  loss." 
Code  of  Agriculture. 

FENCE,  a  hedge,  wall,  ditch,  or 
other  inclosing  made  about  farms, 
or  parts  of  farms,  to  exclude  cattle, 
or  include  them.  Fencing  is  a 
matter  of  great  consequence  with 
farmers  ;  and,  as  it  is  managed  in 
most  parts  of  this  country, is  a  great 
drawback  upon  their  profits.  But 
however  costly  fencing  may  be,  it 
is  good  economy  to  make  fences 
strong  and  fully  sufficient  to  answer 
their  purpose.  It  would  be  folly 
to  save  a  trifle  by  making  a  fence 
too  slightly,  and  be  liable  to  lose  a 
whole  crop,  by  the  breaking  of  cat- 
tle through  it. 

The  kinds  offence,  and  manner 
of  fencing,  should  vary  according 
to  the  difference  of  soils ;  and  ac- 
cording as  one  kind  of  materials 
for  fencing  is  more  plenty  and 
cheap  than  another. 

In  the  new  plantations  of  this 
country,  log  fences  are  most  used  ; 
as  they  certainly  ought  to  be  ;  be- 
cause the  wood  is  of  little  or  no 
value.  To  build  these  fences 
with,  the  best  wood  that  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  is  white  pine.  A 
fence  built  with  logs  of  this  kind 
will  stand  twenty  years,  with  little 
or  no  repairing. 

But  if  this  kind  of  wood  be  not 
at  hand,  and  other  sorts  be  plenty 
and  near,  it  may  be  as  well  to  make 
use  of  some  other  kinds  :  Such,  for 
instance,    as  pitch  pine,  Norway 


pine,  hemlock,  ash,  oak,  and  white 
maple.  Several,  or  almost  any  of 
these  kinds,  if  they  do  not  lie  too 
near  to  the  ground,  will  last  for  a 
considerable  time.  If  a  fence  be 
made  partly  of  white  pine,  and 
partly  of  other  wood,  the  former 
should  be  laid  nearest  to  the 
ground. 

But  let  farmers  beware  of  build- 
ing their  log  fences  of  bass  wood, 
poplar,  birch,  beach,  or  rock  ma- 
ple, unless  in  cases  of  necessity  ; 
for  as  they  will  be  soon  rotten,  the 
labour  of  building  them  is  in  a  man- 
ner lost.  If  logs  are  peeled  they 
will  last  the  longer  in  fences.  The 
largest  logs  should  lie  lowest  in  a 
fence,  both  for  strength  and  dura- 
bleness.  The  lowest  are  soonest 
rotten,  when  all  are  of  the  same 
size  ;  and  the  largest  logs  will  last 
longest. 

Log  fences  should  always  be 
braced  with  strong  stakes  across  ; 
and  heavy  riders  add  strength  to  a 
fence. 

When  ground  is  wholly  subdued, 
and  the  stumps  of  its  original  growth 
of  trees  quite  rotted  out,  if  stones 
can  be  had  without  carrying  too 
far,  stone  walls  are  the  fences  that 
ought  to  be  made.  Though  the 
cost  may  be  greater  at  tirst  than 
that  of  some  other  fences, they  will 
prove  to  be  the  cheapest  in  the 
end.  Building  stone  walls  is  not 
only  the  way  to  clear  ground  of  a 
bad  incumbrance  ;  but  when  the 
fence  is  made,  it  is  certainly  the 
best  of  all  fences.  On  a  hard, sandy, 
or  gravelly  bottom,  if  built  with 
good  stones,  a  wall  will  stand  many 
years  without  any  repairing.  And 
it  will  stand  well  on  any  soil,  clay 


FEN 


FER 


135 


and  mire  only  excepted.  On  a 
clay  soil  it  will  stand,  if  the  foun- 
dation be  laid  in  a  trench,  near  as 
low  as  the  earth  commonly  freezes 
in  winter.  But  a  wall  of  flat  or 
square  shaped  stones,  will  stand 
tolerably  well  on  any  soil,  laid  on- 
ly on  the  surface. 

It  is  true  that  walls  will  gradual- 
ly settle  into  the  ground,  where 
the  soil  is  at  all  mellow,and  heaves 
with  the  frost  ;  so  that  it  may  be 
necessary,  in  a  century  or  two,  to 
dig  them  up  and  re-build  them.  I 
find  some  of  this  work  has  already 
been  done  in  some  of  our  oldest 
towns.  But  this  is  a  slight  objec- 
tion against  the  utility  of  this  kind 
of  fence.  For  future  generations 
will  bless  themselves,  if  they  have 
materials  on  the  spot  to  build  fen- 
ces with,  when  wooden  materials 
must  unavoidably  be  scarce  in 
most  places,  and  very  costly. 

I  am  aware  it  will  be  objected, 
that  stone  walls  are  not  sufficient 
fences  against  sheep.  But  it  is 
easy  to  make  them  so.  A  row  of 
flat  stones  laid  on  the  top,  and  jut- 
ting over,  will  make  a  wall  suffi- 
cient for  this  purpose  :  Or  any 
wooden  poles,  laid  on  the  top  of 
the  stone  wall,  supported  by  stakes 
will  check  the  passage  of  sheep. 
The  limbs  of  trees,with  their  small 
branches  upon  them,  laid  on  a 
stone  wall,  make  a  cheap  and  ef- 
fectual guard  against  the  passage  of 
sheep.  Riders  with  some  of  the 
limbs  on  there  are  best  for  this 
purpose. 

Farmers  need  not  fear  that  they 
shall  impoverish  their  land  by 
clearing  it  of  stones.  For,  after  all 
they  can  do  to  a  soil  that  is  natur- 


ally stony,  there  will  be  stones 
enough  remaining,  a  little  way  be- 
low the  surface,  to  render  the 
ground  moist  and  warm. 

Rail  fence  is  perhaps  as  much 
used  as  any.  The  timber  for  posts 
and  rails  should  be  felled  in  the 
winter.  To  sharpen  rails  before 
they  are  dried  saves  labour  :  And 
posts  should  be  mortised  while  they 
are  green.  Rails  are  cut  twelve 
feet  long.  Posts  should  be  six  feet 
and  a  half,  or  seven  feet.  The 
best  timber  for  rails  is  Cedar  :  It  is 
easy  to  split,  light  to  carry  and  to 
handle,  sufficiently  strong,  and  the 
most  durable  of  any.  A  rail  of  ce- 
dar will  last  an  age.  Next  to  ce- 
dar, rails  of  chesnut,  white  pine 
and  ash  are  best.  But,  for  want 
of  better,  some  use  rails  of  oak. — 
Cedar  is  also  best  for  the  post,  in 
this  and  in  board  fence.  The  lo- 
cust tree  is  said  to  be  excellent. 
But  posts  of  white  oak,  which  in 
most  places  are  more  easily  got, 
will  last  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
years.  If  the  lower  ends  of  posts 
be  scorched  in  a  hot  flame,  before 
they  are  put  into  the  ground,  they 
will  last  the  longer.  Also  soaking 
them  in  sea  water  will  tend  to  keep 
them  from  rotting.  Juniper,  the 
Larch, is  much  used  for  posts  in  this 
part  of  this  country.  They  will 
last  forty  years.  For  Hedge  Fences, 
see  Hedges.  For  ditch  fences, 
^gc  Ditch* 

^  FERMENTATION,  an  internal 
motion  excited  in  substances,  by 
which  the  cohesion  of  their  parts 
is  destroyed,  and  their  nature 
changed.  But,  that  a  fermentation 
may  take  place,  it  is  necessary  that 
some  particles  in  the  fermenting 


136 


FER 


FER 


body  be  fluid  ;  or  that  the  body  be 
moist.  Bodies  perfectly  dry  Can 
have  no  degree  of  fermentation  in 
them. 

Fermentation  does  much  towards 
the  production  and  growth  of 
plants.  It  is  therefore  a  thing  of 
much  consequence  to  the  fanner  5 
and  he  ought  to  know  by  what 
means  he  may  increase  it  in  his 
ground. 

The  pasture  of  plants  is  increas- 
ed by  fermentation,  as  it  loosens 
the  soils,  so  that  their  roots  do 
more  easily  lind  their  food.  All 
rich  soils  contain  the  principles  of 
the  food  of  plants  in  abundance  : 
And  a  fermentation  is  produced 
among  them  by  any  thing  that  al- 
ters the  arrangement  of  their  par- 
ticles. A  fermentation  is  produ- 
ced by  heat  from  the  sun,  and  by 
rain :  But  when  the  soil  is  too 
much  fiMcd  with  water,  the  fer- 
mentation is  abated,  or  destroyed. 
Ploughing,  and  otherwise  stirring 
the  ground,  is  a  principal  cause  of 
fermentation  in  the  soil.  The 
plough  not  only  increases  the  pas- 
ture of  plant  by  pulverizing  the 
soil,  but  by  mixing  the  salts  and 
oils  contained  in  it,  so  as  to  bring 
on  a  degree  of  fermentation,  if  the 
soil  have  neither  too  much, nor  too 
little  water  in  it  at  the  time  of 
ploughing. 

I  suspect  that  our  severe  frosts  in 
winter  may  have  a  tendency  to  ex- 
cite a  degree  of  fermentation, which 
takes  place  after  the  ground  is 
thawed.  For  the  heaving  and  set- 
tling of  the  soil  will  make  some  al- 
teration in  the  disposition  of  its 
particles,  and  conduces  to  its  im- 
bibing more  freely,  snow  water  and 


rains,  which  contain  food  of  plants* 
But  dung,  and  other  strong  ma- 
nures, are  perhaps  the  chief  causes 
of  the  fermentation  of  soils.  Dung 
is  no  sooner  mixed  with  the  soil, 
when  there  is  a  proper  degree  of 
warmth  in  the  earth,  than  it  strong- 
ly ferments  in  itself,  and  brings  on 
a  new  fermentation  in  the  earth 
which  is  in  contact  with  it,  which 
is  communicated  to  remoter  earth  : 
By  all  which  the  cohesion  of  the 
parts  of  the  soil  is  broken,  the  soil 
highly  pulverized,  and  the  pasture 
of  plants  proportionably  increased, 
so  that  their  roots  can  freely  ex- 
tend themselves  in  quest  of  their 
food. 

By  the  same  fermentation,  the 
food  or  nourishment  of  plants  is  in- 
creased ;  because  the  dung  itself 
is  dissolved,  its  salts  and  oils  mix- 
ed, its  fine  earthy  particles  set  at 
liberty,  the  vegetable  substances, 
such  as  roots,  weeds,  &c.  corrupt- 
ed and  dissolved  :  All  which  con- 
spire to  increase  the  food  of  plants, 
and  prepare  it  to  enter  the  minute 
pores  of  their  roots. 

That  plants  may  flourish,  it  is 
thought  to  be  needful  that  a  fer- 
mentation of  the  soil  be  continued 
during  their  growth.  Otherwise  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  steam  will  not 
arise  to  their  roots  ;  a  probable 
consequence  is,  that  they  will  be 
stinted  in  their  growth.  It  may  be 
for  this  reason  that  tillage,  during 
the  growing  of  plants,  is  found  to 
be  so  very  advantageous  to  them ; 
especially  when  they  are  hoed  to  a 
good  depth,  by  which  the  fermen- 
tation of  the  soil  among  the  roots  is 
increased. 

FERN,  OR  BRAKES,  Polt^po- 


FER 


FIS 


137 


dium,  a  well  known  sort  of  weeds, 
(hat  is  often  troublesome  to  such  of 
our  cleared,  or  partially  subdued 
lands,  as  have  not  been  tilled. 
They  are  so  full  of  salts,  that  they 
should  be  cut  green,  and  laid  in 
our  barn  yards  to  putrefy,  and  mix 
with  dung.  Perhaps  there  is 
scarcely  any  better  method  of  in- 
creasing manure.  Pasturing  the 
land  where  they  grow,  especially 
with  hungry  cattle,  that  will  eat 
them  as  fast  as  they  come  up,  will 
help  to  subdue  them.  Folding 
will  kill  them  ;  for  there  is  nothing 
so  fatal  to  them  as  unne  :  But  not 
less  than  two  or  three  year's  til- 
lage will  subdue  them.  They  are 
hardest  to  subdue  in  deep  soils. 
Plentiful  dunging,  with  tillage,  will 
be  effectual ;  but  a  most  certain 
remedy  is  urine  ;  this  they  get  in 
plenty  by  folding. 

"  Fern,  cut  while  the  sap  is  in 
it,  and  left  to  rot  on  the  ground, 
is  a  very  great  improver  of  land  ; 
for  if  burnt,  when  so  cut,  its  ashes 
will  yield  double  the  quantity  of 
salt  that  any  other  vegetable  can 
do.  In  several  places  in  the  north 
parts  of  Europe,  the  inhabitants 
mow  it  green,  and  burning  it  to 
ashes,  make  those  ashes  up  into 
balls,  with  a  little  water,  which 
they  dry  in  the  sun,  and  make  use 
of  them  to  wash  their  linen  with; 
looking  upon  it  to  be  near  as  good 
as  soap  for  that  purpose."  Diet, 
of  Arts. 

In  the  Farmer's  Calendar  you 
may  read,  under  September,  "Now 
is  the  proper  time  to  cut  fern,  cal- 
led in  some  places  brakes.  This 
is  most  profitable  work,  and  should 
never  be  neglected.  Carry  it  into 
18 


your  farm  yard,  and  build  large 
stacks  of  it  for  cutting  down 
through  the  winter,  as  fast  as  the 
cattle  will  tread  it  into  dung;  also 
for  littering  the  stables,  ox  houses, 
cow  houses,  hogsties,  &:c.  By 
having  great  plenty  of  it,  you  will 
be  able  to  raise  immense  quanti- 
ties of  dung,  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  all  good  husbandry  ;  and 
it  is  well  known  that  no  vegetable 
yields  such  a  quantity  of  salts  as 
fern  :  from  which  we  are  to  con- 
clude, that  it  is  best  adapted  to 
the  making  manure." 

It  is  a  lamentable  thing  that  we 
should  hitherto  be  so  inattentive 
to  our  own  welfare,  as  to  suffer 
this  weed  to  render  our  lands  in  a 
manner  useless,  when  it  might  be 
turned  to  so  great  profit.  It  is  a 
double  advantage  to  cut  brakes, 
as  they  not  only  make  plenty  of 
good  manure,  but  every  cutting 
helps  to  destroy  them.  The  work 
may  be  done  after  the  hurry  of 
hay  making  is  over  5  and  perhaps 
no  labour  on  a  farm  can  turn  to 
better  account. 

FISH,  all  the  parts  offish,  shell 
fish  and  all  other,  are  excelleftt 
manures.  They  may  be  used, 
either  salted  or  fresh  ;  salted  fish 
are  said  to  be  best.  The  offals  of 
fish,  and  fish  that  are  spoilt  for  eat- 
ing, may  be  converted  to  this 
use ;  But  1  should  prefer  using 
them  as  an  ingredient  in  compost. 
They  are  so  strong  a  manure,  that 
it  has  been  said,  one  single  ale- 
wife  will  answer  as  well  as  a 
shovel  full  of  the  best  dung,  in 
producing  Indian  corn.  But  they 
cause  land  to  exert  itself  so  much, 
that  it  will  be  apt  to  grow  poor. 


138 


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unless  care  be  taken  to  prevent  it. 

FLAIL,  an  instrument  for 
threshing;.  A  flail  consists  of  the 
handstaff,  the  swiple  or  flyer,  the 
caps  or  caplins,  the  string  or  band. 
The  staff  should  be  of  the  hghtest 
timber,  such  as  ash,  and  made  per- 
fectly straight ;  the  flyer  should  be 
of  a  heavy  kind  of  wood,  as  wal- 
nut, elm,  or  beetle  wood.  Some 
make  the  ca|)s  of  wood,  but  stiff 
sotj  leather  is  better.  The  string 
or  thong,  which  connects  the  cap 
with  the  flyer,  may  be  of  the  neck 
of  deerskin.  But  the  skin  of  an 
eel  will  last  much  longer  than  any 
other  string  I  have  met  with. 

FLAX.  The  following  observa- 
tions on  this  subject  are  extracted 
from  "  Essays  on  Flax  Husbandry. 
By  S.  W.  Pomeroy,  Esq.  First 
Vice  President  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Society  for  promoting  Agri- 
culture. 

"  Change  of  seed.  Notwith- 
standing it  is  an  opinion  well 
established  among  experienced 
Flax  growers  in  this  country,  that 
a  change  of  seed  is  advantageous, 
it  is  apprehended  that  they  are  not 
aware  of  the  extent  of  the  benefit 
to  be  derived  by  selecting  seed 
from  a  soil  or  climate  essentially 
diflferent;  and  it  may  be  owing  to 
a  want  of  attention  in  this  particu- 
lar that  the  flax  crops  are  so  un- 
certain, and  the  quality  inferior, 
however  perfect  in  other  respects 
the  system  may  be  conducted. 
Mr.  Young  observes  that  foreign 
flax  seed  was  universally  used  in 
Ireland,  when  it  could  be  obtained, 
otherwise  they  were  careful  to 
procure  seed  which  grew  upon 
soil  of  an   opposite  quality  from 


that  which  was  to  be  sown,"  "  that 
American  seed  was  to  be  preferred, 
and  produced  finer  flax  than  any 
other.  Baltic  seed  produced  more 
but  of  a  coarser  quality.  It  is 
well  known  that  American  seed 
always  bears  the  highest  price  in 
the  Irish  market.'' 

Mr.  Pomeroy  cites  a  number  of 
examples  to  show  the  importance 
attached  to  the  culture  of  flax  in 
Europe,  *'  and  to  justify  the  con- 
clusion that  in  this  country,  a  con- 
tinued, judicious  change  of  seed 
will  be  indispensible  to  the  suc- 
cessful prosecution  of  flax  hus- 
bandry ;  and  a  further  inference 
may  be  drawn,  that  experiments 
on  various  soils,  with  seed  the 
growth  of  different  climates,  are 
requisite  to  direct  the  farmer  to 
the  quarter  from  whence  his  best 
seed  may  be  obtained.  Here 
opens  a  legitimate  field  for  our 
numerous  agricultural  societies  to 
labour  in  :  on  their  exertions  the 
farmer  must  depend  in  the  outset; 
but  let  it  once  be  ascertained  that 
Riga  seed  is  best  in  one  section, 
Dutch  or  German  in  others,  and 
mercantile  interest,  if  not  patriot- 
ism will  distribute  them. 

"  Should  it  be  objected  to  im- 
porting seed  on  account  of  the 
expense,  we  reply  that  large  quan- 
tities of  linseed  oil  are  constantly 
imported,  and  the  difference  of 
price  between  our  own  seed  and 
that  imported,  will  not  much  ex- 
ceed what  is  now  paid  for  good 
clean  seed  for  sowing  or  export, 
and  that  which  is  sold  for  crush- 
ing ;  but  if  it  is  fifty  cents  per 
bushel,  or  more,  it  can  be  no  ob- 
ject, compared  with  the  advanta- 


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139 


ges  that  may  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected to  result,  and  the  farmer 
need  not  to  be  told  that  "  in  all 
his  operations,  parsimony  is  never 
so  ill  judged,  as  when  it  is  exercis- 
ed in  the  selection  of  his  seeds." 
"  It  is  not  pretended,  however, 
but  that  from  the  great  variety  of 
soil  and  climate  in  the  United 
States,  the  object  in  view  might  be 
obtained  without  importation ; 
yet  it  may  be  important  to  have  a 
good  stock  to  begm  with,  when 
trials  could  be  instituted  with  its 
produce.  At  any  rate  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  individuals  will  em- 
bark in  such  a  course  of  experi- 
ments, either  with  foreign  or  do- 
mestic seed,  unless  encouraged  by 
agricultural  societies,  or  other 
public  bodies. 

In  speaking  of  the  soils  most 
suitable  for  flax  Mr.  Pomeroy  ob- 
serves ''  The  soils  which  rank  first 
in  this  country  on  the  fiat  bottoms, 
that  are  covered  by  the  fall  and 
spring  floods,  which  subside  early 
enough  in  the  season  to  get  in  a 
crop ;  those  river  flats  on  the 
second  banks,  that  have  a  depth  of 
strong  alluvial  soil  ;  the  reclaim- 
ed marshes  and  swamps  with  a 
black  unctuous  soil  not  too  peaty, 
with  as  much  clay  in  the  composi- 
tion as  will  permit  its  being  ren- 
dered soon  dry  and  mellow,  and 
not  retain  water  on  or  near  the 
surface,  if  it  stands  two  feet  below, 
so  much  the  better,  but  it  must  be 
well  guarded  by  ditches  and 
dykes  against  sudden  freshets. 
Such  is  the  soil  of  the  province  of 
Zealand,  where  more  flax  is  raised, 
and  of  better  quality  than  in  any 
other  part  of  Holland.     The  next 


in  estimation  are  the  strong  black 
loams  on  clay,  or  hard  pan,  that 
will  retain  moisture.  Yellow- 
loams,  with  a  holding  subsoil,  may 
be  rendered  snitabh^  for  flax,  by 
proper  cultivation ;  and  since  the 
discovery  that  plaster  of  Paris  is 
an  excellent  manure  for  it,  a  crop 
may  be  obtained  with  much  more 
certainty  on  lighter  land  than  for- 
merly.— Perhaps  the  characteris- 
tic of  best  garden  mould  may  be 
applied  to  a  tlax  soil,  viz.  retaining 
sufficient  moisture,  and  all  that 
falls,  without  ever  being  saturated  ; 
but  on  any  soils  the  surface  should 
be  completely  pulverized,  and 
never  be  worked  when  wet. 

"  No  dung  should  be  applied  to 
the  land  when  the  flax  is  sown, 
but  may  be  put  on  bountifully  with 
the  previous  crop.  The  objec- 
tion is,  that  dung  forces  the  growth 
so  rapidly  that  the  plants  draw 
weak,  have  a  thin  harle,  and  are 
the  more  liable  to  lodge. — Lime, 
marie,  shells,  leached  ashes,  &c. 
do  not  produce  such  eflfects.  Top- 
dressings,  soon  after  the  plants  ap- 
pear, of  plaster,  ashes,  soot,  &c, 
are  highly  beneficial,  as  they  not 
only  encourage  the  growth,  but  axe 
a  protection  against  worms,  which 
sometimes  attack  young  plants, 
and  may  be  considered  the  only 
enemy  they  have,  except  weeds. 

"  Salt  has  been  mentioned  by 
the  late  Dr.  Elliot,  of  Connecticut, 
as  an  excellent  manure  to  plough 
in  with  flax  at  the  rate  of  five 
bushels  to  the  acre  ;*  probably 
more  would  be  better.  Plaster  is 
now  much  used  in  Duchess  coun- 

*  See  Elliot's  Essays  on  field  husbandry. 


140 


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ty,  the  best  cultivated  district  in 
New  York  as  a  manure  for  flax, 
on  which  its  good  effects  are  as 
apparent  as  on  corn. 

"  The  late  Chancellor  Living- 
ston viewed  a  piece  of  flax  on  the 
2GthofMay,  179  J,  belonging  to  a 
poor  tenant,  very  injudiciously 
sown  on  a  dry  sandy  declivity,  it 
looked  so  extremely  sickly  that 
the  tenant  thought  of  ploughing  it 
up;  theChancellor  gave  him  three 
bushels  of  plaster,  which  was  sown 
the  next  morning  before  the  dew 
was  off,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  his  tenant  gather  more  flax 
from  his  half  acre  in  an  uncommon 
dry  season,than  was  produced  from 
any  acre  in  the  neighbourhood. 

"The  best  preparatory  crops  in 
this  country,  at  present  appear  to 
be  potatoes,  corn  and  roots  ;  they 
will  most  generally  repay  the  extra 
manure,  and  if  well  managcd,check 
the  production  of  weeds. 

"The  following  rotations  may 
serve  as  an  outline  subject  to  be 
varied,  and  hemp  or  other  crops  in- 
troduced as  circumstances  require, 
viz: 

No.  L  Low,  cold^  or  reclaimed 
soils, 

1st  year,  Potatoes. 

2d   do.  Flax  with  seeds. 

3d  do.  Herds  ofmssand  red-top, 
or  tall  meadow  oat  grass,  to  conti- 
nue three  years  or  more,  and  the 
course  repeated. 

No.  II.  Strong  Uplands. 

1st  year  Potatoes  or  Corn. 

2d  do.  Corn  or  Roots. 

3d  do.  Flax  with  seed. 

4th  do.  Clover. 

5th  do.  Orchard  grass  or  Herds- 
grass,  to  continue  three  years  or 
more. 


No.  III.  Light  Lands. 

1st  year  Potatoes  or  Corn. 

2d  do.  Corn  or  Roots. 

3d  do.  Flax  with  seed. 

4th  do.  Clover,  to  be  mown 
once,  the  after  growth  to  be  turned 
in,  and  rve  sown  thick  on  the  fur- 
row, which  may  be  soiled,  or  fed 
in  the  spring  by  sheep  or  milch 
cows,  and  ploughed  in  for 

5th  year  Com. 

6th  do.  Spring  Wheat  ov  Barley. 

7th  do.  Clover,  and  the  course 
to  be  pursued  as  before,  when  flax 
will  occupy  the  land  every  seventh 
year.  In  all  cases,  except  when 
hemp  is  substituted,  the  tillage 
crops  should  receive  the  dung. 

If  the  land  is  ploughed  into  beds, 
or  convex  ridges  like  turnpike 
roads,  about  a  rod  wide,  espe- 
cially if  low  and  level,  the  crop 
will  be  much  more  secure  from  in- 
jury by  heavy  rains,  and  the  grass 
crops  will  be  better  if  it  remains  in 
that  form.  On  any  soils,  fall 
ploughing  in  narrow  ridges  will  fa- 
cilitate its  early  working  in  spring, 
and  should  not  be  dispensed  with." 

Mr.  Pomeroy  gives  the  following 
directions  relative  to 

Choice  of  Seed. 

"  That  of  the  last  year's  growth 
should  be  obtained  if  possible. 
The  usual  marks  of  good  seed  are, 
that  it  be  plump,  oily  and  heavy, 
of  a  bright  brown  colour,  sinking 
readily  in  the  water,  and  when 
thrown  into  the  tire  to  crackle 
and  blaze  quick.  A  very  simple 
method  of  trial  is  to  sprinkle  it  thin 
between  two  pieces  of  wet  paper, 
which  plunge  into  a  hot-bed  or 
dung-hill,  and  in  less  than  twenty- 
four  hours  the  proportion  that  will 
vegetate  can  be  discerned,  which 


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141 


should  be  ascertained  in  order  to 
regulate  the 

Quantity  to  be  sown. 
"  Ou  this  head  no  particular  di- 
rections can  be  given,  as  it  depends 
on  the  various  qualities  of  soil, 
goodness  of  seed,  &c.  The  rule 
for  sowing  small  grains  is  reversed ; 
flax  requiring  to  be  sown  thickest 
on  rich  soil  as  not  more  than  one 
stalk  is  wanted  from  a  plant.  In 
England  and  Scotland  never  less 
than  two  nor  more  than  three  bush- 
els to  the  acre  are  sown.  Two 
and  an  half  is  the  most  usual  por- 
tion. In  Flanders  and  Ireland  sel- 
dom less  than  three  bushels  are 
sown,  except  when  seed  is  an  ob- 
ject. Thick  sowing  is  to  obtain  fine 
flax.  In  this  country  it  will  be  im- 
portant at  present,  to  sow  at  such 
a  rate,  as  will  insure  good  crops  of 
each  ;  and  experience  only  can 
determine  the  exact  point.  It  is 
probable  that  six  pecks  is  the  least, 
and  two  bushels  the  extent  that 
should  be  sown  to  obtain  the  most 
profitable  results,  till  the  demand 
for  seed  is  considerably  lessened." 

SoWtNG. 

Mr.  Pomeroy  recommends  sow- 
ing as  early  as  it  is  possible  to  pre- 
pare the  ground,  says  that  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  seeds  should  be 
equally  distributed,  and  "fortu- 
nately what  has  long  been  a  de- 
sideratum is  now  attained.  A  ma- 
chine for  sowing  small  seeds  broad- 
cast with  perfect  regularity,  has 
lately  been  invented,  and  performs 
to  great  satisfaction.* 

*  Bennett's  machine  for  sowing  bioad-cast, 
a  description  and  drawing  of  which  are  giv- 
en in  the  memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Agri- 
cultural Society,  vol.  IV.  with  ample  testi- 


Weeding, 

"  Weeding  is  considered  in  Eu- 
rope, and  by  good  husbandmen  in 
this  country,  as  necessary  to  secure 
a  good  crop  of  flax,  which  is  a  very 
tender  plant  when  young,and  more 
easily  checked  in  its  progress  by 
weeds  than  any  other.  It  is  not 
supposed  to  be  injured  by  the  clo- 
ver and  grass  sown  with  it  ;  on  the 
contrary  the  Flemish  farmers  think 
them  beneficial,  by  protecting  the 
tender  roots  fron)  drought,  and 
keeping  the  weeds  under.  It 
should  be  carefully  wed  when  the 
plants  are  three  or  four  inches 
high  ;  they  are  not  then  injured  by 
the  labourer  going  barefooted  over 
them. 

Pulling. 

"  This  should  be  performed  as 
soon  as  the  leaves  begin  to  fall,and 
the  stalks  shew  a  bright  yellow  co- 
lour, and  when  the  bolls  are  turn- 
ed a  little  brown.  The  seed  will 
continue  to  ripen  afterwards. — 
When  the  flax  is  lodged  it  should 
be  pulled  immediately,  in  any  stage 
of  its  growth,  or  it  will  be  entirely 
lost  ;  great  care  is  requisite  in  sort- 
ing the  different  lengths,  and  keep- 
ing them  separate  till  after  the  flax 
is  hackled,  or  much  waste  will  en- 
sue in  that  process. 

Saving  Seed. 

"As  soon  as, the   flax  is    dry 

enough  to  be  put  under  cover  it 

should  be  rippled,  as  it  is  termed. 

A  comb,  resembling  the  head  of  a 

monj'  of  its  usefulness.  It  is  pushed  forward 
by  a  man,  like  a  wheel-barrow,  and  will 
sow  more  than  one  acre  in  an  hour,  unim- 
peded by  wind  or  light  rain.  They  are  for 
sale  at  Harrison's  &  Earle's  Repository  for 
Agricultural  Implements,  in  the  City  of  New- 
York. 


142 


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rake,  but  with  teeth  longer  and 
nearer  together,  made  of  hickory 
or  oak,  is  fastened  upon  a  block, 
and  the  flax,  taken  in  parcels  no 
larger  than  the  hands  can  firmly 
grasp,  is  drawn  through,  and  the 
bolls  rippled  off;  attention  to  sort- 
ing at  the  same  time  should  be  con- 
tinued. The  bolls  are  to  be  rid- 
dled and  winnowed  immediately  ; 
spread  thin  on  a  clean  floor,  or  on 
sheets,  in  the  sun,  and  when  sufli- 
ciently  dry,  and  beginning  to  open, 
threshed.  By  this  method  the  foul 
seeds  are  completely  separated 
with  little  trouble,  and  good  clean 
seed  is  ready  for  an  early  market, 
often  the  best  without  the  use  of 
expensive  machinery  to  make  it  so. 
Here  the  operations  of  the  farmer 
ought  to  end  !  The  proceps  or 
preparation  being  foreign  to  and 
unconnected  with  his  other  pur- 
suits ;  and  which  has  been  the 
greatest  objection  to  extensive 
flax  culture.  Can  there  be  a  rea- 
son why  the  farmer  is  to  prepare 
his  flax  more  than  the  hides  of  his 
cattle,  which  he  sends  to  the  tan- 
ner ?  They  are  both  chemical  pro- 
cesses ;  and  to  dissolve  the  gluti- 
nous or  resinous  substances  by 
which  the  fibres  are  attached  to 
the  stem,  without  impairing  their 
strength,  is  perhaps  as  critical,and 
requires  as  much  care  and  judg- 
ment, as  to  extract  the  animal  jui- 
ces from  the  hides,  and  fill  the 
pores  with  tannin.  In  short,  the 
flax  grower,  and  flax  preparer  and 
dresser,  should  be  distinct  profes- 
sions. They  are  said  to  be  so  in 
Flanders  and  Holland,  and  were 
extensively  so  in  Scotland,  where 
the  farmer    sold  his   flax  on  the 


ground,  or  in  sheaves  at  his  barn 
or  rick. 

"  The  preparation  of  flax  by 
steeping  is  very  general  in  the 
great  flax  growing  countries  in  Eu- 
rope, but  it  is  not  quite  finished  in 
the  water.  It  remains  spread  some 
days  on  the  grass,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  render  it  soft,  and  give  that 
silvery  appearance  so  desirable. — 
The  destructive  process  of  dew 
rotting,  is  most  commonly  practis- 
ed in  this  country,  and  when  wa- 
ter is  resorted  to,  it  is  at  an  impro- 
per season,  and  the  process  imper- 
fect ;  which  is  the  cause  of  its  be- 
ing so  harsh  and  brittle.  Perhaps 
no  part  of  the  system  requires  such 
an  allowance  for  difference  of  cli- 
mate. In  the  humid  atmosphere 
of  Ireland,  it  is  not  very  material 
when  it  is  spread  ;  but  in  this  cli- 
mate, v;hen  exposed  to  a  July  or 
August  sun,  every  drop  after  a 
shower,  becomes  a  burning-glass, 
and  literally  scorches  the  fibres  ; 
besides  such  a  highly  putrid  fer- 
mentation as  will  then  take  place  in 
the  water,  though  it  separates  the 
harle  more  speedily,  not  only  in- 
jures it,  but  communicates  a  stain 
that  renders  the  process  of  bleach- 
ing much  more  tedious  and  expen- 
sive. 

"  The  flax  should  not  be  put  in- 
to the  water  till  about  the  first  of 
October,  and  remain  from  ten  to 
fourteen  days,  according  to  the 
temperature  of  the  weather,  and 
should  be  taken  out  before  the  fi- 
bres will  separate  freely,  spread  on 
the  grass,  when  the  frost  will  very 
much  assist  the  operation,  and  the 
flax  exhibits  a  gloss  and  softness 
that  it  is  impessible  to  give  it  oth- 


FLA 


FLA 


143 


erwise.  The  following  method 
of  preparing  hemp  will  apply  with 
great  force  to  the  point  under  dis- 
cussion. During  the  late  war  an 
experienced  ship-master  in  Con- 
necticut, and  who  was  also  a  good 
farmer,raised  a  crop  of  hemp.  As 
soon  as  it  was  dry  enough  to  be 
stowed  away  it  was  put  underco- 
ver and  remained  till  October ;  was 
then  put  into  clear  soft  water,  till 
the  fibres  would  separate  with  some 
difficulty,  when  it  was  spread  on 
the  grass  ;  the  frost  completed  the 
operation,  and  when  dry  it  was  im- 
mediately secured.  There  was  no 
putrid  fermentation  to  deteriorate 
the  harle,  nor  was  it  mildewed  by 
being  exposed  to  the  weather,  and 
when  dressed,  exhibited  that  fine 
silver  green  hue  by  which  the  Rus- 
sian hemp  is  distinguished  ;*  and 
when  worked  up,  was  pronounced 
by  the  rope-makers  to  be  equal  to 
any  hemp  ever  imported  !  Here 
is  a  lesson  for  eur  western  breth- 
ren, that  is  worth  more  to  them 
than  mines  of  silver.  Clear, 
soft  stagnant  water  is  preferred  in 
Europe.  A  canal  forty  feet  long, 
six  broad,  and  four  deep,  is  said  to 
be  sufficient  for  the  produce  of  an 
acre  of  flax,  at  one  time.  It  should 
be  formed  on  a  clay  or  some  hold- 
ing soil,  where  the  water  from  a 
spring  or  brook  can  be  conducted 
in  with  convenience  ;  the  expense 
would  not  be  great,  and  on  most 
farms  suitable  sites  may  be  had. — 
May  not  boiling  or  steaming  be 
found  the  most  advantageous  pro- 
cess of  preparing  flax  ?     The  very 

*  The  best  Riga  Hemp,  supplied  for  tiie 
Britisli  Navy,  is  prepared  by  steeping  ;  du- 
ring which  it  is  shifted  three  times. 


superior  sample  of  thread  exhibit- 
ed at  Brighton,  in  1818,  for  which 
Mrs.  Crowninshield,  of  Danvers, 
received  a  premium, was  spun  from 
flax  prepared  by  boiling.  It  ap- 
pears by  the  "  transactions  of  the 
Swedish  Academy,"  that  a  method 
was  j)ractised  in  Sweden,  of  pre- 
paring flax  to  resemble  cotton,  by 
boiling  it  ten  hours  in  salt  water, 
spreading  on  the  grass,  and  fre- 
quently watering,  by  which  it  be- 
comes soft  and  bleached.  Boiling 
or  steaming  will  not  appear  very 
formidable  or  expensive  when  we 
examine  the  subject.  A  box  twen- 
ty feet  long,  six  feet  wide,  and  four 
deep,  well  constructed  of  stout 
planks,a  boiler,  from  which  a  large 
tube  extends  into,  and  communi- 
cates with  the  water  in  the  box, 
will  boil  the  produce  of  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  in  a  day,  that  is,  if  we 
allow  double  the  room  to  boil  in 
that  is  required  for  steeping.  A 
steam  pipe,  instead  of  the  tube,and 
having  the  top  of  the  box  well  se- 
cured, would  permit  the  process  of 
steaming  to  go  en.  It  is  probable 
that  by  either  method,  spreading  on 
the  grass  will  be  necessary  to  obtain 
soft  flax.  Theyarns  of  which  the 
sail-cloth  is  made  at  Paterson,  are 
all  steamed.  The  Navy  Board  ex- 
pressly forbid  their  being  boiled  in 
alkaline  lye,  as  is  usual  in  most  ma- 
nufactures of  linen.  It  is  from  this 
precaution,  that  their  canvas  has 
the  pliable,  oily  feeling,  which  so 
much  recommends  it.  It  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of,  that  by  boiling 
or  steaming  much  time  and  ex- 
pense will  be  saved  in  bleaching. 

In  dressing,  says  Mr.  Pomeroy, 
"  our  climate  gives  a  decided  ad- 


144 


FLA 


FLA 


vantage  over  Ireland,  Flanders, 
or  the  north  of  Europe,  where  flax 
is  dried  on  hurdles,  over  a  peat 
fire,  in  ovens,  or  kilns,  requiring 
great  care  in  regulating  the  heat,  to 
prevent  injury.  All  this  trouble 
and  hazard  is  obviated  by  our  dry 
atmosphere,  and  keen  north-west 
winds.  Dr.  Deane  estimated  the 
expense  of  dressing  flax  by  hand  at 
one  third  of  the  product.  I  be- 
lieve the  present  price  does  not 
vary  much  from  his  estimate.  A 
respectable  gentleman  fromDutch- 
ess  County,  New- York,  informed 
me,  that  mills  or  machines,  impel- 
led by  water,  have  been  erected 
there,  that  break,  and  completely 
dress  the  flax  for  a  toll  of  one 
tenth !  It  is  said  one  or  more  of 
them  are  in  operation  in  the  wes- 
tern part  of  this  State.  These 
mills  were  invented  in  Scotland, 
and  are  now  said  to  be  brought  to 
great  perfection.  They  are  erect- 
ed in  all  directions  in  the  princi- 
pal flax  districts  in  Ireland, and  not- 
withstanding the  low  price  and  li- 
mited demand  for  labour,  are  re- 
sorted to  by  the  poorer  classes  of 
people,  the  dressing  by  hand  being 
mostly  abandoned.  There  are 
machines  in  England  that  dress  the 
flax  immediately  from  the  field, 
without  any  preparation  whatever. 
An  account  of  them  may  be  found 
in  the  5th  vol.  of  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Journal.  It  appears 
by  the  report  of  a  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  that  in 
1817,  they  were  in  successful  op- 
eration. A  man  and  three  chil- 
dren impelled  the  machines  and 
dressed  sixty  pounds  a  day.  Should 
(hey  be  susceptible  of  the  applica- 


tion of  water  or  steam  power,  ia 
any  degree  proportionate,  the  ad- 
vantage may  be  incalculable;  but 
in  the  present  inquiry,  we  place 
these  machmes, however  desirable, 
entirely  out  of  the  question. 
Product. 

"  It  is  not  uncommon  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  to  obtain  eight 
hundred  pounds  of  flax  from  an 
acre  !  Six  hundred  pounds  is  esti- 
mated, in  some  districts,  as  an 
average  ;  but  it  should  be  observ- 
ed that  little  if  any  seed  is  obtain- 
ed. The  average  crop  in  New- 
England,  as  far  as  our  information 
extends,  cannot  be  estimated  at 
more  than  two  hundred  pounds,and 
six  or  eight  bushels  of  seed.  (We 
do  not  include  the  rich  bottoms  on 
the  Connecticut  and  some  other 
rivers.)  Dr.  Deane  was  of  opinion 
that  four  htmdred  pounds  might  be 
calculated  on  with  proper  man- 
agement. 

"  We  think  that  four  hundred 
pounds  of  good  clean  flax, and  eight 
or  ten  bushels  of  seed,  may  fairly 
be  assumed  as  a  medium  crop  on 
favourable  soils,  where  the  culture 
becomes  such  an  object  as  to  make 
other  farming  operations  subservi- 
ent to  it,  and  due  attention  is  paid 
to  change  of  seed. 

"  Those  who  grow  flax  to  any 
extent  are  of  opinion,  that  the  seed, 
at  the  price  it  has  been  for  some 
years  past,  pays  for  all  the  labour 
bestowed  on  the  crop  to  the  time 
the  flax  is  ready  to  be  prepared  or 
rotted. 

"  If  we  are  correctly  informed, 
flax  of  a  fair  quality  cannot  be  im- 
ported from  Ireland  for  less  than 
fourteen  cents  per  pound.       And 


FLA 


FLA 


145 


the  price  of  the  best  of  Russia  flax 
dehvered  on  ship-board  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburgh,  is  ten  and  a  half  cents 
per  pound.  The  quality  called 
"twelve  headed,"  costs  nine  and 
an  half  cents  on  board. 

"  The  quality  of  flax  raised  in 
this  country,  varies  more  than  any 
other  product ;  and  of  course  the 
price,  which  is  from  six  to  eighteen 
cents  :  The  medium  is  about  ten 
cents  per  pound. 

"  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that 
no  great  exertions  can  be  expect- 
ed in  the  pursuits  of  any  people, 
till  "the  prospect  of  reward  sweet- 
ens the  labour."  And  I  anticipate 
the  question  that  some  may  be  dis- 
posed to  ask,  "  Where  is  the  farm- 
er to  find  a  market,  if  flax  is  exten- 
sively cultivated  ?"  We  will  ask 
where  could  the  planter  have  found 
a  market  for  his  cotton,  if  machines 
had  not  been  invented  for  spinning 
it  ?  And  how  could  he  have  sup- 
plied it,  if  the  labour  of  two  thou- 
sand  hands  had  been  required  to 
clean  it  of  the  .seeds,  that  is  now 
performed  by  the  Cotton  Gin,  in- 
vented by  Whitney  ?  We  have 
shown  that  the  expense  of  dressing 
flax  has  been  reduced  from  one 
third  to  one  tenth  of  its  value  ;* 
and  it  is  a  fact  well  established, 
that  there  are  now  in  this  country, 
machines  for  spinning  flax,  that 
perform  as  well,  and  more  expedi- 
tiously, except  for  the  finer  threads, 
than  those  for  spinning  cotton  ! 
The  Paterson  sail-cloth  is  fabrica- 
ted entirely  from  yarns  spun  and 
twisted  by  machinery,  assisted  by 
as  little  manual  labour  as  cotton 

*  The  usual  toll  for  ginning  cotton,   in 
Alabama,  we  are  informed,  is  one  twelftli. 
19 


machines.  In  these  manufactories 
are  six  hundred  spindles.  In  the 
State  of  New- York  and  Pennsyl- 
vaiua,  about  three  hundred  more 
are  employed  for  sewing  thread, 
shirtings,  bed-ticks,  shoe-thread, 
twine,  &c.  The  expense  of  labour, 
after  the  flax  is  hackled,  in  attend- 
ing a  machine  of  twenty-four  spin- 
dles for  spiiuiing  common  shoe- 
thread,  is  thirty-three  cents  per 
day,  spinning  on  an  average  twen- 
ty-four pounds  a  day  for  each  spin- 
dle ;  equal,  it  is  said  to  the  pro- 
duction of  a  cotton  spindle  for  five 
or  six  days. 

"  Can  any  thing  be  wanting  but 
the  application  of  power  looms  for 
weaving  linen,  to  place  the  manu- 
facture nearly  upon  an  equality 
with  cotton  ?  And  is  there  any 
doubt  but  they  can  be  so  applied  ? 

"The  perfection  of  cotton  spin- 
ning machinery,  and  the  invention 
of  power  looms, with  such  improve- 
ments as  are  exhibited  at  Waltham, 
it  is  well  known  are  about  to  pro- 
duce an  entire  revolution  in  the 
India  trade  !  If  they  can  stop  the 
spindle  and  the  shuttle  of  the  Hin- 
doo, who  is  supported  upon  a 
handful  of  rice  a  day,  in  a  climate 
where  little  is  required  for  cloth- 
ing or  shelter,  what  must  be  the 
effect  of  corresponding  machines 
in  the  linen  manufacture,  upon  the 
Russian  and  the  German  ?  There 
is  probably  at  this  moment,  a  mil- 
lions tons  of  American  shipping 
clothed  with  Russian  canvas  ! 
What,  but  the  raw  material  of  good 
quality  is  required  to  elicit  capi- 
tal, to  manufacture  in  a  few  years 
even  so  as  to  compete  wiili  LtirO' 
pean  nations  in  the  linen  market  ? 


146 


FLA 


FLO 


"  The  exportation  of  linen  from 
Geriiaiiy  to  North  and  South  A- 
menra  has  been,  and  is  at  present, 
of  vast  amount.  The  single  pro- 
vince of  Sile?ia  has  sent  in  one 
year  to  Hamburgh  and  other  ports, 
linens  to  the  value  of  nearly  five 
millions  of  dollars,  to  be  shipped 
by  the  circuitous  route  of  Cadiz  to 
the  Spanish  colonies.  These  cus- 
tomers are  at  our  doors.  The 
United  States  posses*  the  "Golden 
Gates  of  this  Commerce,"  and  with 
exertions  well  directed  to  her  ag- 
riculture, Europe  will  be  obliged 
to  surrender  the  keys."  See  Mass. 
Agr.  Rep.  vol.  VI.  p.  304. 

Since  the  above  was  written  a 
machine  has  been  constructed  in 
New-York  for  dressing  flax,  or 
hemp  in  its  unrotted  state,  be- 
longing to  Messrs.  Anthony  Dey, 
and  James  Macdonald,  of  that 
city.  It  is  made  to  go  by  wa- 
ter or  animal  power,  and  on  trial, 
was  worked  with  facility  by  four 
men.  It  is  estimated  that  when 
driven  by  the  proper  power,  the 
inachine,will  clear  one  ton  of  flax- 
plant  or  hemp,  rotted,  or  unrotted 
in  a  day.  Flax,  dressed  in  this 
machine,  resembles  floss  silk,  and 
it  is  estimated,  that  it  may  be 
cleaned  through  the  machine,  and 
brought  to  this  state  for  about  two 
cents  a  pound.  The  machine  is 
of  American  invention,  and  said  to 
be  unlike  any  English  machine  in- 
vented or  used  for  the  same  or  a  si- 
m;lar  purpose.  See  Mass.  Agr. 
Rep.  vol.  VII.  p.  66. 

FLAX  BRAKE,  a  machine  used 
in  dressing  flax.  New  improve- 
ments of  it  are,  placing  the  teeth  so 
as  to  converge  towards  the  fore 


part,  and  laying  the  upper  teeth 
higher  at  the  hinder  part.  That 
this  machine  may  last  for  any  con- 
siderable time,  care  should  be  ta- 
ken that  it  be  not  exposed  to  the 
injuries  of  the  weather. 

Brakes  may  be  constructed  to  go 
by  water.  Either  a  mill  ntay  be 
built  for  that  purpose  ;  or,  which 
is  attended  with  less  expense,  the 
machinery  may  be  an  appendage 
to  some  larger  mill,  and  moved 
without  a  distinct  water  wheel. — 
But  such  brakes  are  attended  with 
sundry  inconveniences,  besides 
extra  cost  in  building  them,  and 
wasting  of  the  flax  :  Though  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  work 
may  be  performed  with  much 
greater  expedition. 

Not  only  brakes,  but  scutchers, 
or  swinging  mills,  have  been  in- 
vented, to  be  moved  by  the  foot. 
Part  of  the  exertion  of  the  labour- 
er may  undoubtedly  be  saved  by 
them.  At  least,  when  they  are 
used  by  way  of  change,  the  work 
may  be  lightened  on  the  whole, — 
They  who  think  it  expedient  to 
have  these  machines,  may  find 
them  described,  with  cuts  annexed, 
in  the  Complete  Farmer, 

FLOODING,  FLOATING,  or 
DROWNING,  covering  of  low 
lands  with  water,  when  a  rivulet 
passes  through  them,  by  making  a 
dam  at  the  outlet.  When  there  is 
a  sufficiency  of  water,  and  a  short 
dam  will  answer,  this  is  a  piece  of 
husbandry  that  ought  not  to  be 
neglected.  Oftentimes  it  may  be 
of  great  advantage. 

Sometimes  it  is  done  for  the  pur- 
pose of  destroying  the  natural 
growth  of  trees,  bushes.  &c.    The 


FLO 


FLO 


147 


water  not  only  makes  an  essential  ' 
alteration  in  their  food,  but  also 
excludes  them  from  the  free  air, 
which  is  essentially  necessary  to 
vegetation.  It  is  no  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  it  proves  their  destruc- 
tion. 

The  flowing  of  two  summers  is 
found  suflicient  to  kill  every  plant 
of  the  woody  kind,  so  that  it  will 
not  sprout  any  more.  But  some 
advise  to  drawing  off  the  water  in 
August,  that  the  groiuid  may  be, 
for  a  few  days,  heated  by  the  sun. 
The  plants  thus  suddenly  pass  from 
one  extreme  to  anothcr,which  will 
doubtless  tend  to  destroy  them  the 
sooner.  But  when  the  season  is 
so  dry  that  another  pond  of  water 
could  not  be  immediately  raised, 
the  drawing  off  had  better  be  omit- 
ted. 

Another  intention  of  flooding  is, 
to  enrich  the  soil.  Some  lay  their 
low  grasslands  underwater  during 
the  whole  of  the  winter.  This  may 
be  a  good  method  for  lands  which 
are  so  low  and  wet,  that  none  of 
the  best  grasses  can  be  made  to 
grow  on  them.  The  poor  water 
grasses  will  grow  the  faster  ;  and 
the  crops  of  such  hay  as  it  is,  will 
be  the  larger. 

But  places  where  clover,  or 
herds-grass,  or  red-top  will  flou- 
rish, should  not  be  flowed  during 
the  winter  :  Because  the  winter 
frosts  are  known  to  be  necessary  to 
the  production  of  these  grasses. 

Flooded  lands  should  always  be 
laid  bare  early  in  the  spring,  that 
the  growth  of  the  grass  be  not  pre- 
vented :  Or  that  the  ground  may 
be  dried  so  early  as  to  be  fit  for 
tillage  crops.      And    ditching  of 


flooded  lands,  at  least  round  the 
borders,  will  be  necessary  to  lay 
them  dry  enough  for  tillage. 

As  standing  water  catches  dust 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  always 
contains  niore  or  less  of  the  finest 
particles  of  soil,  it  deposits  a  rich 
sediment  ;  a  fat  slime,  therefore, 
will  remain  on  the  surface  after 
the  water  is  removed.  And  a  time 
should  be  chosen  for  drawing  it  off", 
when  the  air  is  calm,  and  the  wa- 
ter clearest,  that  as  little  a  quanti- 
ty as  possible  of  the  food  of  plants 
may  pass  otfwith  it.  Such  land  is 
no  more  liable  to  suflR  r  by  drought 
than  the  fertile  land  of  Eg>  pt, which 
is  yearly  enriched  by  the  overflow- 
ing of  the  Nile. 

Though  winter  flooding  do  not 
suit  the  nature  of  good  grasses,  a 
few  days  flooding  in  the  spring  and 
fall  will  not  hurt  them  ;  but  will 
enrich  the  soil,  and  so  promote 
their  growth.  The  soil  will  have 
the  same  advantage  as  intervale 
land,  which  is  made  rich  and  fruit- 
ful by  occasional  flooding  :  Yea,  a 
greater  advantage,  as  the  water 
may  be  applied  and  removed  at 
pleasure. 

FLOUR.  "  It  has  been  gener- 
ally supposedjthat  if  wheat  be  much 
injured  during  a  bad  harvest,  the 
flour  made  from  it  will  not  ferment, 
or  bake  into  loaf-bread,  and  that  it 
is  only  fit  for  distillation,  or  to  be 
eaten  by  live  stock.  But  such 
ideas  seem  to  be  erroneous.  With 
the  aid  of  soda  the  flour  may  be 
much  improved ;  and  at  any  rate 
may  be  made  into  cakes,  or  biscuit, 
and  consumed  with  safety  and  ad- 
vantage." Code  of  Agriculture. 
The  carbonate  of  magnesia  of 


148 


FOA 


FOA 


the  shops,  when  well  mixed  with 
new  flour,  in  the  proportion  of  from 
20  to  40  grains  to  a  pound  of  flour 
materially  improves  it  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  bread.  Loaves, 
made  with  the  addition  of  the  car- 
bonate of  magnesia,  rise  well  in  the 
oven  ;  and  after  being  baked,  the 
bread  is  light  and  spungy,  has  a 
good  taste,  and  keeps  well.  In  ca- 
ses where  the  new  flour  is  of  an  in- 
different quality,  from  20  to  30 
grains  of  the  carbonate  of  magne- 
sia, to  a  pound  of  flour,  will  consid- 
erably improve  the  bread.  When 
the  flour  is  of  the  worst  quality,  40 
grains  to  a  pound  of  flour  is  neces- 
sary to  produce  the  same  effect. 
As  the  improvement  in  the  bread 
from  the  new  flour  depends  on  the 
carbonate  of  magnesia,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  care  should  be  taken  to 
mix  it  intimately  with  the  flour 
previous  to  making  the  dough.  A 
pound  of  carbonate  of  magnesia 
would  be  suflicient  to  mix  with 
two  hundred  and  fifty-six  pounds 
of  new  flour  at  the  rate  of  30  grains 
to  a  pound. 

FOAL,  a  colt.  "  Foals  are  usu- 
ally foaled  about  the  beginning  of 
summer,  and  it  is  the  custom  to  let 
them  run  till  Michaelmas  with  the 
mare,  at  which  time  they  are  to  be 
weaned.  When  first  weaned  they 
must  be  kept  in  a  convenient 
house,  with  a  low  rack  and  man- 
ger for  hay  and  oats  ;  the  hay 
must  be  very  sweet  and  fine,  espe 
cially  at  first,  and  a  little  wheat 
bran  should  be  mixed  with  their 
oats,  in  order  to  keep  their  bodies 
open,  and  make  them  eat  and  drink 
freely.  When  the  winter  is  spent, 
they  should  be   turned  into  some 


dry  ground,  where  the  grass  is 
sweet  and  short,  and  where  there 
is  good  water,  that  they  may  drink 
at  pleasure.  The  winter  after  this, 
they  may  be  kept  in  the  stable, 
without  any  further  care  than  that 
which  is  taken  of  other  horses  : 
But  after  the  first  year,  the  mare 
foals  and  horse  foals  are  not  to  be 
kept  together.  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty to  know  the  shape  a  foal  is 
like  to  be  of ;  for  the  same  shape 
he  carries  at  a  month,  he  will  carry 
at  six  years  old,  if  he  be  not  abused 
in  after  keeping." 

We  often  hear  it  lamented,  that 
our  breed  of  horses  is  so  bad.  But 
I  am  convinced  that,  as  our  colts 
are  managed,  if  we  had  any  other 
breed,  we  should  soon  make  it  ap- 
pear to  be  as  mean  as  our  own,  if 
not  worse.  The  abusing  of  colts 
in  the  first  winter,  is  the  principal 
cause  of  their  proving  so  bad.  For 
our  farmers  seldom  allow  their 
weaned  colts  any  food  besides  hay, 
and  that  is  not  always  of  the  best 
kind.  So  that  they  seldom  fail  of 
being  stinted  in  their  growth,in  the 
first  winter,  to  such  a  degree,  that 
they  never  get  the  better  of  it.  A 
colt  that  is  foaled  late,  should  not 
be  weaned  till  February  or  March, 
and  should  have  oats  during  the 
whole  of  the  winter.  In  some 
countries  they  allow  a  young  colt 
fifteen  bushels.  We  need  not 
grudge  to  feed  them  with  meal, 
oats  and  bran,  besides  the  best  of 
clover  hay  ;  for  they  will  pay  for 
it  in  their  growth.  After  the  first 
winter,  they  will  need  no  extraor- 
dinary feeding  till  they  are  grown 
up.  Were  the  above  directions 
observed,  we  should  soon  see  an 


FOD 


FOD 


149 


improvement  of  our  breed  of  hor- 
ses. They  would  b>'  capable  of 
doing  much  greater  service, and  be 
likely  to  hold  out  to  a  greater  age. 

FODDER,  dry  food  for  horses 
and  other  cattle.  The  term  in- 
cludes cornorgrain,hay  and  straw, 
the  stalks  and  leaves  of  Indian 
corn,  the  haulm  of  pease  and  beans. 
&;c.  Dried  weeds,  and  leaves  of 
trees,  may  also  serve  as  fodder  for 
hungry  and  hardy  cattle. 

Mr.  Lisle  recommends  elm 
leaves,  dried  on  the  small  branch- 
es, as  a  great  relief  to  cattle  in 
winter.  He  says  the  cattle  will 
eat  it  before  oats,  and  thrive  ex- 
ceedingly with  it.  Also,  the  chaff 
of  all  kinds  of  grain,  in  the  old 
countries,  is  reserved  for  fodder, 
and  made  more  account  of  than 
the  straw.  In  this  country  it  is 
suffered  to  be  driven  away  by 
winds.  This  is  an  i)istance  of  our 
want  of  economy. 

In  such  a  country  as  ours,where 
the  winters  are  long  and  cold,  and 
where  grass  does  not  serve  for 
the  cattle  so  much  as  half  the  year, 
providing  fodder,  and  preserving 
it,  are  matters  of  high  consequence. 
In  this  business,  a  great  part  of  the 
farmer's  care  and  strength  is  em- 
ployed. For  there  are  not  more 
than  two  months  in  a  year,  in 
which  farmers  are  not  either  pre- 
paring, and  laying  up  fodder  for 
their  flock,  or  else  dealing  it  out 
to  them. 

The  ways  to  increase  the  quan- 
tity of  fodder,  will  be  found  under 
other  articles.  The  ways  to  pre- 
serve it,  so  as  to  make  the  great- 
est advantage  from  it,  may  be  here 
considered. 


One  important  caution  to  be  ob- 
served is,  that  hay,  which  is  the 
principal  fodder,  should  not  be  so 
much  dried  as  to  occasion  its  wast- 
ing. When  it  has  been  properly 
made,  it  should  not  be  carted  in, 
if  it  can  be  avoided,  at  a  time  when 
the  weather  is  dry  and  windy,  nor 
in  the  hottest  part  of  the  day. — 
iVIornings  and  evenings  are  the 
best  times  for  removing  it,  as  there 
is  a  dampness  in  the  air  which  pre- 
vents it  being  too  crispy.  The 
leaves  will  not  crumble,  nor  the 
seeds  shatter  out.  The  best  parts 
of  the  hay  are  often  lost  by  not  ob- 
serving this  caution  ;  or  af  least 
much  diminished. 

The  hay  which  is  to  be  stored  in 
small  or  narrow  mows,  and  on 
scaffolds,  will  keep  well  with  little 
drying.  That  which  goes  into  a 
large  mow,  will  need  to  be  drier, 
as  the  air  will  not  penetrate  so  near 
to  the  centre  of  it. 

In  disposing  of  the  different  kinds 
of  hay  and  other  fodder,  some  re- 
gard should  be  had  to  the  places, 
or  parts  of  the  barn,  in  which  the 
different  sorts  of  cattle  are  kept. 
The  clover  hay,  for  instance,should 
be  laid  up  near  to  the  stable  where 
horses  are  kept,  as  this  is  the  most 
suitable  fodder  for  them.  The 
good  hay  of  other  kinds,  should 
be  put  where  it  can  be  handily 
given  to  the  calves,  milch  cows, 
and  working  oxen.  The  meanest 
fodder  nearest  to  the  apartment  of 
the  growing  young  stock,  on  which 
it  is  commonly  bestowed,  and 
which  is  more  proper  for  them 
than  for  the  rest. 

In  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  salt  hay  cannot  be  had,  it  is 


150 


FOD 


FOD 


a  good  method  to  apply  salt  to  hay 
that  has  been  damaged  in  making, 
and  to  straw,  and  hay  of  low  mea- 
dows, as  it  is  put  into  the  mow. 
The  salt  will  make  it  more  palata- 
ble both  to  horses,  and  neat  cattle. 
One  peck  of  salt  is  enough  for  a 
ton  of  hay. 

Some  choose  that  a  barn  should 
have  large  gaps  between  the  boards 
on  the  sides,  that  the  hay,  &c.  may 
have  air.  This  is  surely  a  mis- 
taken notion ;  for  the  hay  that  is 
nearest  to  the  gaps  will  lose  its 
sweetness.  The  roof  of  a  barn 
should  also  be  kept  very  tight;  and 
none  of  the  hay  should  be  laid 
very  near  to  the  ground. 

I  do  not  approve  of  stacking  any 
kind  of  fodder,  excepting  in  case 
of  necessity.  For  some  inches  of 
the  outside  of  a  stack  is  certainly 
spoilt  by  the  weather.  It  is  well 
if  the  rest  happen  to  be  wt  11  sav- 
ed.    It  often  proves  otherwise. 

When  a  farmer  has  more  hay 
than  his  barn  will  hold,  let  him 
stack  it  near  to  the  barn ;  and,  as 
soon  as  he  has  made  room,  in  some 
damp  or  calm  day  take  it  in. 
There  will  be  the  less  danger  of 
its  getting  damage. 

Farmers,  who  mean  to  keep 
good  their  stocks,  and  to  have 
plenty  of  manure,  should  not  be 
fond  of  selling  hay.  If  they  should 
have  some  left  in  the  spring,  it 
will  not  grow  worse,  but  some 
sorts  will  be  better,  by  keeping. 
And  if  a  short  crop  should  happen, 
they  will  be  glad  they  have  kept  it. 

Straw  that  is  reserved  for  fod- 
der, may  help  to  preserve  the 
busks  and  bottom  stalks  of  Indian 
corn,  which  commonly  have  too 


much  sap  in  them  to  be  mowed 
by  themselves.  If  they  are  put  in  a 
mow  together,  in  alternate  thin  lay- 
ers, the  straw  will  preserve  the 
corn  stalks,  and  the  stalks  will  im- 
pregnate the  straw  wilh  their 
sweetness,  so  that  the  cattle  will 
eat  them  together  with  a  good 
relish,  and  be  well  nourished  by 
them. 

Another  method  of  managing 
straw,  which  I  have  found  to  be 
of  singular  advantage,  is  to  mix 
it  with  salt  hay  which  is  not  more 
than  half  dried.  The  hay  is  thus 
kept  from  heating,  and  the  straw 
is  so  tinctured  with  the  salt  and 
sap  of  the  hay,  as  to  be  rendered 
an  agreeable  fodder  for  cattle. 

It  is  well  known  that  cattle  pre- 
fer short  straw  to  that  which  is 
long :  Therefore  many  farmers 
cut  their  straw  as  short  as  oats, 
and  to  tempt  the  horses  to  eat  it, 
mix  some  oats  or  barley  among  it. 

But  the  most  elTectual,  and  in 
the  present  state  of  agricultural 
science,  the  most  approved  method 
of  increasing  fodder  for  winter  con- 
sumption, is  to  provide  large  quan- 
tities of  pumpkins,  potatoes,  car- 
rots, Swedish  turnips  and  beets, 
by  which  the  consumption  of  hay 
is  exceedingly  diminished,  and  the 
cattle,  particularly  milch  cows,  are 
kept  in  much  better  conditon,  and 
it  is  believed  at  much  less  expense. 
Two  or  three  acres,  in  the  culture 
of  such  vegetables,  furnish  as  much 
food,  as  eight  or  ten  acres  of  the 
best  grass  lands  in  hay.  There  is 
no  doubt,  also,  that  a  great  saving 
may  be  made  by  cutting  fine  the 
straw  and  hay  given  to  cattle. 
Various  machines  have    been  in- 


FOD 


FOD 


151 


vented  to  facilitate  this  operation, 
and  great  ingenuity  has  been  dis- 
played in  their  construction  ;  but 
the  general  opinion  seems  to  be 
that  the  simplest  machines,  costing 
not  more  than  from  three  to  five 
dollars,  are  the  most  economical 
on  the  whole.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  subdivision  of  the  food, 
and  frequent  feeding  which  our 
long  winters  afford  ample  time  to 
effect,  are  exceedingly  useful,  and 
economical,  compared  with  the 
wasteful  modes  heretofore  in  use, 
particularly  that  of  throwing  down 
large  bundles  of  hay  and  corn- 
stalks to  the  cattle  in  the  yard. 
No  man  of  the  slightest  observa- 
tion can  have  failed  to  remark 
that  at  least  one  fourth  part  of  the 
fodder  so  administered  is  given  to 
be  destroyed. 

"  Salting  all  fresh  hay,  when 
put  up,  is  a  great  addition  to  it. 
A  respectable  farmer  of  Herkimer 
County,  New  York,  who  keeps  a 
large  stock  of  cattle,  says,  he  is 
certain,  that  adding  eight  quarts  of 
salt  to  each  ton  of  hay  will  make 
it  go  as  far  as  a  ton  and  a  quarter 
that  has  not  been  salted.  At  the 
same  time  hay  may  be  put  into 
the  mow,  when  salted,  in  a  much 
greener  state  than  without  it ;  and 
when  taken  out  will  be  found  al- 
most as  green,  and  apparently  as 
fresh,  as  when  first  stowed  away." 
Farmer^s  Assistant. 

"  Meadows  which  produce  wild 
grass  ought  to  be  mowed  very  early 
and  salted.  But  cattle  should  not 
be  kept  constantly  on  salted 
fodder. 

It  is  observed  in  the  Domestic 
Encyclopaedia,  (art.  Cattle,)  that 


"  the  first  object  in  the  article  food 
is  wholesomeness :  wild  cattle 
feed  entirely  on  green  vegetables 
which  they  find  throughout  the 
year.  Similar  nutriments  should, 
if  possible  be  procured  for  tame 
cattle  in  all  seasons.  Therefore 
cabbages,  turnips,  carrots,  and  the 
mangel  wurzel  are  recommended 
as  winter  food." 

FODDERING,  feeding  cattle 
with  dry  food.  We  have  occa- 
sion to  begin  to  fodder,  most  com- 
monly, about  the  beginning  of 
November;  and  to  continue  doing 
it  till  the  middle  of  May,  and 
sometimes  later. 

We  should  take  care  not  to  be- 
gin to  fodder  till  it  is  really  neces- 
sary :  Because  cattle  that  are  fod- 
dered, will  not  graze  so  diligently. 
When  it  is  once  begun,  the  cattle 
will  expect  it,  and  it  must  be  con- 
tinued. When  we  first  begin,  we 
should  fodder  early  in  the  morn- 
ing only ;  for  at  that  time  of  the 
day  the  frost  is  usually  on  the 
grass ;  so  that  the  cattle  will  not 
graze.  They  should  not  yet  be 
housed,  horses  excepted  :  But  in 
wet  weather  the  whole  stock 
should  be  housed  ;  for  they  bear 
cold  better  than  wetness.  Or  if 
not  put  into  the  barn,  they  should 
have  a  shed  in  the  yard,  under 
which  they  may  shelter  them- 
selves. 

The  meanest  fodder  should  not 
be  dealt  out  first  of  all.  The 
husks  and  stalks  of  Indian  corn 
are  suitable  for  this  season.  The 
straw  and  the  worst  hay  should  be 
reserved  to  give  them  in  the  cold- 
est weather ;  for  it  is  then  that 
they  have  the  keenest  appetites. 


152 


FOD 


FOD 


The  hay  of  low  ground,  straw  and 
haulm,  if  salt  hay  be  not  to  be  had, 
may  be  sprinkled  with  salted 
water,  if  saUing  it  in  the  mow  has 
been  neglected.  They  will  not 
only  eat  it  heartily,  but  live  well 
upon  it. 

Wild  grass  hay  is  not  fit  for 
horses,  nor  any  of  the  water  grass- 
es. They  will  need  some  grain, 
if  they  be  fed  on  any  other  hay 
besides  clover.  They  should  have 
a  small  window  against  their  rack, 
to  let  in  fresh  air  to  their  fodder, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  them 
light.  If  horses  have  not  grain 
through  the  winter,  they  should 
have  it  at  least  in  the  fore  part  of 
winter;  for  the  coming  on  of  win- 
ter is  the  most  trying  season  for 
them.  If  they  be  fed  with  Indian 
corn,  it  should  be  well  soaked  and 
swelled;  it  will  give  them  the 
more  nourishment. 

Neat  cattle  and  horses  should 
not  have  so  much  laid  before  them 
at  once,  as  will  quite  serve  to  fill 
them.  The  hay  they  have  breath- 
ed on  much,  they  will  not  eat  up 
clean,  unless  when  they  are  very 
hungry.  It  is  best,  therefore,  to 
fodder  them  twice  at  night,  and 
twice  in  the  morning.  Let  neat 
cattle  as  well  as  horses  have  both 
light  and  fresh  air  let  in  upon  their 
fodder,  when  the  weather  is  not 
too  cold,  or  stormy,  to  allow  the 
windows  to  be  open.  What  one 
sort  of  cattle  leave,  should  be 
thrown  to  another  sort.  Those 
that  chew  the  cud  will  eat  the 
leavings  of  those  that  do  not,  and 
vice  versa. 

It  is  also  well  known  to  farmers, 
that  what  cattle  leave  in  the  barn, 


they  will  eat  abroad  in  the  open 
air ;  and  most  freely  when  it  is 
laid  upon  clean  snow.  Not  only 
this,  but  the  meanest  of  straw 
should  be  given  them  in  this  way. 
What  is  left  will  help  to  increase 
the  manure  in  the  yard. 

Every  farm  yard,  where  any 
considerable  stock  is  kept,  s'lould 
be  furnished  with  a  large  shed, 
and  a  rack  under  it.  For  where 
there  is  no  clean  snow  to  lay  the 
straw,  and  other  mean  fodder  up- 
on, it  should  be  put  into  the  rack. 
A  larger  proportion  of  the  dung 
will  be  dropped  under  the  shed, 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  yard. 
And  this  dung  will  be  better  than 
the  rest,  as  it  will  not  be  washed 
by  rains,  nor  so  much  dried  by  the 
wind  and  sun. 

Sheep,  when  they  are  under  cov- 
er, should  draw  their  hay  through 
a  rack,  made  so  close  as  just  to 
admit  their  noses.  They  should 
have  good  hay,  and  a  cool  and  dry 
house.  Beans  is  a  sort  of  food 
they  eat  very  greedily,  and  even 
the  straw.  But  it  is  said,  that 
ewes  with  young  should  not  be 
allowed  to  eat  many  beans ;  as  it 
will  make  their  lambs  grow  too 
large  within  them.  Neither  should 
they  be  fed  too  generously,  nor 
to  the  full,  till  near  the  time  of 
lambing. 

When  a  farmer  thinks  that  he 
has  too  much  stock  for  his  fodder, 
as  will  sometimes  be  the  case,  it  is 
not  best  to  pinch  them  in  their  al- 
lowance so  much  in  the  fore  part 
of  winter  as  in  the  latter  part.  For 
the  cattle  are  more  liable  to  be 
pinched  with  the  cold,  in  Decem- 
ber and  January,  than  afterwards. 


FOG 


FOL 


153 


And  no  man  knows  how  favourable 
the  latter  part  of  winter  may  be. 
Advantage  also  may  be  made  of 
browsing  in  the  latter  more  than  in 
the  former  part  of  winter,  as  the 
buds  then  begin  to  swell,  and  the 
twigs  have  more  sap  in  them  than 
before. 

When  browsing  is  depended  on, 
the  farmer  who  has  salt  hay,shoiild 
preserve  a  sufficient  quantity  of  it 
to  the  latter  part  of  winter.  It 
will  give  the  cattle  a  high  relish  for 
browse.  If  they  have  no  salt  hay, 
they  should  have  salt,  to  increase 
their  appetite. 

Cows  that  are  near  calving,should 
not  be  driven  out  after  the  browse, 
for  fear  of  accidents.  They  should 
be  kept  on  the  best  fodder ;  not 
be  tied  up  with  the  other  catUe  ; 
but  each  one  should  be  fed  in  an 
apartment  by  herself,  without  ty-  \ 
ing.  I 

FOG,  FOGGE,  or  FOGAGE, 
long  grass  and  stumps  of  grass,  re- 
maining in  mowing  grounds  and 
pastures  till  winter. 

This  is  accounted  in  general  a 
benefit  to  the  land  ;  especially  ■ 
when  the  grass  is  not  of  a  bad  and 
sour  kind.  The  snow  presses  it 
down  close  to  the  surface,  where  \ 
it  shelters  the  roots  of  the  grass, 
corrupts  it,  and  turns  it  to  manure. 
But  when  mowing  grounds  are  fed 
very  close  in  the  fall,  the  ensuing 
crop  is  poorer,  the  roots  being 
more  injured  by  the  feet  and  teeth 
of  cattle,  and  more  exposed  to  the 
weather.  The  dung  they  drop,  ' 
though  it  be  considerable,  will  not 
wholly  repair  the  damage  of  close 
feeding  and  trampling. 

But  fog  is  most  essentially  ser- 
20 


viceable  on  a  soil  of  the  clay  kind. 
It  forms  a  cover  which  retains  the 
rains  and  dews,  in  the  following 
spring  and  summer,  so  as  to  give 
the  surface  a  more  equable  and 
constant  moisture  ;  and  prevents 
the  binding  and  cracking  of  the 
surface  by  the  heat  of  the  sun. — 
Nothing  can  belter  oppose  the  ill 
;  effects  of  a  dry  season  on  such  a 
soil. 

I  Where  fog  is  left  very  long,  it 
checks  the  growth  of  the  young 
grass  of  the  next  year,  causes  it 
to  spring  up  feebly,  and  materially 
impedes  the  progress  of  the  scythe. 
Where  the  tield  is  not  adjacent  to 
houses  or  wood  lots,  so  that  they 
may  not  be  endangered  by  tire,  it 
is  very  useful,  in  a  dry  day,  to  set 
tire  to  the  fog,  and  burn  it.  This 
is  in  no  respect  injurious  to  the  fu- 
ture growth,  but  the  ashes  produ- 
ced by  the  combustion  in  burning 
tlie  old  fog,  causes  the  new  grass 
to  spring  with  increased  strength 
and  luxuriance.  The  experiment, 
however,  should  not  be  attempted, 
except  in  insulated  fields,  remote 
from  houses  and  trees,  and  espe- 
cially from  evergreens.  It  should 
be  done  early  in  April. 

F'OLDING  of  land,  confining 
sheep,  or  other  cattle,  nightly,in  a 
small  lot  or  yard,  for  the  purpose 
of  enriching  the  soil.  The  benefit 
arising  from  this  is  so  great,  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  neglected,  especi- 
ally in  those  parts  of  the  country, 
where  the  wolves  do  not  come. 
Some  turn  in  their  other  cattle  with 
the  sheep.  This  is  good  conduct, 
when  the  soil  is  warm  sand  or  gra- 
vel ;  and  not  bad  when  it  is  loamy. 
But  it  may  be  better  to  vard  the 


154 


FOL 


FOR 


black  cattle  without  sheep,  on  a 
a  very  dry  soil  ;  such  as  hungry 
sand  or  gravel  ;  and  the  sheep 
without  the  black  cattle,  on  a  soil 
that  is  heavy  and  cold.  Thus  both 
these  kinds  of  manure  will  be  ap- 
plied to  the  soil  which  will  be  most 
helped  by  them. 

Folding  is  a  much  better  meth- 
od than  carrying  dung  from  the 
barn-yard,  when  the  season  is  suit- 
able for  doing  it.  One  great  ad- 
vantage of  it  is,  that  none  of  the 
stale  is  wasted,  but  every  drop  of 
it  instantly  absorbed  by  the  soil 
that  needs  it,  and  will  make  a  good 
return  for  it. 

Folding,  or  yarding,  is  but  little 
attended  to  in  this  country  ;  and 
not  half  the  advantage  is  made  from 
it  that  might  be,  when  it  is  at- 
tempted. It  is  said  that  one 
hundred  sheep  in  a  summer  will 
enrich  eight  acres,  so  as  to  need 
no  other  manuring  for  six  years. 

This  matter  is  certainly  miscon- 
ducted, when  a  farmer,  either  to 
save  the  labour  of  fencing,  or 
through  ignorance  of  the  advan- 
tage of  folding,  makes  his  enclo- 
sures too  small,  and  folds  the  land 
too  much  for  his  own  profit. 

Let  a  spot  of  half  an  acre  be 
ploughed  and  fenced.  Turn  in, 
each  night,  a  dozen  head  of  neat 
cattle,  and  fifty  sheep.  Continue 
to  do  it  for  three  weeks,  harrowing 
the  surface  once  in  three  days,  to 
mix  the  excrements  with  the  soil. 
The  ground  will  be  sufficiently 
folded  to  produce  a  fine  crop  of 
turnips,  or  almost  any  other  good 
crop.  It  is  reckoned  by  some  that 
a  sheep  will  fold  one  yard  square 
in  a  night ;  or  rather  one  rod  square 
in  about  a  fortnight. 


A  yard  for  cabbages  or  turnips, 
may  be  begun  about  the  middle  of 
May  ;  or  when  the  cattle  first  go 
to  grass.  About  a  month  after  will 
be  nearly  the  right  time  to  trans- 
plant cabbages  ;  and  six  weeks  or 
about  two  months  after,  to  sow  tur- 
nips. And,  for  a  general  rule, it  is 
best  that  a  crop  should  succeed  the 
manuring  as  soon  as  possible. 

When  a  crop  of  wheat  is  want- 
ed, the  ground  may  be  folded  in 
July,  as  the  seed  is  to  be  sown  in 
August.  And  frequent  ploughing 
and  harrowing  for  this  crop  should 
not  be  neglected.  If  the  land  be 
wettish,  do  it  in  the  middle  of  the 
day  ;  if  dry,  in  the  morning  before 
the  dew  is  off. 

Low  grass  grounds,  which  are 
cold  and  sour,  and  produce  bad 
hay,  may  be  surprisingly  meliora- 
ted by  a  little  folding.  It  kills  fern 
and  mosses,  and  roots  out  the  wild 
and  watery  grasses,  even  without 
breaking  up  the  soil.  At  the  same 
time  it  encourages  the  growth  of 
better  kinds  of  grasses.  This  may 
be  done  at  certain  seasons  that  are 
unsuitable  forthe  folding  of  plough- 
ed lands,  they  being  too  wet  and 
dirty  for  the  sheep  to  lie  upon,  as 
in  October,  November,  March  and 
April.  Sheep  are  more  proper  for 
this  sort  of  folding  than  larger  cat- 
tle, as  their  excrements  are  hotter. 
FOOD  OF  PLANTS.  "No 
one  principle  affords  the  pabulum 
of  vegetable  life  ;  it  is  neither  char- 
coal nor  hydrogene,  nor  azote, 
nor  oxygene  alone  ;  but  all  of 
Ihem  together  in  various  states  and 
various  combinations."  Agricul- 
tural Chemistry. 
FOREST,  a  tract  of  ground,  pro- 


•X 


FOR 


FOR 


155 


ducing  wood.  Each  farm  of  any 
considerable  bigness,  should  have 
a  forest  to  afford  a  supply  of  fuel 
and  timber.  In  clearing  farms  in  a 
new  country,  due  regard  should  be 
had  to  preserving  a  perpetual  for- 
est. Some  have  mistaken  their  in- 
terest so  much,  as  not  to  leave  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  land  unclear- 
ed. So  that  they  are  put  to  the 
disagreeable  necessity,  either  of 
buying  their  fire-wood,  or  else  of 
going  some  miles  after  it.  That 
part  of  a  t'arm  should  be  set  apart 
for  this  purpose,  which  is  least 
adapted  by  nature  for  tillage,  or 
grass.  Land  which  is  swampy ,with 
a  very  thin  soil  over  a  sandy  bot- 
tom 5  land  that  is  rocky  and  moun- 
tainous, or  which  will  but  poorly 
bear  a  dry  season,  or  even  the  most 
sandy  or  gravelly  heights,  or  steep 
declivities  which  cannot  be  plough- 
ed, may  answer  well  for  a  forest. 
Forest  trees  having  long  roots, 
some  of  which  penetrate  deeply, 
will  find  sufficient  nourishment  in 
places  where  corn  and  grass  can- 
not be  cultivated  to  advantage.  So 
that  it  is  very  bad  economy  to  suf- 
fer any  such  places  to  be  destitute 
of  growing  trees.  For  if  they  do 
not  produce  wood  they  are  in  a 
manner  useless.  Or  if  they  pro- 
duce any  grass,  trees  will  not  hurt 
them  for  pasturage,  but  in  some 
cases  make  it  better. 

The  quantity  of  ground  that 
should  be  set  apart  for  this  use, 
must  vary  according  to  the  large- 
ness of  the  farm  it  belongs  to,  and 
according  to  the  demand  for  wood, 
the  quality  of  the  soil,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  climate.  If  the  climate 
be  hot,  the  forest  may  be  smaller. 


A  small  farm  cannot  so  well  ad- 
mit of  a  large  lot  for  wood  as  a  larg- 
er one.  Some  intelligent  farmers 
in  this  country  have  thought  they 
could  make  a  lot  of  ten  or  a  dozen 
acres  answer  the  purpose  of  sup- 
portmg  one  constant  kitchen  fire. 
But  it  certainly  will  not,  unless  the 
soil  be  uncommonly  fruitful,  and 
the  trees  be  such  as  are  of  the 
quickest  growth.  If  land  be  poor 
and  dry,  it  will  require  twenty 
acres  or  more,  to  supply  one  single 
fire,  and  keep  the  stock  of  trees 
undif^jni'ihed. 

To  thicken  a  forest,  or  to  pre- 
vent its  becoming  too  thin,  cattle 
should  be  kept  out  at  all  seasons, 
I  that  all  the  trees  which  spring  out 
of  the  ground  may  live  and  grow 
up  to  maturity.  And  when  it  is 
found  needful,  acorns,  or  other 
seeds,  should  be  planted,  so  that 
none  of  the  ground  may  continue 
unoccupied. 

In  our  most  southern  climates,  I 
find  that  hard  wood  is  more  rapid 
in  its  growth  than  in  the  northern. 
And  sprouts  oftener  grow  up  from 
stumps  of  trees  that  are  felled. — 
The  trees  that  grow  up  quickest  in 
general  should  be  most  cultivated. 
Those  of  these  kinds  should  be 
more  generally  left  standing  than 
others  ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the 
red  and  grey  oaks,  ash,  white  ma- 
ple, &;c. 

When  a  number  of  suckers  spring 
up  from  a  stump,  all,excepting  one 
or  two,  should  be  taken  away  as 
early  as  possible  ;  then  the  remain- 
ing ones  will  grow  with  rapidity. 
Those  are  to  be  left  which  are  tal- 
lest, and  most  rapid  in  their 
growth. 


i6G- 


F  O  K 


FOR 


When  a  farm  is  quite  destitute 
of  a  forest,  some  spot,  or  spots,the 
least  adapted  to  tillage  of  any  part 
of  the  farm,  should  be  converted  to 
this  use,  and  be  planted  with  such 
trees  as  may  be  expected  to  thrive 
best. 

If  these  spots  be  tillable,  "cattle 
of  all  kinds,  and  swine  should  be 
fenced  out  ;  and  the  ground  well 
ploughed  and  harrowed,  and  made 
mellow.  Acorns  may  be  put  in, 
in  rows  foair  feet  asunder,  two  in- 
ches apart,  and  two  inches  deep. 
The  intervals  may  bear  some  hoed 
crops,  while  the  trees  are  small. 
They  should  be  hoed  the  first  year 
with  the  hand  hoe  ;  the  second 
with  the  horse  hoe,  and  so  on  af- 
terwards. When  they  are  a  year 
old  begin  to  thin  them.  When  they 
are,  by  repeated  thinnings,  as  they 
grow  larger,  reduced  to  the  dis- 
tance of  eight  feet,  ail  the  rest  may 
stand  for  timber,  till  some  of  them 
are  fit  for  some  uses.  But  tht;  final 
distance  for  large  timber  trees,  is 
from  twenty  to  thirty  feet."  Coni- 
plete  Farmer. 

But  if  places  designed  for  forests 
cannot  conveniently  be  tilled,  the 
trees  should  be  raised  in  a  nurse- 
ry, and  traiipplanted  into  such  pla- 
ces. The  cost  of  doing  it  will  be 
trifling,  to  compare  with  the  ad 
vantage  to  be  obtained  by  doing 
it,  especially  in  those  parts  of  the 
country  where  wood  is  become  a 
scarce  article.  Small  clumps  of 
trees  on  little  eminences,  have  an 
excellent  effect  on  the  beauty  of  a 
country. 

In  the  Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  vol.V.  p. 
32  to  62,  were  published  some  va- 
luable ''  Remarks  on  the  gradual 


diminution  of  the  Forests  of  MaS" 
sachusells  and  the  importance 
of  an  early  attention  to  some 
effectual  remedy.  With  extracts 
from  the  work  of  M.  Michaux,  on 
the  Forest  Trees  of  Korth  Ame- 
rica. Our  intended  and  ne- 
cessary brevity  render  it  inex- 
pedient to  give  the  whole  of 
this  paper,  but  we  will  present 
such  extracts  as  we  think  will  best 
serve  to  excite  attention  to  this 
very  important  subject. 

In  adverting  to  the  great  solici- 
tude manifested  by  some  Europe- 
an nations  to  preserve  their  wood- 
lands, the  author  observes  that  "In 
France,  great  and  extensive  public 
forests  were  sacredly  preserved, 
even  during  the  period  of  the  re- 
volution, when  almost  every  thing 
else  was  abandoned  to  destruction. 
By  the  systf-m  of  management 
which  now  prevails,  it  is  compu- 
ted, that  the  forests  of  France, and 
the  supplies  which  they  furnish, 
will  never  diminish,  and  that  there 
will  be  always  sufficient  for  domes- 
tic consumption  for  fuel,  as  well  as 
for  architectural  and  naval  purpo- 
ses." 

Stating  the  causes  which  induced 
a  too  general  destruction  of  forest 
trees  in  this  country,  the  author 
observes  ;  "  The  cost  and  expense 
of  clearing  our  lands  compared 
with  their  value  after  they  were 
cleared,  and  the  difficulty  of  era- 
dicating completely  the  after 
growth,  were  so  great,  and  the  for- 
ests themselves  appeared  so  vast 
in  proportion  to  the  probable  de- 
mand for  fuel,  and  wood  for  build- 
ing, and  other  purposes,  that  no 
man  dreanjt  that  the  day  would  ar- 


POR 


FOR 


157 


rive  when  their  descendants  might 
regret  the  improvidence  of  their 
ancestors.  Hence  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  sort  of  hatred,  an  in- 
describable prejudice  against  trees, 
especially  round  their  dwelhngs. 
An  exception,  perhaps,  ought  to  be 
made  in  favour  of  some  counties, 
in  which  a  httle  degree  of  n'^ercy 
was  exercised  to'vards  our  native 
elms,  which  were  permitted  to  re- 
tain a  parsimonious  possession  of 
the  waste  lands  of  our  public  roads, 
where  they  exhibit  a  melancholy 
sample  of  the  beauty  of  our  native 
forests. 

The  above  causes  alone  can  ac- 
count for  the  fact,  that  in  our  cli- 
mate, where  the  summer  months 
are  so  hot,  compared  to  the  climate 
of  Europe,  and  where  the  clear- 
ness of  the  sky  seems  to  render 
shade  so  much  more  important,we 
find  such  a  general  warfare  waged 
upon  trees  in  the  vicinity  of  dwel- 
ling-houses. 

"  The  Trustees  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Society,  im- 
pressed with  these  ideas,  and 
alarmed  at  the  constant  increase  of 
the  price  of  fuel,  have  for  twenty 
years  past,by  offering  premiums  for 
planting,  and  by  remarks  in  their 
periodical  publications,  endeavour- 
ed to  call  the  attention  of  the  far 
mers  of  this  State,  to  this  important 
subject.  It  is  remarkable,that  but 
one  premium  for  planting,  during 
this  period,  has  been  claimed  or 
granted.  Perhaps  there  was  one 
defect  in  the  form  in  which  the 
premium  was  oflfered.  It  was  con- 
fined to  those  who  should  raise  the 
greatest  number  of  trees,  not  less 
than  two  thousand,  from  seed, — 


There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason 
for  this  limitation  ;  on  the  contrary 
the  experience  of  European  far- 
mers and  cultivators  would  seem  to 
authorize  a  preference  for  plant- 
ing. The  great  obstacle  to  the  lat- 
ter mode,  in  our  country,  is  the  de- 
fect of  extensive  nurseries.  Land 
must  be  uncommonly  well  prepar- 
ed, and  for  a  long  succession  of 
years,  watched  and  cultivated,  in 
order  to  raise  trees  from  seed. — 
The  best  mode  of  raising  forest 
trees  in  great  quantities,  is  unques- 
tionably that  which  has  been  adopt- 
ed in  Europe.  Forest  trees, though 
so  hardy  and  vigorous  after  they 
have  attained  a  certain  size,  are 
remarkably  tender  in  their  early 
growth.  They  require  the  aid  of 
professional  men,  and  skilful  gar- 
deners ;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
one  or  more  transplantations,  be- 
fore they  are  finally  planted  out,  is 
requisite  to  give  them  that  vigour 
and  abundance  of  small  roots, 
which  are  necessary  to  their  suc- 
cess. 

"  The  practice  of  transplanting 
trees  from  our  forests,  of  six  or  ten 
years  growth,  robbed,  as  they  must 
be  of  the  greater  portion  of  their 
fibrous  roots,  and  suddenly  expo- 
sed to  a  soil  and  air,  to  which  they 
have  been  unaccustomed,  cannot 
be  too  much  reprobated.  The  on- 
ly thing  which  can  be  urged  in  its 
favour,  is  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
our  nurseries  not  furnishing  stocks 
in  sufiicient  quantities  for  any  con- 
siderable experiment.  It  is  how- 
ever true,  that  it  would  be  cheap- 
er for  an  American  cultivator,  who 
should  be  disposed  to  cover  several 
acres  with  forest  trees,  to  import 


158 


FOR 


FOR 


plants  of  two  or  three  years  of  age 
from  Europe,  than  to  attempt  to 
effect  the  same  object  by  planting 
acorns,  walnuts,  or  sowing  the 
seeds  of  other  plants  in  the  spot  in 
which  they  are  intended  to  grow, 
and  watching  them  during  their 
feeble  state.  Still  more  true  it  is 
that  such  an  importation  would  be 
cheaper  than  to  attempt  to  uitro- 
duce  the  sickly  and  mutilated 
plants  from  the  native  forest  into 
new  ground  prepared  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  thousand  young  healthy 
trees  may  be  imported  from  Eu- 
rope, and  planted  out  at  less  ex- 
pense than  that  at  which  one  hun- 
dred could  be  removed  from  a 
neighbouring  forest,  into  a  new 
plantation,*  This  remark  is  the 
result  of  much  experience.  I 
would  not  be  understood  to  recom- 
mend the  use  of  the  European  nur- 
series to  the  exclusion  of  our  own. 
I  would  rather  excite  an  attention 
in  cultivators  of  opulence  to  the 
formation  of  nurseries,  and  of  all 
our  farmers  to  the  encouragement 
of  nursery  men.  The  employment 
ought  to  be  distinct  from  that  of  a 
farmer.  It  requires  peculiar  skill 
and  talent,  and  ought  to  be  encour- 
aged. It  is  a  mortifying  truth,that 
the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts 
import  seven-eighths  of  their  fruit 
trees,  and  most  of  their  ornament- 
al forest  trees  from  New- York.  I 
would  not  quarrel  with  this  state  of 
things,  if  1  did  not  believe  that  it 
has  been  in  part  owing  to  a  want 
of  attention  to  a  very  interesting 
subject. 

*  Taking  into  view  the  proportion  which 
would  finally  succeed. 


What  the  Agricultural  Society 
has  failed  to  do  by  its  premiums, 
has  been  in  part  effected  by  indi- 
vidual taste.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Gore 
led  the  way,  which  others  have 
followed,  in  the  formation  of  plan- 
tations designed  principally  for  or- 
nament. Farmers  may,  perhaps, 
be  disposed  to  treat  with  levity, 
these  efforts  to  adorn  our  country, 
but  in  truth  if  they  knew  the  inter- 
esting and  important  effects  of  this 
taste  in  Great  Britain,  they  would 
materially  change  their  opinions." 
The  author  takes  notice  of  Mon- 
sieur Michaux  and  his  Treatise  on 
the  Forest  Trees  of  North  Ameri- 
ca ;  from  which  the  following  is 
extracted. 

"  America  is  more  favoured,says 
Monsieur  Michaux,  in  the  variety 
of  her  forest  trees,  than  France. — 
The  number  of  sorts  of  American 
forest  trees,  whose  growth  amounts 
to  thirty  feet  at  least,  which  Mon- 
sieur Michaux  describes,  is  1  37,  of 
which  ninety-five  are  employed  in 
the  arts. 

'^  In  France  there  are  only  thir- 
ty-seven which  grow  to  that  size, 
of  which  eighteen  only  are  found 
in  their  forests,  and  seven  only  of 
these  are  employed  in  civil  and 
maritime  architecture. 

"  Monsieur  Michaux  says,  that 
the  object  of  his  voyage  was  to  ac- 
quire an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
most  interesting  trees  of  America, 
of  those  which  were  the  most  use- 
ful, either  for  combustion  or  differ- 
ent sorts  of  building.  He  adds 
that  he  shall  suggest  the  manner  in 
which  the  American  forests  ought 
to  be  managed,  by  pointing  out 
the  sorts  which  ought  to  be  fa- 


FOR 


FOR 


159 


voured,  and  those  which  should  be 
destroyed  ;  for  in  his  judgment  a 
bad  tree  ought  never  to  be  suffer- 
ed to  grow  in  a  place  which  might 
produce  a  better  ;  and  in  no  coun- 
try does  he  think  this  choice  more 
important  than  in  America ;  for 
reasons  which  he  does  not  assign. 
He  says,  he  should  not  hesitate  to 
allege  that  of  two  collections  of 
forest  trees,  situated  in  the  same 
district  and  of  equal  extent,  the 
one  from  which  the  bad  sorts 
should  have  been  taken  away, 
would,  whenever  the  whole  wood 
should  be  cut  down,  be  worth  fifty 
per  cent  more  than  the  other.  He 
must  intend  to  say  after  a  lapse  of 
some  years. 

"  Monsieur  Michaux  remarks 
on  the  singular  confusion  which 
prevails  in  our  country,  in  the 
popular  or  common  names  of  our 
forest  trees."  "The  same  species 
receives  almost  always  different 
denominations  in  differentdistricts ; 
frequently  also,  the  same  name  is 
given  to  species  very  distinct,  and 
very  often  indeed  three  or  four 
different  names  are  given  to  the 
same  tree,  in  the  same  district." 
This  is  a  fact  well  known  to  every 
man  of  any  observation,  and  is  of 
serious  inconvenience.  It  intro- 
duces a  confusion  into  conversa- 
tion, and  even  into  contracts, 
which  is  very  inconvenient.  I 
shall  cite  one  example,  out  of 
twenty,  which  have  occurred  to 
myself.  A  carpenter  recommend- 
ed juniper  posts,  as  the  best  with 
which  he  was  acquainted  for  dura- 
bility. I  at  first  supposed  that  he 
had  got  the  true  name  of  the  red 
cedar,  and  asked  him  if  he  intend- 


ed that  tree.  '  No ;  he  meant 
the  juniper,  which  was  obtained 
in  New  Hampshire,  and  came 
down  the  Middlesex  canal,  a  close 
grained,  hard  and  heavy  wood.' 
I  presume  we  should  never  have 
understood  each  other,  if  he  had 
not  recollected,  that  he  had  seen 
it  in  a  new  plantation  on  my  es- 
tate. On  carrying  me  to  this  tree, 
I  found  it  to  be  the  larch,  which  I 
had  known  under  the  popular  name 
of  hackmatac. 

The  author  has  added  to  this 
article  a  List  of  the  Forest  Trees, 
described  in  the  work  of  Monsieur 
Michaux,  which  occupies  about 
twenty  pages  of  the  Repository, 
and  is  too  long  for  insertion  in  this 
book.  This  list  contains  the  bo- 
tanical and  vulgar  names  of  ten 
kinds  of  pine ;  four  of  spruce, 
twenty  six  of  oak,  &lc.  &c.  ;  and 
observes  "  We  have  given  the  a- 
bove  list,  because  we  thought  it 
might  be  of  general  use,  as  the 
work  of  M.  Michaux  is  too  h'-ge 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  init  li- 
gent  and  well  educated  farrr  rs 
generally,  and  because  we  S  jow 
not  any  catalogue  of  the  lore't 
trees  of  the  United  States,  d  - 
tached  from  large  botanical  works 
could  be  got.  It  is  also  very  con- 
venient, as  exhibiting  the  variety 
of  common  names  applied  to  our 
trees  in  different  states." 

The  next  number  of  the  Mass. 
Agr.  Repository,  vol.  v.  p.  180, 
contains  another  valuable  paper 
from  the  same  hand,  on  "  The  dif- 
ferent Uses  to  which  the  Woods  of 
the  American  Forest  are  applied  in 
the  various  parts  of  the  United 
States, 


■160 


FOU 


FOU 


FOUNDERING,  a  very  pain- 
ful  disease  in  the  feet  of  horses. 
A  horse  atfected  with  this  disease 
draws  himself  up  in  a  heap,  and 
is  loth  to  move.  It  is  said  to  be 
occasioned  by  bruises  on  the  legs, 
by  bad  shoeing,  by  standing  in 
cold  water  after  being  heated  with 
exercise;  or  even  by  standing  still 
in  the  stable  for  several  days.  As 
the  disorder  is  in  the  feet,  covered 
by  the  hoofs  and  soles,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  make  application  to  the 
parts  affected.  But  drawing  out 
the  sole  Mr.  Snape  does  not  ap- 
prove of,  without  paring  the  hoof. 
Something  must  be  done  without 
delay,  lest  imposthumations  come 
on  in  the  feet,  by  which  the  hoofs 
will  be  cast  off:  In  which  case, 
the  horse  must  lie  by  useless  for  a 
number  of  weeks  before  the  new 
hoofs  will  be  grown.  The  same 
writer  directs  that  the  hoofs  be 
razed  from  the  coronet  or  top  to 
the  bottom,  quite  through  the 
hoofs  to  the  quick,  so  as  to  make 
the  blood  run.  These  channels 
in  the  hoofs  may  be  readily  made 
with  a  common  marking  iron. 

To  cure  the  wounds  made  in 
the  hoofs,  apply  to  them  tar,  tur- 
pentine and  honey,  melted  togeth- 
er, with  a  fourth  part  of  spirit  of 
wine,soaking  pledgits  of  clean  flax, 
or  tow,  in  this  mixture,  and  laying 
them  upon  the  chinks,  not  opening 
them  till  two  days  after  the  first 
dressing;  afterwards  making  fresh 
applications  every  day,  till  the 
channels  in  the  hoofs  are  grown 
up. 

The  same  applications  must  be 
made  to  the  sole,  if  that  has  been 
drawn.      But  similar  channels  in 


that,  as  I  apprehend,  may  answer 
well  enough,  and  paring  the  sole 
thin.  They  must,  however,  have 
the  same  dressings  as  the  hoofs. 
A  piece  of  leather  should  be  laid 
over  the  sole,  and  the  whole  foot 
so  bound  up  with  strong  bandages, 
that  the  applications  mav  not  get 
displaced.  See  Gibso7i''s  Farriery. 
"  Mason's  Farrier"  gives  the 
following  remedy  for  a  founder  : 
"  Take  from  his  neck  vein  at  least 
one  gallon  of  blood  ;  give  a  drench 
of  one  quart  strong  sassafras  tea, 
one  tea  spoonful  of  salt  petre, 
and  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  assa- 
foetida,  and  do  not  permit  him  to 
eat  or  drink  for  five  or  six  hours — 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time 
should  he  not  be  evidently  better, 
repeat  the  bleeding,  taking  half  a 
gallon  of  blood,  and  give  another 
drench  :  at  night  offer  him  some 
bran  or  oats,  scalded  with  sassafras 
tea,  and  if  it  can  be  procured,  let 
him  have  green  food  fresh  from 
the  field,  for  it  has  the  happy  effect 
of  opening  the  bowels,  and  cooling 
the  system :  his  feet  should  be 
nicely  cleaned  out,  and  stuffed 
with  fresh  cow  manure  :  his  drink 
should  be  at  least  one  half  sassa- 
fras tea,  with  a  small  handful  of 
salt  thrown  therein. 

"'  By  the  morning  should  the 
horse  be  better,  nothing  further  is 
necessary,  only  being  careful  not 
to  over-feed  him.  But  should 
there  be  no  change  for  the  better, 
tie  a  small  cord  just  above  his 
knees,  and  with  a  lancet  or  phleme, 
bleed  in  a  vein  that  runs  round  the 
coronet  just  above  the  hoof:  lake 
from  each  leg  a  pint  of  blood  :  give 
a  pound  of  salts  dissolved  in  three 


FRE 

half  pints  of  water,  in  form  of  a 
drench  :  keep  his  feet  stufTed  with 
fresh  cow  manure,  and  bathe  his 
legs  with  equal  parts  of  sharp  vine- 
gar, spirits,  and  sweet  oil,  or  lard. 
By  attention  to  these  directions,  in 
two  or  three  days  the  horse  will 
again  be  fit  for  service." 

FREEZING.  As  a  more  com- 
plete subdivision  and  pulverization 
of  the  soil  is  one  of  the  chief  ends 
of  culture  by  the  plough  and  the 
harrow,  it  is  very  important  that 
every  farmer  should  be  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  TRUTH,  that  frost 
operates  as  powerfully  as  any  hu- 
man means  towards  the  same  end. 
It  is  indeed  generally  known  and 
faintly  acknowledged,  that  frost 
breaks  up  the  soil ;  but  too  small  a 
proportion  of  our  farmers  apply 
this  principle  sufficiently  in  prac- 
tice. Fall  ploughing  is  very  im- 
portant for  this  purpose,  and  back 
furrowing,  so  as  to  lay  the  land  in 
ridges,  still  more  so. 

The  European  gardeners,  who 
have  been  introduced  here  within 
the  last  twenty  years,  annually  ei- 
ther trench  our  gardens,  which  is 
nothing  more  than  digging  them 
two  spades  deep,  or  throw  them  up 
in  high  ridges  to  be  open  to  frost. 
They  learned  these  usages  in  Great 
Britain,  where,  however,  the  frost 
has  much  less  power  than  with  us. 
We  have  seen  the  soil  so  entirely 
broken  and  pulverized  by  the 
course  just  mentioned,  as  to  re- 
quire no  digging  in  the  spring,  only 
levelling,  before  the  very  smallest 
seeds  were  sown.  It  cannot  be 
questioned  that  frost  ought  not  to 
be  overlooked  as  a  very  efficient 
auxiliarv  in  cultivation, 
2f 


FRU 


161 


FRUIT    TREES.      The  old 

practice  of  pruning  fruit  trees  in 
autumn  has  been  condemned  by 
nnodern  writers.  Mr.  Forsyth,  in 
his  Treatise  on  Fnnt  Trees,  (p.  18, 
Cobbett's  edition)  says,  "  1  have  a 
great  dislike  to  autumnal  pruning 
of  .fruit  trees;  of  all  kmds  of  stone 
fruits  in  particular;  for  by  pruning 
at  that  season,  you  seldom  fail  to 
bring  on  canker.  Whereas,  in 
spring,  when  the  sap  is  beginning 
to  follow  the  knife,  the  lips  will 
quickly  grow." 

A  writer,  whose  essay  on  the  sub- 
ject of  apple  trees,  is  published  in 
the  "  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,"  vol.  V.  p.  121  to  127, 
mentions  three  modes  of  misman- 
agement, which  injure  orchards  in 
the  vicinity  of  Boston.  J.  Begin- 
ning to  prune  them  in  March, 
•'  when  there  is  still  much  wet  and 
frosty  weather,  and  no  activity  in 
the  sap  of  the  tree."  2.  The 
"  old  practice  o[  hacking  and  muti- 
lating apple  trees  in  a  manner  ruin- 
ous to  an  orchard.  It  is  a  univer- 
sal practice  among  the  old  farmers, 
to  mount  the  tree  with  a  hatchet 
or  bill  hook,  and  hack  off  any 
branch  which  is  in  a  state  of  decay, 
or  which  is  misplaced,  about  six  or 
eight  inches  from  its  insertion, 
leaving  a  stump  to  rot,  and  to  ope- 
rate as  a  conductor  of  the  water 
frost  and  canker  into  the  mother 
branch  in  which  it  grew,  or  into 
the  body  of  the  tree  according  to 
its  situation.  This  was  done  ori- 
ginally from  an  idea  that  if  you  cut 
close  to  the  mother  branch,  or  to 
the  body  of  the  tree,  the  rot  or 
canker  will  seize  more  readily  on 
its  trunk,  than  if  cut  at  a  distance. 


162 


FRU 


FRU 


and  that  the  tree  will  decay  the 
sooner.  The  practice  has  been 
follov/ed  without  reflection,  and 
without  reason  by  many  ;  but  the 
error  is  so  obvious,  that  any  man 
of  observation  may  see  it  yearly  ; 
and  any  one,  who  doubts,  may  sa-. 
tisfy  himself  in  one  season  of  the 
incorrectness  of  the  practice,  by 
making  his  experiments  on  a  young 
tree." 

This  writer  advises  the  farmer, 
when  he  has  fixed  upon  a  limb  to  be 
lopped  off,  if  it  is  large  and  heavy, 
to  cut  it  first  at  some  distance  from 
its  insertion,  to  prevent  its  weight 
in  falling  from  lacerating  the  bark 
at  the  shoulder,  whence  your  final 
cut  is  to  be  ;  because  this  leaves 
an  opening  for  water  to  get  under 
the  bark, and  cannot  easily  be  heal 
ed.  You  may  now  saw  the  stump 
close  to  the  branch  from  whence 
it  proceeds  with  safety  ;  or  if  it 
be  a  portion  of  a  branch  which  is 
to  be  lopped  ofT,  the  cut  should  be 
down  to  a  sound,  healthy  lateral 
branch,  growing  from  the  same 
limb  ;  or  if  the  limb  to  be  cut  off, 
proceeds  from  the  body  or  trunk  of 
the  tree,  then  it  should  be  sawed 
close  to  the  shaft.  The  wood  in 
all  cases  should  be  smoothed  over, 
and  the  edges  of  the  bark  carefully 
pared  with  your  knife,  or  hatchet, 
so  that  the  water  will  run  off  the 
wound.  If  the  cut  be  made  on  a 
lateral  branch,  it  should  be  sawed 
obliquely  or  slanting,  so  as  to  leave 
no  dead  wood,  or  wood  to  die,and 
in  all  cases  the  cut  should  be  on  a 
sound  and  healthy  part  of  the  tree. 
If  the  branch  on  which  it  is  cut,  is 
a  healthy  and  vjjiorous  one,  it  will 
heal  without  difficulty,  if  pruned 


the  last  of  April,  or  beginning  of 
May,  but  if  in  March,  the  wound 
should  be  covered  with  a  compost ; 
but  if  the  wound  be  large,  so  as  to 
require  several  seasons  before  it 
can  heal  entirely,  it  will  be  better 
to  apply  the  compost,whether  it  be 
pruned  in  March,  or  later. 

The  third  error  in  managing  fruit 
trees,  according  to  this  writer  con- 
sists "  in  the  habit  of  encouraging 
luxuriant  upright  branches  to  the 
great  injury  of  ihe  natural  horizon- 
tal fruit-bearing  branches  ;  these 
are  very  properly  called  glutton 
branches,  because  they  consume 
the  sap  which  would  otherwise  go 
into  the  lateral  and  fruit-bearing 
branches,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  they  leave  the  fruit 
branches  decaying  and  decayed  ; 
the  farmer  then  resorts  to  his  axe, 
cuts  away  the  dead  and  dying  wood, 
and  leaves  the  glutton  in  full  pos- 
session of  all  the  nourishment 
which  the  roots  afford  ;  but  in  re- 
turn, this  voracious  member  of  the 
orchard  gives  no  fruit  until  many 
years,  and  then  it  is  of  an  inferior 
quality. 

"  To  prevent  this  the  cultivator 
should  suppress  all  the  stiff,  up- 
right shoots  the  first  year  they  ap- 
pear, by  cutting  them  off  c/osc  to 
the  branch  from  which  they  issue, 
taking  care  not  to  leave  the  shoul- 
der of  the  shoot,  as  he  will  in  such 
case  have  the  same  duty  to  perform 
again  ;  but  if  the  shoulder  of  the 
glutton  be  cut  away,  the  sap  will 
be  distributed  among  the  lateral 
fruit-bearing  branches,  which  will 
be  kept  in  vigour,  and  continue  in 
a  healthful  bearing  state. 

"The  compost   best  suited  to 


FRU 


FRU 


16^ 


cover  the  wounds  of  all  trees,  is  a 
composition  of  tar,  bees-wax,  and 
red  ochre,  boiled  or  simmered  for 
half  an  hour  or  twenty  minutes  to- 
gether. The  proportion  which  I 
have  used  are,  a  pint  of  tar,  into 
which  I  put  a  piece  of  bees-wax  as 
big  as  an  English  walnut ;  when 
these  are  incorporated,  1  scatter  a 
smsli  quantity  of  pulverized  red 
ochre,  say  half  a  gill,  and  stir  them 
well  together,  while  boiling  hot  or 
simmering.  When  thrs  compost 
is  cool,  it  should  be  stiff  enough  to 
resist  the  heat  of  the  sun  suffici- 
ently to  prevent  its  running,  and 
yet  soft  enough  to  be  applied  to  the 
wound  with  a  small  fiat  smooth 
stick  ;  it  will  last  two  years  at  least, 
without  requiring  to  be  renew- 
ed ;  it  yields  to  the  sap  as  it  issues 
from  under  the  bark  round  the 
wound  to  cover  it,  while  it  conti- 
nues to  protect  both  the  wood  and 
the  edge  of  the  bark  from  water, 
and  of  course  from  decay." 

A  writer  in  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Repository,  No.  IV. 
vol.  IV.  p.  133,  after  speaking  of 
the  decline  of  fruit  trees  in  his 
neighbourhood,  says  that  a  gentle- 
man "  directed  their  trunks  or  bo- 
dies to  be  washed  and  well  rubbed 
with  soft  soap  ;  and  it  is  not  easy 
to  imagine  the  early  change  which 
appeared  in  their  bark,  and  foli- 
age :  the  bark  became  smooth  and 
glossy,  and  seemed  sound  and 
beautiful  ;  and  he  thought  the  tree 
improved  in  every  respect.  I  have 
tried  the  same  experiment,  and 
with  equal  advantage  to  Apple 
Trees,  Pear  Trees,  and  Peach 
Trees  ;  and  am  persuaded  they 
have  been  greatly    benefitted  by 


this  process :  it  is  used  in  the  spring, 
and  may  be  repeated  in  following 
years  as  frequently  as  the  trees  ap- 
pear to  require  it."  It  is  likewise 
recommended  to  white  wash  trees 
in  the  spring  with  a  mixture  of  lime 
and  water. 

Fruit  trees  may  be  forced  to  bear 
in  the  following  manner.  With  a 
sharp  knife  cut  the  bark  of  the 
branch,  which  you  mean  to  force  to 
bear,  not  far  from  the  place  where 
it  is  connected  with  the  stem  ;  or 
if  a  small  branch  or  shoot,  near 
where  it  is  joined  with  the  larger 
bough  ;  the  cut  is  to  be  made  round 
the  branch  so  as  to  encircle  it,  and 
penetrate  the  wood.  A  quarter  of 
an  inch  from  the  6rst  cut,  make  a 
second  cut  like  the  first,  so  that  by 
both  encircling  the  branch,  you 
have  marked  a  ring  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  between  the  two  cuts — then 
with  a  knife  separate  the  bark  from 
the  wood,  removing  even  the  fine 
inner  bark  which  lies  immediately 
upon  the  wood,  so  that  no  con- 
nection whatever  remains  between 
the  two  parts  of  the  bark,  leaving 
the  wood  naked, white  and  smooth. 

This  operation  must  be  perfor- 
med when  the  buds  are  strongly 
swelling,  or  breaking  out  into  blos- 
soms ;  the  same  year  a  callous  is 
formed  on  at  each  edge  of  the  ring, 
and  the  bark  is  again  restored  with- 
out detriment  to  the  tree  or  branch 
operated  upon.  It  seems  calcula- 
ted to  force  those  trees  to  bear, 
which  put  out  a  proportion  of  blos- 
soms, and  yet  bear  no  fruit  ;  or  if 
they  bear,  the  fruit  often  drops 
from  the  tree  before  ripe.  The 
fruit  from  trees  so  operated  upon, 
will  be  larger  and  fairer,  and  ripe 


164 


FUR 


GAR 


earlier  than  the  other  fruit  on  the 
same  tree.  It  is  well  known  to 
botanists  that  the  sap  ascends  in  the 
wood,  but  descends  in  the  bark; 
and  the  above  operation  prevents 
its  return. 

It  is  recommended  in  The  Code 
of  Agriculture  to  cover  the  incision 
with  a  rag,  which  will  expedite 
the  tilling  up  of  the  ring  or  hollow. 

For  a  nomenclature  of  the  best 
sorts  of  fruits,  known  in  the  Unit- 
ed States  See  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Repository,  Vol.  III.  p. 
92  to  99. 

"  The  value  of  fruits  for  the 
manufacture  of  fermented  liquors 
may  be  judged  of  from  the  specific 
gravity  of  their  expressed  juices. 
The  best  cyder  and  perry  are 
made  from  those  apples  and  pears 
that  afford  the  densest  juices ;  and 
a  comparison  between  ditferent 
fruits  may  be  made  with  tolerable 
accuracy  by  plunging  them  togeth- 
er into  a  saturated  solution  of  salt, 
or  a  strong  solution  of  sugar ;  those 
that  sink  deepest  will  afford  the 
richest  juice.''  Davxj'^s  Agricul- 
tural   Chemistry. 

For  further  observations  on 
Fruit  Trees  See  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Repository.  Vol.  VI. 
p.  55. 

FURROW,  the  trench  made 
by  a  plough  in  going,  also  the  earth 
thrown  out  of  the  trench.  The 
European  writers  often  use  the 
word  furrow,  to  signify  a  plough- 
ing. They  tell  of  sowing  on  one 
furrow,  that  is,  after  only  one 
ploughing  ;  on  the  second  furrow, 
or  on  two  furrows,  that  is,  after 
two  ploughings,  &c.  Though  I 
see  no  need  of  our  adopting  this 


way  of  speaking,  I  think  it  not 
amiss  to  mention  it,  to  prepare 
readers  to  understand  those  writ- 
ers the  better,  when  it  falls  in 
their  way  to  peruse  them. 

FURROWING,  in  this  country, 
is  understood  to  mean  marking 
ground  into  little  squares  with  a 
horse  plough,  in  order  to  plant  In- 
dian corn,  or  any  other  plant  that 
requires  the  like  culture.  The 
goodness  of  this  operation  consists 
in  making  the  furrows  straight, 
equidistant,  and  at  right  angles  ; 
neither  too  deep  nor  too  shallow  ; 
that  the  dung  and  seed  may  lie 
neither  too  low  nor  too  high. 
When  dung  is  to  be  laid  in  the 
furrows,  they  should  be  deeper; 
when  ground  is  to  be  seeded  with- 
out putting  dung  in  the  furrows, 
or  holes,  the  furrows  should  be 
very  shallow.  The  nearer  the 
time  of  planting  this  work  is  done 
the  better.  If  a  rain  fall  between 
furrowing  and  planting,  it  is  detri- 
mental, it  soddens  the  ground, 
or  makes  it  more  heavy  and  com- 
pact, and  causes  the  furrows  to  be 
less  visible. 

G. 

GARDEN,  "  a  piece  of  ground 
cultivated  and  properly  ornament- 
ed with  a  variety  of  plants,  flowers, 
fruit  trees,  &c.  Gardens  are  usu- 
ally distinguished  into  flower  gar- 
den, fruit  garden,  and  kitchen  gar- 
den :  The  lirst  of  which,  being  de- 
signed for  ornament,  is  to  be  plac- 
ed in  the  most  conspicuous  part, 
that  is,  next  to  the  back  front  of 
the  house ;  and  the  second  and 
third,    being    designed    for    use. 


GAR 


GAR 


165 


should  be  placed  less  in  sight." 
Did.  of  Arts. 

I  consider  the  kitchen  garden  as 
of  very  considerable  importance, 
as  pot  herbs,  sallads,  and  roots  of 
various  kinds,  are  useful  in  house- 
keeping. Having  a  plenty  of  thenn 
at  hand,  a  family  will  not  be  so 
likely  to  run  into  the  error,  which 
is  too  common  in  this  country,  of 
eating  flesh  in  too  great  a  propor- 
tion for  health.  Farmers,  as  well 
as  others,  should  have  kitchen  gar- 
dens :  And  they  need  not  grudge 
the  labour  of  tending  them,  which 
may  be  done  at  odd  intervals  of 
time,  which  may  otherwise  chance 
to  be  consumed  in  needless  loiter- 
ing. 

It  is  best  that  a  garden  should 
be  on  a  declivity.  If  it  be  very 
steep,  it  may  be  thrown  into 
banks,  and  level  plats.  There  is 
commonly  a  variety  of  soils  on  a 
declivity  of  any  considerable  ex- 
tent. This  will  give  a  material 
advantage  to  a  garden,  as  a  variety 
of  different  plants  may  have  each 
the  soil  that  best  suits  them. 

A  kitchen  garden  should  not  be 
situated  at  any  great  distance  from 
the  house,  lest  being  too  much  out 
of  sight,  it  should  be  out  of  mind, 
and  the  necessary  culture  of  it  too 
much  neglected. 

A  garden  should  have  a  close 
fence,  that  the  winds  may  not  drive 
seeds  of  weeds  into  it.  The  fence 
should  be  at  least  seven  feet  high, 
and  picketed,  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  thieves.  The  height 
and  closeness  of  the  fence,  will  in- 
crease the  vegetation  by  increas- 
ing the  warmth  of  the  air  in  the 
garden,  excepting  perhaps  in  the 


parts  which  are  shaded  by  the  fen- 
ces. The  rage  of  high  winds  will 
be  so  opposed  as  to  prevent  the 
tearing  and  distorting  of  tender 
plants  ;  and  fowls  may  be  the 
more  easil)  kept  out. 

A  garden  should  have  a  border 
of  about  three  ft  et,  and  next  to 
the  border  a  walk  of  the  same 
width  or  one  foot  wider.  The 
walk  through  the  middle  may  be 
from  six  to  eight  feet  as  the  owner 
pleases.  This  may  be  crossed  by 
one,  two,  or  three  narrower  ones, 
if  the  shape  of  the  ground  requires 
it  ;  or  if  it  is  half  as  long  again  the 
one  way  as  the  otherj  which  is 
more  elegant  than  an  equilateral 
square.  On  these  cross  walks 
may  be  espaliers  for  grapes. 
Trees  should  not  be  in  the  outer 
border,  but  on  the  opposite  sides 
of  the  outer  walks  ;  not  two  many 
of  them ;  perhaps  one  of  the 
dwarf  kind  in  20  or  30  feet. — 
Standard  trees  in  gardens  give 
too  much  shade.  Dwarfs  are 
commonly  cut  into  espaliers. — • 
But  this  torturing  of  trees  makes 
them  less  fruitful,  and  shorter 
lived.  Those  who  prefer  it  may 
make  this  sacrifice  to  elegance 
and  beauty.  In  fruit  trees  which 
need  much  heat,  and  placed  a- 
gainst  northern  walls,  I  object  not 
to  it. 

GARDENING,  a  kind  of  agri- 
culture, usually  called  Horticul- 
ture. It  may  be  considered  as 
farming  in  miniature.  It  is  con- 
versant in  preparing  ground  for 
different  kinds  of  seeds,  and  in 
treating  them  properly  during 
their  growth.  The  garden  is  the 
fittest  place  to  make  the  first  ex- 


166 


GAR 


GLA 


periments  in,  with  exotic  roots 
and  seeds,  as  the  loss  is  inconsid- 
erable, if  they  should  not  prove  a- 
greeable  to  the  climate.  If  they 
prosper  well  in  the  garden,  they 
should  afterwards  be  tried  in  the 
field :  And  even  then  not  at  first 
on  a  very  large  scale. 

He  who  would  make  his  gar- 
dening profitable,  should  have  his 
kitchen  garden  near  to  the  dung- 
hills, that  the  manure  may  be  ap- 
plied without  too  much  labour. 
Dung  that  is  old,  and  destitute  of 
seeds,  should  be  used,  that  too 
many  weeds  may  not  be  propagat- 
ed. And  that  a  garden  may  be 
kept  clean,  not  one  weed  should 
be  suffered  to  have  its  seeds  ripen- 
ed in  it :  And  every  perennial  weed, 
or  weed  which  lasts  over  one  year 
that  appears  in  autumn,  should  be 
extirpated  in  such  a  manner  that, 
if  possible,  no  parts  of  its  root  may 
remain  in  the  ground.  The  seeds 
of  many  weeds  may  also  be  des- 
troyed, by  laying  the  ground  in 
high  ridges  during  the  winter.  At 
the  same  time,  it  will  help  to  en- 
rich the  soil;  and  many  of  certain 
kinds  of  insects,  or  their  eggs,  will 
be  destroyed :  Especially  if  the 
ridging  be  performed  about  the 
last  of  November,  or  the  begin- 
ning of  December.  Ground  that 
is  so  managed,  will  be  dried  the 
earher  in  the  spring,  to  such  a 
degree,  as  to  be  fit  for  digging  and 
seeding.  It  is  of  more  advantage 
in  land  that  is  apt  to  be  too  wet, 
than  in  that  which  is  sandy  and  dry. 

GARGET,  a  disease  in  cattle. 
Cows  sometimes  have  their  ud- 
ders greatly  distended,  and  indu- 
rated;   with    this    distemper  j    of 


which  they  will  pine  away  and  die, 
unless  a  remedy  be  speedily  ap- 
plied. The  method  of  cure  is,  to 
make  an  opening  in  the  dewlap, 
and  insert  into  it  a  piece  of  the 
root  of  mechoacan,  as  big  as  a  nut- 
meg, with  a  string  made  fast  to  it, 
that  it  may  be  drawn  out  when  the 
cure  is  affected.  The  humour,  in 
about  twenty  four  hours,  will  be 
revulsed  from  the  udder  to  the 
dewlap,  and  soon  discharge  itself 
at  the  orifice,  which  completes  the 
cure. 

From  repeated  experiments  I 
should  prefer  to  every  other  recipe, 
patient  and  often  repeated  warm 
fomentations,  of  soap  suds,  vinegar 
and  spirits.  It  should  be  treated 
as  nearly  as  possible  like  the 
lumps,  which  often  appear,  and 
are  dispersed  in  the  breasts  of 
females.  Disperse  it  by  fomen- 
tations, if  practicable,  but  if  it 
must  maturate,  assist  this  by 
poultices. 

GIGS,  little  tumours  or  blad- 
ders in  the  mouths  of  horses.  To 
cure  slit  them  open  to  discharge 
the  matter ;  and  wash  them  with 
salt  and  vinegar. 

GLANDERS,  a  very  foul  and 
often  fatal  disease  in  horses.  It  is 
always  accompanied  with  a  copi- 
ous discharge  of  mucus  from  the 
nostrils,  and  swelling  of  the  glands 
under  the  throat  and  tongue.  In 
its  advanced  stages  the  discharge 
becomes  purulent.  And  when 
the  bones  become  carious,  the 
disease  is  attended  with  an  intol- 
erable stench,  and  may  be  pro- 
nounced incurable. 

In  the  first  and  second  stages, 
Gibson  directs  to  purges,  diaphore- 


G  LA 


GOO 


167 


tics,  and  rowelling  in  the  hinder 
parts  by  way  of  revulsion.  To  clear 
his  nostrils,  burn  brin>.stone,  feath- 
ers, and  bits  of  leather  under  his 
nose,  passing  the  fumes  into  his 
nostrils,  through  a  funnel.  And 
when  much  matter  is  discharged  by 
sneezing,  syringe  the  nostrils  with 
brandy,  or  red  wine.  Afterwards 
a  small  quantity  of  Unguentum 
Egyptiacum,  dissolved  in  oil  of 
turpentine,may  be  injected  through 
a  large  pipe,  which  will  be  helpful 
towards  cleansing  the  ulcerated 
parts.  See  fV.  Gibson  on  Farriery, 
The  glanders  is  said  to  be  a  con- 
tagious disease,  and  care  should 
therefore  be  taken  lest  it  be  com- 
municated to  other  horses.  A 
work  called  The  Complete  Farrier, 
printed  in  Philadelphia,  in  1809, 
which  has  been  highly  approved  of 
by  those  who  have  practised  ac- 
cording to  its  directions,  observes 
that  "The  strangles  has  been  some- 
limes  mistaken  for  the  glanders  or 
sore  throat,  but  in  this  disease  the 
inflamed  glands  very  soon  suppu- 
rate and  burst,whereby  all  the  oth- 
er symptoms  are  generally  remo- 
ved, whilst  in  the  glanders,  the 
glands  seldom  or  never  suppurate  ; 
in  order,  however,  to  avoid  all 
danger,  it  is  advisable,  the  moment 
a  horse  is  perceived  to  have  a  dis- 
charge from  his  nose,  to  put  him 
into  a  stable  where  he  can  have  no 
communication  with  other  horses  : 
if  the  glands  of  the  throat  are  en- 
larged and  inflamed,  apply  a  large 
poultice  to  them,  steam  the  head 
three  or  four  times  a  day,  let  him 
be  well  clothed  particularly  about 
the  head,  and  give  him  of  powder- 
ed nitre  one  ounce,   and   an  un- 


washed calx  of  antimony  two 
drachms,  mixed  for  a  dose  every 
day,  or  once  in  twelve  hours. — 
Should  the  discharge  arise  from  a 
cold,  it  will  soon  be  removed  by 
that  means.  When  considerable 
ulceration  is  perceived  in  the  nose, 
with  the  other  concomitant  symp- 
toms of  the  glanders,  the  horse 
should  be  destroyed  instantly. 

"  The  most  effectual  mode  of 
purifying  stables  in  which  glander- 
ed  horses  have  been  kept,  is  to  re- 
move or  carefully  wash  every  thing 
on  which  the  horse  may  have  de- 
posited any  matter,  and  afterwards 
to  cover  every  part  of  the  stable 
with  a  thick  coat  of  lime  and  size." 

GOOSE,  a  well  known  bird. — 
The  tame  kind  are  some  of  them 
entirely  while,  but  they  are  mostly 
parti-coloured,  grey  and  white. — 
The  belly  and  wing  feathers  are 
white, even  in  those  that  have  most 
of  the  grey  colour. 

Geese  are  more  profitable  than 
most  other  tame  fowls,  on  account 
of  the  cheapness  of  their  feeding, 
and  the  value  of  their  flesh  and 
their  feathers,  besides  their  grease 
and  quills.  So'ne  strip  them  of 
most  of  their  feathers  twice  a  year. 
But  this  hurts  the  animals,  and  is 
on  the  whole,  no  profit  to  the  own- 
er. Moulting  time  is  the  right  sea- 
son for  plucking  them  ;  for  then 
the  feathers  are  loose,  and  begin  to 
fall  off  of  themselves.  Geese  begin 
to  lay  their  eggs  in  March  ;  and 
begin  to  sit  on  them  in  March  or 
April.  The  time  of  incubation  is 
four  weeks. 

It  is  said  that  geese  may  be  ad- 
vantageously fed  on  turnips,  cut  in 
small  pieces,  similar  to  dice,  but 


168 


GRA 


GRA 


not  so  large,  and  put  into  a  trough 
of  water.  Geese  should  be  kept 
in  places  where  they  can  have 
plenty  of  water,  which  will  cause 
their  feathers  to  be  of  a  better 
quality,  and  they  will  be  less  sub- 
ject to  vermin. 

GRAFTING,  or  ENGRAFT- 
ING, the  taking  a  ^hoot  from  one 
tree,  and  inserting  it  into  another, 
in  such  a  manner,  that  both  may 
unite  and  become  one  tree. 

Nut  trees,  of  the  same  species, 
will  take  readily  on  each  other  ; 
but  those  of  difierent  species  will 
take  with  difficulty,  and  never 
make  good  trees.  From  curiosity, 
apple  scions  may  be  put  into  peach  ' 
stocks,  and  the  reverse,  and  pears 
will  grow  on  thorns,  but  they  make 
miserable  trees.  It  is  a  well  au- 
thenticated fact,  that  peach  buds 
will  take  by  inoculation  on  the  wil- 
low, but  it  is  a  monstrous  and  un- 
natural union, and  cannot  serve  any 
other  purpose  than  the  gratifica- 
tion of  a  philosophical  curiosity. 

The  methods  of  grafting  are  va- 
rious. The  first,  which  is  termed 
Rind  or  Shoulder  grafting,is  seldom 
practised  but  on  large  trees, where 
either  the  head  or  large  branches 
are  cut  off  horizontally,  and  two  or 
more  cions  put  in,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  branch,  or  stem  ;  in  do- 
ing this  the  cions  are  cut  flat  on 
one  side,  with  a  shoulder  to  rest 
upon  the  crown  of  the  stock;  then 
the  rind  of  the  stock  must  be  rais- 
ed up,  to  admit  the  cion  between 
the  wood  and  the  bark  of  the  stock, 
which  must  be  inserted  about  two 
inches,  so  as  that  the  shoulder  of 
the  cion  may  meet,  and  closely  join 
the  crown  of  the  stock :   and  after 


the  number  of  cions  is  inserted,the 
whole  crown  of  the  stock  should 
be  well  clayed  over,  leaving  two 
eyes  of  the  cions  unconnected 
therewith,  which  will  be  sufficient 
for  shooting. 

The  next  method  is  termed  Cleft 
or  Stock  grafting  ;  this  is  practised 
upon  stocks  or  trees  of  a  smaller 
size,  and  may  be  used  with  success 
where  the  rind  of  the  stock  is  not 
too  thick,  whereby  the  inner  bark 
of  the  cion  will  be  prevented  from 
joining  to  that  of  the  stock.  This 
may  be  performed  on  stocks,  or 
branches,  that  are  more  than  one 
inch  in  diameter :  The  head  of  the 
stock,  or  branch,  must  be  cut  off, 
with  a  slope,  and  a  slit  made  the 
contrary  way,  in  the  top  of  the 
slope,  deep  enough  to  receive  the 
cion,  which  should  be  cut  sloping 
like  a  wedge,  so  as  to  fit  the  slit 
made  in  the  stock  ;  being  careful 
to  leave  that  side  of  the  wedge 
which  is  to  be  placed  outward 
much  thicker  than  the  other.  And 
in  putting  the  cion  into  the  slit  of 
the  stock,  there  must  be  great  care 
taken  to  join  the  rind  of  the  cion  to 
that  of  the  stock  ;  for  if  these  do 
not  unite  the  grafts  will  not  suc- 
ceed. 

A  third  method  which  is  termed 
Whip,  or  Tongue-grafting,  is  per- 
formed on  small  stocks  by  cutting 
off  the  head  of  the  stocks  sloping; 
then  there  must  be  a  notch  made 
in  the  slope  toward  the  upper 
part  downward,  a  little  more  than 
half  an  mch  deep,  to  receive  the 
cion,  which  must  be  cut  with  a 
slope  upwards,  and  a  slit  made  in 
the  slope  like  a  tongue,  which 
tongue  must  be  inserted  into  the 


GRA 


GRA 


169 


slit  made  in  the  slope  of  the  stock, 
so  ;is  that  the  two  rinds  of  both  cion 
and  stock  may  be  equal  and  join 
together  exactly.  Then  there 
should  be  a  ligature  to  fasten  the 
cion,  so  that  it  may  not  be  easily 
displaced. 

Another  species  of  grafting  is 
called  Inarching,  for  which  see  In- 
arching. See  Forsyth's  Treatise 
on  Fruit  Trees, 

GRAIN.  "Wheat,  if  not  in 
good  condition,  is  much  improved 
by  kiln-drying  ;  but  it  should  not 
be  used,  unless  in  cases  of  neces- 
sity, until  sometime  after  it  has  un- 
dergone that  operation.  It  ought 
to  be  moderately  kiln-dried,  with 
a  slow  heat,  and  frequently  turned. 
But  if  the  grain  be  musty,  it  ought 
to  pass  through  a  previous  process, 
which  is  ihus  described  by  an  emi- 
nent chemist. 

"  The  wheat  must  be  put  into 
any  convenient  vessel,  capable  of 
containing  at  least  three  times  the 
quantity,  and  the  vessel  must  be 
subsequently  tilled  with  boiling  wa- 
ter ;  the  grain  should  then  be  oc- 
casionally stirred,  and  the  hollow 
and  decayed  grains,  (which  will 
float,)  may  be  removed  ;  when  the 
water  has  become  cold,  or  in  gen- 
eral, when  about  half  an  hour  has 
elapsed,  it  is  to  be  drawn  off.  It 
will  be  proper  then  to  rinse  the 
corn  with  cold  water,  in  order  to 
remove  any  portion  of  the  water, 
which  had  taken  up  the  must;  af- 
ter which,  (he  corn  being  com- 
pletely drained,  it  is  without  loss 
of  time,  to  be  thinly  spread  on  the 
floor  of  a  kiln,  and  thoroughly  dri- 
ed, care  being  taken  to  stir,  and  to 
turn  it  frequently,  during  this  part 
of  the  process.  22 


"  By  this  simple  operation,  it  is 
said  that  corn,  however  musty, may 
be  completely  puritied,  with  very 
little  expense,  and  without  requir- 
ing previous  chemical  knowledge, 
or  any  expensive  apparatus.  Mere 
ventilation,  however,  has  been  re- 
commended as  a  means  for  pre- 
paring grain  for  use  sufliciently  ef- 
fectual.*'    Code  of  Agriculture. 

GRANARY,  a  store-house  for 
threshed  corn.  A  granary  should 
be  so  constructed,  that  corn  may  be 
kept  free  from  dampness,  insects, 
and  vermin.  To  avoid  the  last  of 
these  evils,  its  being  mounted  on 
blocks,  capped  with  flat  stones,like 
some  of  the  houses  for  Indian  corn, 
is  no  ill  expedient.  But  for  large 
granaries  this  will  not  be  conveni- 
ent. 

The  Lombardy  poplar  is  recom- 
mended as  a  timber  adapted  for 
flooring  granaries,  which  is  said  to 
prevent  the  destruction  of  corn  by 
weovils  and  insects.  Poplar  wood 
will  not  easily  take  fire. 

GRASS,  a  general  name  for  most 
of  those  plants  which  are  used  in 
feeding  cattle,  both  in  their  green 
and  dry  state. 

"  The  land  on  which  grass  seed 
is  intended  to  be  sown,  should  be 
well  ploughed  and  cleared  from  the 
roots  of  noxious  weeds.  Before 
the  seed  is  sown,  the  surface  of  the 
ground  should  be  made  level  and 
fine  :  Otherwise  the  seeds  will  be 
buried  unequally.  When  the  seed 
is  sown,  it  should  be  gently  har- 
rowed in,  and  the  ground  rolled 
with  a  wooden  roller,  which  will 
make  the  surface  even,  and  pre- 
vent the  seed  being  blown  into 
patches.     It  is  the  common  way  of 


17u 


GRA 


GRA 


proceeding  ;  if  a  farmer  wants  to 
lay  down  his  land  to  ^rass,  he  ei- 
ther takes  his  seeds  indiscriminate- 
ly from  his  own  hay  rick,  or  sends 
to  his  neighbour  for  a  supply.  By 
this  means,  besides  a  certain  mix 
ture  of  rubbish,  which  must  neces- 
sarily happen,  it  is  not  unlikely  but 
that  which  he  intends  for  dry  land, 
may  have  come  from  moist,  where 
it  grew  naturally,  and  so  on  the 
contrary  :  And  the  consequence 
of  this  slovenly  method  frequently 
is,  that  the  ground,  instead  of  being 
covered  in  one  year  with  a  good 
seed,  is  filled  with  weeds,  not  na- 
tural to  it,  which  would  never  have 
sprung  up,  if  they  had  not  been 
brought  thither.  This  slovenly 
practice  may  have  prevailed  when 
Dr.  Deane's  book  was  first  pub- 
lished, but  we  believe  it  is  now  ex- 
ploded. 

"Some  say  that  if  you  manure 
your  ground  well,  good  grasses  will 
come  in  of  themselves.  I  own 
they  will.  But  the  question  is, 
how  long  will  it  be  before  that  hap- 
pens ?  And  why  will  you  be  at  the 
expense  of  sowing  what  you  must 
afterwards  try  to  kill  ?  Which  must 
be  the  case,  so  long  as  people  sow 
all  kinds  of  rubbish  under  the  name 
of  hay  seeds.  Others  say  it  will  be 
better  to  have  a  mixture  of  different 
seeds.  I  suppose  this  to  be  true. 
But  cannot  a  mixture  be  had, 
though  the  seeds  be  gathered  and 
separated  ?  And  is  not  a  mixture 
by  choice  more  likely  to  be  pro- 
per than  one  by  chance  ?  Especi- 
ally after  sufficient  experience  has 
been  had  of  the  particular  virtues 
of  each  sort,  and  of  the  different 
grounds  where  they  will  thrive 
best? 


"  It  is  said  \if  some,  that  weei3s 
will  come  up  along  with  the  grass, 
though  what  is  called  clean  seed 
be  sowed.  No  doubt  of  it.  Can 
any  one  imagine  that  grass  seeds 
should  be  exempted  from  what 
happens  to  every  other  kind  of 
seed  ?  But  I  will  venture  to  say, 
that  not  near  the  quantity  of  weeds 
will  spring  up,  as  they  imagine,  if 
the  grass  be  sown  thick."  Stil- 
lingjieel. 

It  is  undoubtedly  best  to  sow 
clean  seed,  which  is  known  to  be 
suitable  to  the  soil,  wheti  land  is 
laid  down  to  grass.  For  though 
grasses  will  gradually  come  in,  no 
great  crop  is  to  be  expected  the 
tirst  year,  unless  it  be  a  crop  of 
rank  and  useless  weeds.  And  he 
that  misses  of  the  first  year's  crop, 
loses  much,  as  the  longer  the  land 
lies,  the  more  compact,  or  bound, 
it  will  become,  and  produce  the 
smaller  crops. 

It  would  require  a  large  volume 
to  describe  all  the  kinds  of  grass 
which  are  and  might  be  cultivated 
in  the  United  States.  Sir  John 
Sinclair  observes,  {Code  of  Agri- 
culture, p.  219,)  that  "  there  are  in 
all  215  grasses  properly  so  called, 
which  are  cultivated  in  Great  Bri- 
tain." The  Duke  of  Bedford  in- 
stituted a  series  of  experiments, 
to  try  the  comparative  merits  and 
value  of  a  number  of  these  grasses 
to  the  amount  of  97,  the  result  of 
which  is  annexed  to  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy's  Agricultural  Chemistry. — 
According  to  these  experiments, 
tall  fiscue  grass,  (feituca  elatior,) 
stands  highest,  as  to  the  quantity  of 
nutritive  matter  afforded  by  the 
whole  crop,  when  cut  at  the  time 


GRA 


GRA 


171 


of  flowering  ;  and  meadow  cat's- 
tail  grass,  {phleum  pratense,  called 
in  New-England  herd'' s- grass,  and 
timothy  grass,  in  the  southern 
States)  affords  most  food  when  cut 
at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe.  Sea 
meadow-grass  produces  the  great- 
est quantity  of  aftermath. 

We  shall  add  to  this  article  a 
concise  description  of  some  of  the 
most  useful  grasses,  which  have 
been  cultivated  in  the  United 
States,  referring  our  readers  to 
longer  and  more  elaborate  treati- 
ses for  a  more  particular  descrip- 
tion of  this  class  of  vegetables. 

1.  Tall  Meadow  Oat,  or  Tall- 
oat-grass,  Avena  elatior.  This 
kind  of  grass  was  imported  from 
England,  and  has  been  cultivated 
in  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  in  the 
State  of  New- York  and  the  south- 
ern States.  It  is  thus  described  by 
Dr.  Henry  Muhlenberg,  of  Lan- 
caster, in  Pennsylvania. 

"  This  grass  is  of  all  others,  the 
earliest,  latest,  and  best  grass  for 
green  fodder  and  hay  ;  it  blossoms 
about  the  middle  of  May,  with  red 
clover,  and  the  seed  ripens  a  month 
after.  It  grows  but  in  a  clover  soil, 
and  rises  to  a  height  of  from  five  to 
seven  feet — it  ought  to  be  cut  for 
hay  in  blossom,  about  the  end  of 
May.  The  seed  may  be  sown  in 
the  fall  or  spring,  with  or  without 
grain,  and  must  be  brushed  in  or 
lightly  harrowed.  If  mixed  with 
clover  it  will  make  good  upland 
meadow.  Horned  cattle  prefer 
this  grass  to  all  others,  but  some 
horses  do  not  relish  it  green.  It 
must  be  pastured,  or  cut  at  least 
three  times  in  a  season.  If  suffer- 
ed to  grow  old,  it  will   become 


straw-like  ;  when  intended  for  hay 
it  must  be  salted."  JVillich'>s  Do- 
mestic Encyclopadia,  American  ed. 
vol.  1 1.  p.  1 94.  See  likewise  Mas- 
sachusetts Agricultural  Repository, 
vol.  III.  p.  38,  vol.  IV.  p.  11],  and 
p.  209. 

2.  Tall  Fescue  Grass,  Festuca 
Elatior.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  de- 
scribes this  grass  as  '-  a  native  pe- 
rennial grass  of  the  United  States, 
it  is  very  luxuriant  and  productive, 
but  rather  coarse.  Cows  are  fond 
of  it,  but  horses  do  not  relish  it. — 
It  grows  in  moist  meadows,  and  in 
woods.  The  leaves  are  broad, 
stem  very  high,  (sometimes  6  feet) 
flowers  in  July." 

3.  '■''Meadow  Cat'' s- tail,  Timothy - 
grass,  or  Herds-grass,  of  the  north- 
ern States.  {Phleum  pratense)  is 
the  grass  most  used  for  hay  in 
the  northern  States.  It  is  also  er- 
roneously called /ox-/a?7;  but  this 
is  another  grass.  The  cat's-tail 
has  a  long  head,  somewhat  resem- 
bling the  tail  of  a  cat,  with  very 
fine  seeds  ;  the  Fox  tail  has  a 
short  bushy  head,  more  like  the 
tail  of  a  fox,  with  coarser  seeds. — 
In  other  respects  they  have  consi- 
derable resemblance. 

"  Cat's-tail  grows  best  in  rich 
moist  soil  ;  but  it  will  grow  well, 
for  a  few  years,  in  a  rich  wet,  or 
a  rich  arable  soil.  In  the  rich  wet 
soil  it  gradually  lessens  in  product ; 
while  at  the  same  time  it  gives  way 
to  wild  grasses.  In  a  rich  arable 
soil  it  gradually  fails,  by  reason  of 
the  ground  becoming  bound  and 
the  sward  thickened  with  other 
grasses.  Probably,  if  it  were  well 
torn  with  the  harrow  in  the  spring, 
and  not    too  closely  pastured  in 


172 


G  RA 


GRA 


the  fall,  and  none  in  (he  spring, 
it  would  grow  well  for  many  years 
in  such  soil.  By  close  pasturing 
in  the  fall,  it  is  apt  to  be  torn  ou( 
by  the  roots,  and  by  cropping  it 
again  in  the  spring,  it  suffers  great 
ly."     Farmpr''s  Assistant. 

4.  The  Herd-grass  of  the  sou- 
thern States,  is  rall(>d  also  White- 
top,  Foul  Meadow  Grass,  and  Red- 
top.  It  is  thus  described  in  the 
second  American  edition  of  Dr. 
Willich's  Domestic  Encyclopaedia, 
vol.  II.  p.  268.  "Dr.  Miihlenberg 
thinks  this  grass  is  the  Agrostis 
stricta  of  Wildenow.  It  is  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  wet  low 
grounds.  It  mats  and  consolidates 
the  surface,  continues  many  years, 
excluding  every  other  grass  and  all 
weeds.  Many  worthless  swampy 
spots  in  the  low  parts  of  the  State 
of  New-Jersey,  have  been  render- 
ed valuable  grazing  grounds  by  this 
grass,  loaded  waggons  having  pas- 
sed over  places,  which,  two  or 
three  years  before  sowing  it, would 
scarcely  permit  an  animal  to  walk 
through  without  sinking.  It  makes 
excellent  hay,  and  cattle  are  said 
to  prefer  it  to  that  made  of  either 
clover  or  timothy.  It  is  more  suc- 
culent than  timothy,  tht)ugh  not  so 
coar«e.  The  same  bulk  of  the  hay 
ofthisgrass  will  weigh  one  thirdmore 
than  that  of  timothy  hay.  Four 
tons  is  a  common  crop  from  one 
acre.  It  yields  no  second  crop, 
but  affords  excellent  late  and  early 
pasture.  It  was  first  brought  to 
New-Jersev  from  New- England  by 
the  late  William  Foster,  wlio  resi- 
ded near  Mount  Holly  ;  and  intro- 
duced into  Pennsylvania  about  ten 
or  twelve  years  since.* 
*  There  is  a  great  confusion  of  names  in 


The  Red-top  and  White-top,  are 
only  varieties  of  the  ai)ov«'  .-.jiccies 
of  grass.  The  latter  is  tiu'  Uu^er 
of  the  two.  The  red  top  i-.  parti- 
cularly valuable, as  it  will  grow  and 
sod  the  first  year  on  hanks,  wiv.n 
no  other  grass  will  thrive.  Set  an 
essay  on  artificial  grasses,  by  Col. 
Taylor,  of  Virginia,  republished  in 
the\Mass.  Agr.  Rep.  vol.V.  p,  291. 

5.  Lucerne,  Medicago  Saliva. 
By  some  experinu  nts  made  b)  the 
Hon.  Robert  R.  Lixingston.  recor- 
ded ill  the  Transactions  of  ti:c  jlg- 
ricidtitral  Society  of  jVtzw  York,  it 
appears  that  witli  good  cultivation, 
aiid  abundant  manuring,  from  six 
to  nine  tons  of  hay  may  be  obtain- 
ed from  an  acre  of  this  g'ass  in  a 
season.  The  ground  must  be  high- 
ly pulverized  to  insure  a  good  crop. 
Twenty  pounds  of  seed  are  recjuir- 
ed  for  an  acre  if  sown  in  broad- 
cast, six  poui'ds  if  drilled.  It  an- 
swers very  well  with  red  clover, 
and  is  not  injured  by  the  cold  or 
the  changes  of  our  climate. 

Mr.  L.  advises  as  the  result  of 
his  experiments,  1.  Never  to  sow 
on  ground  that  is  not  perfectly  pul- 
verized. 2.  Not  to  sow  till  the 
ground  has  acquired  a  degree  of 
warmth  friendl)  to  vegetation,  viz. 
in  May.  3.  To  sow  with  no  crop 
that  will  probably  lodge.  4.  If 
sown  with  buik  wheat,  to  apply  no 
gypsum  or  other  manure,  till  the 
buck-wheat  is  off.  5.  When  the 
quantity  sown  is  small,  a'  d  the 
farmer  can  afford  to  lose  a  crop,  to 
give  the  ground  one  turn  in  the  au- 

thisparag;raph.  The  foul  meadow  grass  is 
not  the  Red-top  of  New-England.  The  for- 
mer is  a  plant  which  flourishes  only  in  a  wet 
soil — the  latter  one  which  will  flourish  in  the 
driest  soils. 


GRA 


GRA 


173 


tumn,  another  in  April,  harrowing  ; 
fine,  and  a  third  the  beginning  of 
May,  and  then  if  the  weather  be 
mild  and  warm  sow,  if  the  ground 
be  in  perfect  tilth,  otherwise  give 
it  another  ploughing. 

When  Incerne  turns  yellow  it 
shonid  be  mowed,  and  the  plants 
will  come  up  free  from  the  disor- 
der. 

6.  Guinea  Grass^  Panicum  Maxi- 
mum. This  plant  was  first  discov- 
ered on  thecoast  of  Guinea, whence 
it  was  brought  to  Jamaica. 

'•  We  will  give  the  reader  the 
account  which  Mr.  Oglesby,  of 
K'Nifucky,  gives  of  its  product  in 
Wilkinson  County  in  the  State  of 
Mississippi  ;  and  from  this,  and 
from  the  certificates  of  others,  it 
will  be  seen,  that  it  must  become 
productive  of  immense  advantage 
to  the  soulheru  part  of  our  territo- 
ry, and  perhaps  to  every  part  of 
our  country. 

"  I  have  (says  Mr.  Oglesby)  been 
accustomed  to  both  timothy  and 
clover  meadows, and  have  frequent-  j 
ly  assisted  in  cutting  some  of  the 
best  in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  At  \ 
Percytield,  near  Fort  Adams,  I  cul- 
tivated a  lot  of  Guinea-grass,some- 
what  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre  ; 
from  which  I  fed  six  or  eight  hor- 
ses, during  the  summer  of  1812.  I 
planted  it  in  the  second  week  in 
May,  and  began  to  cut  it  the  20th 
of  June,  and  cut  it  five  times  before 
the  15th  of  October,  and  obtained 
from  each  plant  (which  occupied 
a  square  yard)  about  sixty  pounds 
of  green  grass. 

I  have  frequently  observed  it  to 
grow  four  inches  in  twenty. four 
hours.      From    the    astonishing 


growth,  and  from  the  result  of  all 
my  experiments,  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  that  it  will  yield  ten 
times  as  much  as  any  timothy  or 
clover  meadow  1  have  ever  seen." 
Farmer^s  Assistmd. 

7.  Fiorin  Grass.  {Agrostis  Sto- 
lonifera,)  called  likewise  Bent 
Grass.  This  grass  has  been  said 
to  be  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  it  has 
likewise  been  found  growing  spon- 
taneously in  this  country.  In  the 
Orchestron  meadow  in  England,  it 
has  yielded  nine  tons  to  the  acre 
in  a  season.  Sheep,  neat  cattle 
and  horses  are  extremely  fond  of 
it.  Given  to  cows,  it  increases  the 
quantity  and  improves  the  quality 
of  milk. 

The  method  commonly  practi- 
sed in  Ireland,  for  rearing  it,  is  to 
cut  the  strings  in  short  pieces, strew 
them  evenly  over  the  ground,  and 
cover  them  with  suitable  earth,  or 
with  compost,  as  the  nature  of  (he 
ground  may  require.  They  are  to 
be  kept  clear  of  weeds  till  the 
young  growth  has  taken  possession 
of  the  soil  ;  when  it  will  cover  the 
ground  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
other  plant. 

It  delights  in  a  wet  soil,  and 
thrives  in  boggy  lands,  and  covers 
them  with  so  tough  a  sward  that 
teams  may  go  on  them. 

The  author  of  the  analysis  of 
grasses. appended  to  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy's  Agricultural  Chemistry,  ob- 
serves of  this  grass,  that  ■•'  From  a 
careful  examination  it  will  doubt- 
less appear  to  possess  merits  well 
worthy  of  attention,though  perhaps 
not  so  great  as  has  been  supposed, 
if  the  natural  place  of  its  growth 
and  habits  be  impartially  taken  in- 


174 


GRA 


GRA 


to  the  account.  From  the  couch- 
ant  nature  of  this  grass  it  is  deno- 
minated couch-grass  by  practical 
men,  and  from  the  length  of  time 
that  it  retains  the  vital  power  after 
being  taken  out  of  the  soil,  is  cal- 
led squitch,  quick,  full  of  life,  &:c." 
See  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  vol.  111.  p.  32  to  37. 

8.  Darnel,  or  Rye  Grass,  Loli- 
um  Perenne.  "  Sheep  eat  this 
grass  when  it  is  in  the  early  stage 
of  its  growth,  in  preference  to  most 
others ;  but  after  the  seed  ap- 
proaches towards  perfection,  they 
leave  it  for  almost  any  other  kind. 
A  field  in  the  park  of  Woburn  was 
laid  down  in  two  equal  parts,  one 
part  with  rye  grass  and  white  clo- 
ver, and  the  other  part  with  cock's- 
foot  and  red  clover  ;  from  spring 
till  mid-suuimer  the  sheep  kept  al- 
most constantly  on  the  rye  grass  ; 
but  after  that  time  they  left  it,  and 
adhered  with  equal  constancy  to 
the  cock's-foot  during  the  remain- 
der of  the  season."  Agricultural 
Chemistry, 

,9.  Dactylis  Glomerata.  Cock'^s- 
Foot.  Oxen,  horses,  and  sheep  eat 
this  grass  readily.  The  oxen  con- 
tinue to  eat  the  straws  and  flowers, 
from  the  time  of  flowering,  till  the 
time  of  perfecting  the  seed  ;  this 
was  exemplified  in  a  striking  man- 
ner in  the  field  alluded  to.  The 
oxen  generally  kept  to  the  cock's- 
foot  and  red  clover,  and  the  sheep 
to  the  rye  grass  and  white  clover." 
Agricultural  Chemistry. 

10.  "  Alopecurus  Pratensis, 
Meadow  Fox  tail.  Sheep  and  hor- 
ses seem  to  have  a  greater  relish 
for  this  grass  than  oxen.  It  delights 
in  a  soil  of  intermediate  quality  as 


to  moisture  and  dryness,  and  is 
very  productive.  Agricultural 
Chemistry . 

11."  Green  Grass.  Poa  Viridis, 
is  a  native  of  the  United  States. and 
especially  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
it  grows  in  all  meadows  and  on  rich 
soils.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  says  it  is 
not  described  by  Linnasus,  though 
nearly  allied  to  his  poa  angustifo- 
lia.  It  may  be  easily  known  by 
the  followuig  description.  "Culm 
(or  haulm)  erect  and  round  (co- 
lumnar) panicle  diflfuse,  spicules 
five  flowered  and  hairy  at  their 
base."  Cattle  are  very  fond  of 
this  grass,  if  cut  when  the  blossom 
opens.  It  produces  less  than  the 
Avena  elatior,  or  tall  meadow-oats, 
but  horses  prefer  it.  It  continues 
green  until  even  after  frost,  and 
when  all  other  herbage  is  destroy- 
ed ;  and  if  manured  will  continue 
forever.  The  fine  grazing  farm  of 
Mr.  Wm.  West,  of  Upper  Darby, 
Delaware  County,  consists  entire- 
ly of  this  grass.  Mr.  W.  finds  it 
necessary  to  sow  clover  thinly  on 
the  green  grass  sod  every  three  or 
four  years,  to  correct  a  slight  ten- 
dency which  green  grass  has  to 
bind  the  soil.  When  the  Green 
Grass  appears  upon  meadows  made 
by  banking  out  rivers,  care  must 
be  taken  to  secure  a  supply  of  wa- 
ter ;  otherwise,  according  to  Mr. 
J.  Cooper,  the  ends  of  the  seeds 
will  become  affected  with  a  black 
spear,  about  one  fourth  or  one  half 
an  inch  in  length,  similar  to  the 
smut  on  rye,  and  cause  a  loss  of  the 
hoofs  of  cattle  that  eat  the  grass. 

12.  "  Blue  Grass,  Poa  compres- 
sa,  a  native  grass  of  the  United 
States,  having  "  a  compressed  ob- 


GRA 


GRA 


175 


iique  culm  or  haulm  paneile 
squeezed,  spicules  round,  (colum- 
nar) and  eight  flowered."  This  is 
eaten  tolerably  well  by  cattle  when 
young,  and  remains  green  until  af- 
ter frost.  It  binds  the  soil,  in  the 
course  of  three  or  four  years,  so  as 
to  require  ploughing  up.  This  is 
often  mistaken  for  the  green  grass, 
and  both  are  called  occasionally 
Spear  Grass,  and  wire  grass."  Do- 
mestic Encyclopcedia. 

13.  Col.  Taylor,  of  Virginia,  in 
a  paper  on  artificial  grasses,  com- 
municated to  the  Agricultural  So- 
ciety of  Virginia,  says,  "The  best 
grass  which  I  have  tried  in  many 
respects  is  one  commonly  called 
"  the  highland  meadow-oat."  I 
have  had  no  means  of  ascertaining 
whether  it  is  a  species  of  rye  grass, 
or  of  the  avena  pratensis,  or  nei- 
ther, nor  whence  it  derived  the  ap- 
pellation "  Peruvian,"  by  which  I 
have  heard  it  distinguished.  With 
its  qualities  I  am  better  acquainted, 
having  carefully  observed  them  for 
many  years.  It  ripens  as  early  as 
the  red  clover,  and  is  easily  made 
into  fine  hay,  if  cut  in  proper  time. 
Its  earliness  is  of  vast  importance 
in  our  climate.  Thence  it  hap- 
pens that  it  produces  heavy  spring 
crops,  like  red  clover,  as  it  com- 
monly perfects  its  growth,  before 
a  drought  occurs.  It  is  the  hardi- 
est grass  I  ever  saw,  and  bears 
drought  and  frost,  and  heat  and 
cold  much  better  than  any  I  have 
tried.  It  keeps  possession  of  the 
land  in  spite  of  severe  grazing.  It 
flourishes  but  on  soils  suitable  for 
red  clover,  but  it  will  live  on  and 
improve  lands,  whereon  red  clover 
will  perish.       It  furnishes  better 


grazing  early  in  the  spring,  late  in 
the  fall,  in  droughts  and  in  winter, 
than  any  grass  known  to  me.  Ri- 
pening with  the  red  clover,  it  is 
peculiarly  fitted  for  being  sown 
with  it,  because  it  greatly  facili- 
tates its  conversion  into  hay,  re- 
tains possession  of  the  ground  for 
years  after  the  clover  has  disap- 
peared. Alone,  cut  before  the 
seed  ripens,  its  hay  is  as  nutritive 
and  pleasant  to  stock  of  all  kinds, 
as  any  I  have  ever  used  ;  and  it 
will  yield  both  seed  and  tolerably- 
good  hay  at  one  cutting,  as  it  ri- 
pens soonest  at  top.  Mixed  with 
favourite  grasses  of  grazing  ani- 
mals it  is  partially  rejerted,  but 
eaten  as  they  fail.  Alone,  it  is 
greedily  fed  on.  After  being  cut 
or  grazed,  if  left  to  grow  it  rises 
anew,  almost  with  the  rapidity  of 
lucerne,  with  a  vigour  but  little  di- 
minished. Fifteen  years  experi- 
ence has  not  enabled  me  to  decide 
as  to  its  capacity  for  improving  the 
soil,  because  the  small  quantity  of 
seed  first  obtained,  by  confining  ex- 
periments to  small  patches,  long 
concealed  its  qualities  ;  and  the 
large  lots  first  sown  have  remained 
too  flourishing  to  require  manure, 
and  too  valuable  to  be  ploughed 
up.  It  produces,  (after  it  has  come 
to  perfection,  in  doing  which  it  is 
one  year  slower  than  red  clover,) 
ungrazed  and  uncut,  a  warmer,and 
more  lasting  cover  than  clover, 
which  has  recently  induced  me  to 
mix  and  sow  it  with  wheat  on  a 
large  scale,  for  the  end  of  improv- 
ing the  soil ;  in  which  anticipation 
I  have  yet  discerned  no  cause  for 
apprehension.  For  this  purpose 
it  possesses  one  recommendation 


ne 


GRA 


GRE 


beyond  clover.  It  does  not  grow 
and  spread  so  rapidl)  in  (he  fall  or 
spring  as  to  injure  the  crop  of 
wheal  with  which  it  is  sown,  as  is 
sometimes  the  case  with  clover. — 
Upon  the  whole,  whatever  doubt 
remains  as  to  its  ferlilizmg  power, 
the  conclusions  that  it  eminently 
possesses  the  qualities  for  lasting, 
grazing,  and  making  highland  hay, 
may,  I  think,  be  confided.  But  it 
does  not,  so  far  as  my  trials  have 
extended,  succeed  in  lands,  origi- 
nally wet,  however  well  they  are 
drained."* 

GRAVEL,  earth  of  the  same 
nature  with  sand,  only  more  coarse 
and  harsh.  Both  seem  to  consist 
wholly  of  minute  pebbles.  Grave! 
is  useful  in  mending  roads,  in  mak 
ing  dams,  and  for  walks  in  gar 
dens,  &c. 

A  soil  of  mere  gravel  is  the 
meanest  of  all  soils;  and  will  pro 
duce  next  to  nothing,  till  it  be 
mended  with  something  mixed 
with  it  ;  and  even  then  it  will  need 
a  wet  season,  uidess  it  be  in  a  wet 
situation,  as  at  the  foot  of  a  hill, 
or  watered  with  springs. 

The  best  manures  for  this  sort 
of  land  in  general,  are  marl,  clay, 
the  mud  of  swamps,  poi»ds,  rivers 
and  creeks.  If  applied  in  large 
quantities,  they  will  meliorate  it 
for  a  long  time.  The  best  yearly 
dressings  are  the  dung  of  cows  and 
swine,  sea  weeds,  straw  partly  rot- 
ted, bits  of  leather,  woollen  rags, 
and  almost  any  spungy  substances 
which  retain  moisture  for  some 
time. 


*  This  grass  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from 
Col.  Taylor's  description,  is  the  Avena  ela- 
tior,  or  Tall  meadow  oat  grass  mentioned  in 
the  first  instance. 


This  kind  of  soil,  well  manured, 
sometimes  produces  good  crops  of 
such  plants  as  require  much  heat, 
a-  Indian  corn  and  tobacco.  And 
it  does  well  in  a  good  season,  for 
rye,  clover,  beans,  pease  and  po- 
tatoes. 

GREASE,  a  distemper  so  de- 
nominated, is  a  swellnig  and  gour- 
diness  of  the  legs  of  horses,  which 
frequently  happens  to  them  after 
a  journey.  Most  people  have  be- 
lieved their  grease  to  be  melted 
by  hard  ridmg,  and  fallen  into 
their  legs  :  And  that  which  may 
have  given  encouragement  to  this 
opinion,  is  the  colour  of  tlie  matter 
issuing  from  the  chinks  and  sores 
in  those  parts,  when  they  come  to 
break  somewhat  resembling  grease. 
The  distemper  may  arise  from  va- 
rious causes.  If  the  grease  be  an 
attendant  on  some  other  distemper, 
the  cure  will  be  the  more  difficult, 
and  it  will  be  in  vain  to  expect  a 
recovery,  until  the  disease  is  re- 
moved which  occasioned  it. — 
Therefore,  methods  for  the  cure  of 
those  distempers  must  be  followed, 
and  applications  made  outwardly 
for  this.  But  if  it  be  an  original 
disorder,  and  if  the  horse  have  been 
pampered,  or  well  fed,  the  cure 
ought  to  be  begun  by  bleeding  and 
purging,  to  lessen  the  redundancy 
of  humours.  Neither  should  these 
be  too  often  repeated  :  But  what 
is  wanting  in  that  way  had  much 
better  be  effectuated  by  a  more 
spare  diet,  with  daily  exercise. 
After  moderate  evacuations,  a 
rowel  may  be  made  on  the  inside 
ofthethigh,  oron  thebelly  ;  which 
may  be  continued  for  a  month,  or 
longer  if  necessary.     In  the  mean 


GRE 


G  RE 


177 


time  the  cinnabar  orantimonial  balls 
ought  to  be  constant!}  given.  And 
while  these  things  are  doing  inter- 
nally, the  legs  shonid  be  fscqncntly 
rubbed,  not  with  hard  instruments, 
but  with  a  good  wisp  of  hay,  or  a 
brush.  Baths  and  fomentations, 
such  as  may  cause  the  humours 
to  go  oir  by  perspiration,  or  render 
them  fit  to  return  in  the  circula- 
tions, are  also  to  be  made  use  of. 
For  this  purpose  the  following  is 
recommended. 

Take  wormwood  eight  handfuls, 
John's  wort,  centaury,  camomile, 
of  each  four  handt\ils,  elder  flowers 
two  handfuls,  bayberrics  half  a 
pound  :  Boil  them  in  two  gallons 
of  water  till  one  third  is  consumed, 
and  make  a  fomentation. 

The  horse's  legs  are  to  be  bath- 
ed three  or  four  times  a  day,  with 
woollen  cloths  wnnig  out  of  the 
liquor,  and  applied  as  hot  as  he  can 
bear  them,  adding  a  little  of  tlie 
spirit  of  wine  or  brandy.  And  if 
they  be  much  inflamed,  as  hap- 
pens when  the  sinews  are  alTfjct- 
ed,  a  good  quantity  of  the  ashes  of 
the  green  twigs  of  vines,  wahuit  or 
oak,  may  be  boiled  in  tlie  dedoc- 
tion,  adding  more  water,  when  the 
other  ingredients  are  easily  to  be 
had. 

'i'he  lees  of  wine,  with  a  mix- 
ture of  soap,  are  also  very  proper 
to  be  applied  warm  :  As  also  cow's 
dung  boiled  in  vinegar. 

Suitable  cataplasms  in  bad  cases 
are  proper.  The  camphorated 
spirit  of  wine  alone  is  good,  viz. 
an  ounce  of  camphor  to  a  pint  of 
spirit.  Frequently  used,  it  will 
answer  well  when  the  swelling  is 
new.  See  Gibson''s  Farrieri/. 
23 


GREEN-DRESSING,  turning 
a  crop  of  green  plants  into  the 
ground  in  summer,  to  enrich  the 
soil,  and  fit  it  to  produce  a  good 
crop  of  wheat.  By  repeating  this 
culture,  poor  or  worn  out  land  may 
be  brought  to  any  degree  of  rich- 
ness that  is  desired,  without  any 
other  manure.  Buck  wheat,  rye, 
pease  or  oats,  may  be  sowed  in  the 
spring,  and  in  June  ploughed  in, 
when  they  are  fiillest  of  sap,  and 
most  easily  rotted.  The  ground 
should  be  again  ploughed  in  the 
fiill,  sowed  with  winter  grain,  and 
well  harrowed.  The  cost  of 
ploughing  and  seed,  is  not  samuch 
as  that  of  dung,  when  it  can  be 
had,  and  carting  it.  This  man- 
agement, therefore,  may  often  ap- 
pear eligible,  especially  in  places 
where  manures  are  not  plenty. 
On  accoinit  of  the  cheapness  of 
the  seed,  Mr.  Elliot  recommends 
millet  as  a  most  suitable  crop  for 
green  dressing:  and  some  have 
used  clover  and  rye  grass.  In 
Britain,  buck  wheat  is  much  used, 
as  the  stalks,  when  green,  are  very 
large  andjuicy,  and  as  they  require 
but  a  short  time  to  rot.  It  is  as- 
serted, that  about  ten  days  are 
sufficient  for  it  to  lie  under  the 
furrows. 

The  chief  difiiculty  I  can  think 
of,  which  tends  to  discourage  this 
practice,  is,  the  choaking  of  the 
plough  in  going  among  a  tall 
growth  of  plants.  It  may  be  need- 
ful for  a  boy  to  tend  it.  But  in 
Britain,  to  prevent  choking,  they 
recommend  to  pass  a  roller  over 
the  crop  to  be  turned  in,  which 
lays  it  flat,  and  in  the  same  direc- 
tion that  the  plough  is  to  pass. 


178 


GRI 


GRO 


GREENS,  the  general  name  of 
those  pot  herbs  which  are  boiled 
for  food  when  they  are  }oung  and 
tender.  Some  of  the  most  use- 
ful of  them  known  in  this  countrj, 
are  spinnage,  kale,  French  turnips, 
dandelion,  purslain,  white  and 
black  mustard.  There  is  a  Scotch 
kale  which  may  be  reared  earlier 
than  almost  any  other  greens,  and 
is  equal  in  goodness  to  any.  To 
have  greens  early,  let  kale  and 
French  turnips  be  sowed  in  Octo- 
ber, and  (he  young  plant  covered 
closely  with  eel  gra-s,  or  straw, 
during  the  winter,  and  till  the  in 
fluence  of  the  sun  be  sufficient  to 
renew  their  vegetation. 

GREEN  SCOURING,  »  a  dis- 
ease to  which  sheep  and  bullocks 
are  often  subject.  The  best  rem- 
edy for  this  distemper  is  verjuice  : 
A  wine  glass  full  is  enough  for  a 
sheep,  and  a  pint  for  a  bullock." 
Complete  Farmer. 

GRIPES,  or  cholic  pains. — 
Horses  are  very  subject  to  griping, 
or  cholic  pains.  They  may  pro- 
ceed from  flatulencies,  or  wind 
pent  up  in  (he  stomach  and  bowels, 
from  inflamma(ion  of  the  coats  of 
the  stomach  and  intestines,  or  from 
worms,  spasms,  &c.  In  such  case 
it  is  very  wrong  to  give  him  heat- 
ing things  by  the  mouth,  as  is  too 
commonly  practised.  Bleeding 
should  be  the  first  thing  in  these 
cases,  if  the  disorder  be  violent, 
which  may  be  known  by  the  crea- 
ture's motions,  frequency  of  lying 
down,  and  starting  up  again,  &c. 
As  horses  are  costive  in  these 
cases,  the  rectum  should  be  clear- 
ed of  the  hard  dung,  by  back  rack- 
ing, as  it  is  called,  that  is,  it  should 


be  taken  out  by  a  hand,  which 
gives  a  horse  great  relitf.  For 
the  pressure  on  the  neck  of  the 
bladder  bring  thus  ren)oveJ,  he 
will  be  able  to  s-tale.  Emollient 
chsters  are  then  of  great  advan- 
tage, as  they  not  onl)  bring  away 
the  excrements,  which  atiirds  a 
passage  f>r  the  wind  backwards; 
but  they  act  as  an  intern;i!  fonit  n- 
tation,  to  rt'move  spasnis  from  the 
bowels.  Tlie)  ma\  he  fifqiie.idy 
repeated,  tiil  (he  contined  air  finds 
a  passage  baf  k^Nards.  If  i(  slicuid 
be  found  necessary,  a  spoo;  fil  of 
laudanum  ii>Hy  be  given  in  a  pint 
of  wa(ergruel,  either  b)  the  anus 
in  a  clyster,  or  by  the  n:<>uih.  See 
Clark''s  Farritry.  Nt^ariy  the 
same  treatmen(  is  proper  tor  horn- 
ed ca(tle  imder  the  same  disorders. 

GROVE,  a  row  or  walk  of 
trees,  planted  close  or  a  little 
open,  for  ornament  and  shade. 

Groves  in  gardens  are  both  or- 
namental and  useful,  if  the  trees 
be  not  too  large.  Thev  shade  the 
walks  in  the  borders  ;  so  that  we 
may  walk  in  gardens  with  plea- 
sure, in  the  hottest  part  >fthe  day. 
It  is  scarcely  needful  to  say  that 
these  garden  groves  should  consist  of 
fruit  trees;  and  they  should  be  of 
the  smaller  kinds,  if  in  a  garJen  of 
a  small  or  middling  size.  A  dou- 
ble row  has  the  best  effect,  as  it 
respects  shade,  one  near  the  wall, 
the  other  or)  the  opposite  side  of 
the  walk.  But  this  on  the  whole 
I  do  not  recommend,  unless  it  be 
in  gardens  uncommonly  large. 

In  other  situations  groves  of 
larger  trees  are  preferred.  Lanes 
and  avenues,  leading  to  mansion 
houses   and  other  buildings,   may 


GRO 


GRO 


179 


be  ornamented  with  rows  of  trees, 
either  on  one,  or  on  both  sides : 
If  only  on  one.  it  should  be  the 
so'itherninosf,  on  account  of  the 
a<ivHtitage  of  shade  in  the  lane. 
Su'  h  trees  are  best,  the  I'wnhs  of 
which  are  not  apt  to  be  low  ;  such 
as   elm,   ash,  maple,  poplar,  &c. 

1-ots  and  enclosures  should  be 
bordered  with  rows  of  trees,  either 
fii!!t  trees  or  timber  trees,  in  close 
o.dar.  They  will  do  better  ayard 
or  vTiore  from  the  fence,  than  in 
h.  it^es  according  (o  the  En<ilish 
r  •  hod,  Hs  recommended  by  i\lor- 
tiu-er.  But  such  trees  should  be 
chosen,  as  are  not  a[)t  to  propa- 
giite  mvl  m'litiply,  lest  the  borders 
be  soon  tiiied  with  shrubs. 

}'  wo  ;id  be  iidvaiitageous  to 
I  i  ..'>!ic,  as  well  as  to  the  own- 
€is  of  rtjjnifiing  farms,  if  all  our 
road's  were  Imed  with  groves,  of 
timb'^r  trees.  Tiiey  might  be 
either  within  or  without  the  fen- 
ces. In  the  latter  case,  govern- 
ment might  interpose,  and  secure 
to  the  [daiitcrs  those  which  stood 
in  (he  roads  against  their  lands; 
and  oblige  farmers  to  plant  in 
the  roads  against  their  own 
lands.  I  should  prefer  this  to 
planting  within  the  fences,  espe- 
cially where  the  roads  have  a 
good  width.  But  the  trees  should 
be  so  tall  when  planted,  as  to  be 
above  the  reach  of  cattle  ;  and  be 
staked,  or  otherwise  secured,  till 
they  arrive  to  a  certain  bigness. 
The  expense  of  thus  securing  them 
need  not  amount  to  much,  when 
compared  to  the  advantages  aris- 
ing from  such  groves. 

Or  if  they  were  planted  along 
the  southerly  sides  of  roads  only, 
the  advantage  to  the  public  would 


be  great.  Besides  providing  a 
stock  of  wood  and  timber  for  fu- 
ture generations, the  present  would 
receive  the  benefit  of  their  shadow, 
cast  into  the  roads  in  the  hottest 
part  of  our  summer  days.  This 
would  be  extremely  refreshing  to 
travellers,  to  teams  that  pass  under 
them,  and  to  many  tame  animals 
that  live  in  the  roads.  In  this  case, 
the  adjoining  lots  would  not  be  in- 
jured with  the  shade  ;  but  for  the 
beauty  of  their  appearance,  trees 
on  both  sides  of  the  road  would  be 
best. 

If  the  country  were  well  stock- 
ed with  these  groves,  their  perspi- 
ration would  help  to  abate  the 
scorching  heat  of  the  sun,  in  a  dry 
season,  by  moistening  the  atmo- 
sphere. They  would  serve  to  im- 
pede the  force  of  high,  driving 
winds  and  storms  in  summer,which 
often  tear  our  tender  vegetables,or 
lay  our  crops  flat  to  the  ground. — 
Our  buildings  would  be  also  in  less 
danger  from  them.  The  winds  in 
winter  would  not  be  so  keen  and 
violent.  The  force  of  sea  winds 
on  our  fruit  trees  would  be  abated. 
The  snows  that  fall  would  be  laid 
more  even  on  the  ground.  Roads 
would  be  less  blocked  up,  andsel- 
domer  rendered  impassable  by 
them.  But  for  these  last  purpo- 
ses, groves  of  evergreens  will  have 
the  greatest  effect. 

Groves  should  be  planted  thick 
at  first,  that  the  above  advantages 
may  be  had  from  them  while  young. 
When  the  trees  become  so  large 
as  to  be  crowded,  they  should  be 
thinned.  And  thus  a  coiisiderable 
quantity  of  fuel  and  timber  may  be 
soon  realized  by  the   proprietors. 


180 


H  AR 


11  A  R 


The  increasing  scarcity  and 
dearness  of  wood,  especially  in  the 
older  settlements  in  tins  conntry, 
affords  an  unanswerable  argunier.t 
in  favour  of  such  a  piece  of  good 
husbandry. 

GUINEA  CORN.  "Guinea 
Corn,  or  Hulcus  Sorghum  L.  an 
exotic  vegetable,  growing  on  the 
coast  of  Africa  :  its  stalks  are  large, 
compact,  generally  attaining  the 
height  of  7  or  8  feet,  and  produc- 
ing abundance  of  grain.  It  may 
be  easily  raised  in  sheltered  situ- 
ations, especially  in  exhausted 
hot-beds  and  other  loose  soils, 
where  its  seeds  should  be  sown 
early  in  the  spring.  This  plant  is 
cultivated  in  South-Carolina,  and 
yields  from  sixty  to  eighty  bushels 
of  seed  to  an  acre.  It  is  often 
mowed  green  for  the  purpose  of 
soiling  cattle. 

"  The  seed  is  used  for  feeding 
poultry,  and  sometimes  hulled  by 
beating  in  a  mortar,  boiled  and 
eaten  with  milk,  and  is  said  to  be 
equal  to  rice  ;  but  it  is  not  valued 
highly  for  makii.g  bread,  which 
made  of  this  material  is  black  and 
heavy." 


H. 

HARROW,  a  kind  of  drag  used 
in  tillage.  By  drawing  a  harrow 
over  ploughed  ground,  the  clods 
which  remain  after  ploughing,  are 
broken,  and  the  ground  made  mel- 
low and  fine.  It  serves  also  to  de- 
stroy weeds,  by  pulling  out  their 
roots,  and  exposing  them  to  the  sun 
and  wind.  And  it  is  used  to  cover 
seeds  newly  sown.  The  wood  of 
a  harrow  should  be  the  strongest 


and  best  seasoned  while  oak. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  harrows 
conunonly  used  ;  the  square  har- 
row, and  the  bifurcate  harrow  ;  the 
former  is  for  old  and  clear  ground, 
the  latter  for  land  that  abounds  with 
stumps  of  trees  and  other  obsta- 
cles. The  square  harrow  is  armed 
with  sixteen,  or  with  twenty  five 
tushes,  or  teeth.  The  sharper 
these  teeth  are,  the  more  they  will 
pulverize  the  soil.  If  they  be 
steeled  at  the  points,  they  vviil  hold 
their  sharpness  the  longer,  and  stir 
the  ground  more  effectually.  And 
the  cost  of  doing  it  so  little,  that  it 
is  surprising  to  see  that  it  is  so  gen- 
erally neglected  by  our  farmers. 

it  has  been  the  common  prac- 
tice in  this  country  to  place  the 
teeth  in  the  joints  of  the  square 
harrow.  But  this  has  a  tendency 
to  weaken  the  joints,  and  the  teeth 
are  more  apt  to  become  loose. — 
They  should  be  placed  in  the  solid 
parts  between  the  joints.  The 
best  way  to  fasten  them  is,  with 
shoulders  under  the  harrow,  and 
nuts  screwed  on  above. 

Some  use  harrows  with  wooden 
teeth,  but  they  are  of  go  little  ad- 
vantage to  the  land,  unless  it  be 
merely  for  covering  seeds, that  they 
may  be  considered  as  unfit  to  be 
used  at  all.  The  treading  of  the 
cattle  that  draw  them,  will  harden 
the  soil  more,  perhaps,  than  these 
harrows  will  soften  it. 

The  bifurcate,  or  triangular  har- 
row, is  either  a    fork   of   natural 
I  growth,  or  else  made  artificially. — 
'  The  artificial    one   is    commonly 
strongest,  when  well  made,  as  tim- 
ber may  be  chosen  which  is  snffi- 
\  ciently  tough    and  strong.       The 
two  legs  may  either  be  lapped  to- 


H  AR 


H  AR 


181 


gether^t  the  angle,  ore!se  framed 
together  like  a  pair  of  rafters,  ex- 
cepting that  the  butt  ends,  being 
toughest,  and  strong^est  'nust  be  put 
together.  But  the  jo  nt  must  be 
streiiiithened  by  a  good  iron  hoop 
smartl)  driven  on  to  the  nose,  af- 
ter the  wood  is  thoroughly  dry. and 
fastened  vvith  strong  nails  ;  and 
further  strengthened  with  a  brace 
from  one  leg  to  the  other,  framed 
in, about  two  feet  from  the  juncture 
of  the  legs. 

The  angle  may  be  more  or  less 
acute,  according  to  the  state  of  the 
land  in  which  the  harrow  is  mostly 
to  be  used.  For  the  roughest 
ground  the  angle  must  be  more 
acute  ;  but  for  well  cleared  ground, 
the  angle  may  be  of  45  degrees,or 
more.  The  snore  obtuse  the  angle 
is,  the  more  near  together  the  teeth 
must  be  placed.  In  this  kind  of 
harrow  some  put  9,  some  1 1,  and 
some  13  teeth,  or  even  15.  The 
rougher  and  harder  the  land,  the 
fewer  the  teeth  ;  and  the  fewer 
they  are,  the  longer  and  stronger 
they  should  be.  Twelve  inches 
clear  of  the  wood  is  not  too  long, 
nor  three  pounds  too  heavy  for  a 
tooth  in  the  strongest  harrows. 

To  prevent  this  machine  from 
fastening  itself  often  in  immovea- 
ble stumps  and  roots, (he  teeth  may 
be  set  leaning  a  little  backwards. 
But  where  there  are  no  obstacles, 
they  should  rather  incline  the  con- 
trary way,  or  at  least  they  should 
be  perpendicular. 

Some  make  use  of  a  horse  har- 
row of  the  forked  kind,  and  very 
narrow,  to  mellow  the  ground  and 
kill  weeds,  betwixt  rows  of  Indian 
corn.       But  the  horse  plough  an- 


swers the  purpose  better  in  gener- 
al, unless  it  be  upon  green  sward 
ground,  in  which  the  horse  plough 
will  not  answer  at  all.  The  stiff- 
ness of  the  old  furrows  will  prevent 
its  regular  going.  Lord  Kaimes 
recommends  what  he  calls  a  clean- 
ing harrow  witli  no  less  than  56 
teeth,  which  teeth  are  no  more 
than  six  inches  apart.  The  use  of 
it  is  to  clear  land  of  roots,  in  an  ex- 
peditious and  etrectual  manner. — 
The  weight  of  a  tooth  is  one  pound 
only.  It  they  are  set  raking  for- 
ward they  will  penetrate  the  deep- 
er, and  have  a  better  effect. 

The  harrows  most  generally  used 
are  of  an  oblong  shape,  each  con- 
taining 20  tines,  5  or  6  inches  long 
beneath  the  bars  in  which  they  are 
inserted.  It  is  still  common  for 
every  harrow  to  work  separately  ; 
and  though  always  two,  and  some- 
times three  harrows  are  placed  to- 
gether, each  of  them  is  drawn  by 
its  own  horse.  The  great  objec- 
tion to  this  method  is,  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible,  especially  upon 
rough  ground,  to  prevent  the  har- 
rows from  starting  out  of  their  pla- 
ces, and  riding  on  one  another. — 
To  obviate  this  inconvenience  the 
exterior  bars  of  each  are  usually 
surmounted  by  a  frame  of  wood, 
raised  so  high  as  to  protect  it  from 
the  irregular  motions  of  its  neigh- 
bour ;  but  in  many  instances,  they 
are  connected  by  chains  or  hinges, 
and  cross  bars,  which  is  a  prefera- 
ble plan.  Another  objection, which 
has  been  made  to  the  common  har- 
row is,  that  the  ruts,  made  by  the 
tines,  are  sometimes  too  near,  and 
sometimes  too  distant  from  one  an- 
other ■,  but  this  is  not  a  great  fault ; 


182 


HAR 


HAR 


when,  the  soil  requires  to  be  pul- 
verized as  well  as  the  seed  cover- 
ed, especially  when  they  are  per- 
mitted to  move  irregularly,  and  in 
a  lateral  direction.  Where  the 
soil  is  already  tine,  as  it  ought  al- 
ways to  be  before  grass  seeds  are 
sown,  lighter  harrows  are  used, 
which  are  so  constructed  that  all 
the  ruts  are  equidistant.  Supple- 
ment to  the  Encyclopaedia  Britanni- 
ca,  p.  115. 

Sir  John  Sinclair  gives  the  fol- 
lowing principal  rules  regarding 
the  formation  of  harrows  :  1.  That 
not  any  two  of  the  teeth  should 
move  in  one  tract.  2.  That 
the  tracts  should  be  at  equal  dis- 
tances from  each  other.  And,  3, 
That  the  teeth,  should  either  be 
round,  or  perhaps  with  a  sharp 
edge  bent  forward,  like  so  many 
coulters,  as  they  make  themselves 
cleaner  than  when  they  are  square, 
or  of  any  other  shape,  and  work 
easier  after  the  horses.  The  teeth 
of  harrows  are  generally  of  unequal 
lengths,  the  front  row  being  about 
half  an  inch  shorter  than  the  sec- 
ond, and  the  third  row  being  about 
one  inch  shorter  than  the  first ;  so 
that  each  row  backwards,  is  about 
one  half  inch  shorter  than  the  one 
which  precedes  it.  Where  crops 
are  drilled,  an  instrument  called 
"  the  dr  11  harrow,"  is  foimd  a  very 
great  improvement.  It  thorough- 
ly cuts  the  weeds  in  the  intervals, 
and  harrows  them  up  to  the  top  in 
a  very  complete  manner. 

HARROWING,  working  the 
soil  with  a  harrow.  A  team  that 
travels  quick,  is  best  for  harrowing, 
unless  the  land  be  too  full  of  obsta- 
cles.     Horses,  therefore,  are  bet- 


ter for  this  work  than  oxen,because 
their  motion  is  quicker.  The  fast- 
er the  harrow  moves, and  the  more 
it  jumps,  the  more  the  hard  clods 
are  broken,  and  (he  turfs  torn. — 
The  teeth  will  also  keep  cleaner 
and  go  deeper  ;  so  that  the  land 
will  be  more  n^ixed  and  mellowed. 
But  clayey  land  is  so  apt  to  be 
cloddy,  that  it  is  often  necessar)  to 
follow  the  harrow  with  a  maul,  or 
a  hoe,  to  break  the  remaining 
clods. 

Besides  pulverizing  the  soil, 
covering  seeds,  and  drawing  out 
the  roots  of  weeds,  the  designs  of 
harrowing  are  to  make  the,  land 
level,  or  smooth  ;  and,  on  fallows, 
to  cause  the  seeds  of  some  weeds 
to  vegetate  by  exposing  (hem  to 
the  air,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
destroyed  by  after  operations,  ei- 
ther with  the  plough  or  the  har- 
row. 

When  land  is  wet  and  poachy ,or 
at  all  muddy,  it  can  be  of  no  ser- 
vice to  harrow  it.  It  will  rather 
do  damage,  as  it  will  make  it  more 
compact  and  stiflf. 

Land  that  is  too  light  and  puffy, 
as  drained  swamps  often  are.  can- 
not easily  be  too  much  harrowed. 
The  more  it  is  harrowed,  (he  more 
compact  it  will  be ;  and  this  is 
what  it  wants. 

The  harrowing  of  new  ground 
for  feeding,  without  ploughing, 
may  be  performed  in  almost  any 
weather,  if  the  ground  be  only  dry 
enough  to  be  mellowed  by  the  har- 
row. And  the  sooner,  afterburn- 
ing, this  work  is  done,  so  much  the 
better,  as  it  will  prevent  the  ashes 
being  blown  away  by  high  winds, 
and  as  it  will  spread  it  more  equal- 


H  AR 


HAR 


183 


ly,  and  more  effectually  mix  it 
with  the  soil.  Here  the  strongest 
harrow  must  be  used  ;  and  it  ought 
to  be  heavy,  in  order  to  make  any 
considerable  im[>ression  on  the 
soil.  It  is  often  necessary  that  the 
harrow  pass  several  times  in  (he 
same  place, in  order  to  raise  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  mould.  There 
is  no  reason  to  fear  its  being  lost 
labour.  The  more  such  ground  is 
harrowed,  the  better  crop  may  be 
rationally  expected. 

On  furrows  of  green  sward  new- 
ly ploughed,  the  harrow  should 
pass  the  same  way  that  the  plough 
did  :  Otherwise,  some  of  the  fur- 
rows, which  lie  a  little  higher  than 
the  rest,  will  be  turned  back  again, 
grass  upwards.  This  sort  of  land 
requires  a  heavy  harrow,  or  one 
made  so  by  loading  it.  A  light  one 
will  sink  into  the  furrows  but  lit- 
tle, and  be  of  little  servict;. 

On  idd  ground,  ploughed  plain, 
the  harrow  should  pass  the  first 
time,  across  the  furrows,  as  the 
teeth  will  better  take  hold  of  the 
roots  of  weeds,  and  more  deeply 
penetrate  the  soil.  It  will  also  do 
more  towards  levelling  the  ground. 
Afterwards  it  should  be  harrowed 
the  other  way,  lengthwise  of  the 
furrows. 

Harrowing  commonly  does  the 
most  service  immediately  after 
ground  is  ploughed,  as  the  teeth  go 
deeper  and  raise  the  more  mould. 
If  it  be  neglected  at  this  juncture, 
a  time  should  be  chosen  when  the 
soil  is  not  too  dry.  After  a  gentle 
rain  the  clods  will  crumble  the 
more  easily  ;  and  the  soil  under- 
neath being  drier,  will  not  be  har- 
dened by  the  treading  of  cattle. 


In  light  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils, 
or  where  there  is  occasion  for  har- 
rowing land  which  is  excessively 
dry,  or  in  danger  of  soon  becoming 
so,  it  should  be  done  when  the 
dew  is  on  the  ground,  early  in  a 
moriiing.  This  will  increase,  rath- 
er ihan  dimmish  the  moislness  of 
the  soil.  And  on  the  contrary, 
land  which  is  apt  to  be  too  wet, 
should  be  harrowed  at  a  time  when 
it  is  driest,  as  in  the  middle  of  a  fair 
day.  The  first  scratching  will 
cause  it  to  dry  fast,  and  so  pre- 
pare it  to  be  made  fine  and  mel- 
low by  the  second. 

The  European  farmers  recom- 
mend harrowing  ground  once  over 
before  corn  is  sowed,  and  then  to 
harrow  in  the  seed  the  contrary 
way.  The  grain  will  be  the  more 
even,  and  not  appear  so  much  in 
rows,  as  if  it  were  sowed  upon  the 
furrows;  but  it  will  not  be  so 
deeply  covered.  Perhaps  sowing 
upon  furrows,  both  winter  and 
summer  grain,  may  be  generally 
the  better  method  in  this  country, 
which  is  so  much  more  liable  to 
suffer  by  severe  frosts  and  droughts. 
Some  of  our  farmers  even  think  it 
best  to  plough  in  the  seed  with  a 
shallow  furrow.  The  roots  will 
lie  the  deeper,  and  be  less  expos- 
ed to  suffer  by  frost  and  drought. 

Harrowing  fallows  is  doubtless  a 
beneficial  operation.  If  it  be  done 
two  or  three  times  between  plough- 
ings,  the  seeds  of  weeds  will  be  en- 
couraged to  vegetate,  and  conse- 
quently will  be  killed  at  the  next 
ploughing  or  harrowing.  Thus 
the  land  will  become  very  clean 
after  a  year  of  fallow ;  and  the 
food  and  pasture  of  plants  will  be 


184 


H  AR 


HAR 


more  increased  than  it  could  be 
by  ploughing  only.  For  every 
weed  that  consumes  in  the  soil  is 
of  some  advantage. 

Some  have  found  their  account 
in  harrowing  mowing  grounds, 
when  they  have  become  boi.nd 
and  stiff.  Though  the  roots  of  the 
grass  are  much  torn  and  mangled 
by  harrowing,  the  soil  will  be  loos- 
ened at  the  surface,  and  the  vege- 
tation of  the  grass  so  much  in- 
creased, that  the  excess  of  the  next 
crop  will  more  than  compensate 
the  labour  of  liarrowing.  It  should 
be  done  in  autumn,  and  before 
heavy  rains  fall,  but  after  a  gentle 
one,  when  the  surface  is  a  little 
moistened.  It  would  be  best,  be- 
fore harrowing,  to  atford  tlie  land 
a  sprinkling  of  old  dung,  or  com- 
post :  Or  else  immediately  after, 
and  bush  it  in.  its  fruitfulness 
will  thus  be  greatly  increased. 

The  harrowing  of  land  that  is 
ploughed  in  ridges,  should  be  per- 
formed lengthwise,  and  by  two 
barrows  abreast,  or  three,  if  the 
breadth  of  the  ridges  require  them, 
that  the  (renches  may  not  be  too 
much  filled.  The  second  harrow- 
ing may  be  across,  if  the  land 
needs  to  be  laid  even  for  mowing. 
But  then  the  trenches  should  be 
cleared  out  with  a  shovel  or 
plough,  if  the  land  be  so  flat  and 
wet  as  to  make  it  proper  or  neces- 
sary to  lay  it  down  in  ridges. 

Harrowing  of  winter  grain,  in 
the  spring,  is  approved  of  beyond 
the  Atlantic.  When  the  roots  are 
well  set,  and  in  sufficient  plenty,  I 
think  this  may  be  a  laudable  piece 
of  husbandry.  The  hairow  will 
destroy    but  a  few  of  the  plants  ; 


and  the  loss  of  them  will  be  more 
than  made  up  in  the  increased 
growth  of  the  rest.  But,  in  order 
to  make  the  loosened  plants  take 
rootuig,  Mr.  Lisle  advises  to  drive 
a  flock  of  sheep  about  over  the 
field.  Others  advise  to  rolling 
the  ground,  which  appears  more 
rational. 

"  There  are  two  modes  of  driv- 
ing the  harrows,  either  leading  the 
horses,  or  driving  them  by  whip- 
reins.  The  latter  ought  to  be 
preferred,  for  as  young  horses  are 
frequently  employed  in  harrowing, 
before  they  are  broken  to  regular 
woik,  the  person,  who  leads,  is 
exposed  to  considerable  danger: 
whereas,  when  he  directs  the  hor- 
ses by  long  whip-reins,  he  runs  no 
risk,  and  is  always  at  hand,  to  re- 
move any  obstructions  that  may 
occur,  from  the  accumulation  of 
weeds,  and  other  extraneous  sub- 
stances among  the  tines,  or  by  the 
harrows  riding  on  each  other. 

"  HarrowMig  is  usually  given  in 
ditrerent  directions :  first  in  length, 
then  across,  and  finally  at  length, 
as  at  first.  An  excess  of  harrow- 
ins  is  prejudicial  to  wheat,  it  is 
better  for  that  crop  to  have  the 
land  rougK  and  cloddy ;  but  the 
process  ought  to  be  efTectually 
done  for  barley,  (more  especially 
if  accompanied  by  grass  seeds), 
and  for  turnips.  Code  of  Jgricid- 
ture. 

HARVEST,  the  season  when 
corn  is  cut  down,  and  secured. 

Wheat  and  rye  are  harvested 
in  much  the  same  manner.  Both 
are  reaped  and  bound  in  sheaves. 
It  is  usual  to  cut  rye  rather  green- 
er than  wheat,  that  the  flour  may 
be  the  whiter. 


HAR 


H  AR 


11 


When  a  severe  blight  or  rust 
has  struck  the  stems  of  wheat,  or 
rye,  it  answers  no  purpose  to  let 
it  stand  longer  to  ripen,  or  grow 
hard.  It  is  agreed  that  it  should 
be  cut  though  full  in  milk.  And 
afterwards  it  may  lie  on  the  ground, 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  weather, 
till  the  grain  is  hardened.  But 
the  heads  should  lie  so  as  not  to 
touch  the  ground;  which  may  be 
easily  done,  if  the  reapers  will 
only  take  care  to  lay  the  top  end 
of  each  handful  on  the  lower  end 
of  the  preceding  one.  Some  say 
it  vvill  answer  to  cut  it  three  weeks 
before  the  usual  time,  and  before 
the  stenjs  are  turned  )ellow. 

If  grass  or  weeds  grow  among 
grain,  it  should  be  cut  high,  that 
so  the  less  quantity  of  trash  may 
be  bound  up  in  the  sheaves.  And 
when  taking  weeds  with  the  grain 
cannot  be  avoided,  it  should  be 
reaped  a  little  the  earlier,  that  it 
may  have  time  to  lie  in  the  field, 
till  the  weeds  are  well  dried,  with- 
out danger  of  scattering  the  corn 
by  its  being  over  dried. 

The  bands  should  be  made  in  a 
morning  early,  when  the  dew  is 
greatest,  and  the  straw  most  sup- 
ple. But  the  best  tinruB  to  bijid 
the  sheaves,  is  when  the  air  begins 
to  be  damp  towards  evening,  as 
the  least  degree  of  moisture  will 
toughen  the  straw  and  prevent 
the  scattering  of  the  grain  :  And 
there  is  some  degree  of  dampness 
in  the  air,  for  an  hour  or  two  be- 
fore sunset. 

A  late  writer  advises  to  make 
the  sheaves  with  only  one  length 
of  straw. 

After  binding,  it  should  be  made 
24 


up  into  shocks  without  delay,  or 
after  standing  in  sheaves  one  day, 
if  the  weather  be  settled  and  dry  ; 
where  it  is  to  stand  in  the  field  till 
not  only  the  straw,  but  the  grain, 
be  thoroughly  dried  ;  and  till  a 
suitable  opportunity  present  for 
carting  it  in.  It  should  be  done 
when  the  air  has  a  small  degree 
of  dampness,  to  prevent  the  scat- 
tering of  the  grain. 

It  would  be  best  on  some  ac- 
counts, that  grain  should  be  thrash- 
ed as  soon  as  it  is  carried  in.  But 
as  it  is  usually  a  hurrying  season, 
it  is  but  seldom  that  the  farmer  can 
spare  time  for  it.  It  must,  there- 
fore, be  stored  most  commonly. 

The  best  method  of  storing  it, 
is,  to  lay  the  sheaves  up  in  the 
barn.  But  if  want  of  room  re- 
quire them  to  be  stacked,  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  grain 
may  not  draw  moisture  from  the 
ground,  by  laying  boards,  straw,  or 
rubbish  under  the  stack.  A  bet- 
ter way  still  is  to  have  a  tight 
floor  of  boards  mounted  on  four 
blocks,  set  in  the  ground,  and  so 
high  from  the  ground  as  to  pre- 
vent the  entering  of  vermin. 

In  building  a  stack,  care  should 
be  taken  to  keep  the  seed  ends  of 
the  sheaves  in  the  middle,  and  a 
little  higher  than  the  outer  ends. 
No  fowls  nor  birds  can  then  come 
at  the  grain :  and  the  rain  that 
falls  on  the  straw  ends  will  runoff, 
and  not  pass  towards  the  centre. 
The  stack  should  be  well  topped 
with  straw,  that  the  rain  may  be 
completely  turned  off.  As  to  the 
harvesting  of  barley,  oats  and 
pease,  see  those  articles. 

With  respect  to  harvesting  In- 


186 


H  AR 


HAT 


dian  corn,  I  would  observe,  that 
many  do  it  nnuch  too  early,  to 
their  own  damage  and  loss.  As 
long  as  there  is  any  greenness,  or 
sap,  remaining  in  the  whole  length 
of  the  stalk,  below  the  ear,  or 
even  in  the  cob;  so  long  the  corn 
improves  by  standing.  For  the 
sap  will  continue  to  discharge  it- 
self into  the  grain.  Though  a 
crop  harvested  earlier  may  meas- 
ure as  much  in  ears,  or  more, 
when  it  is  newly  husked,  it  will 
shrink  a  great  deal,  sometimes  so 
much  that  not  two  corns  on  an  ear 
will  touch  each  other.  Besides, 
there  will  be  the  greater  difficulty 
in  drying  and  keeping  it.  Corn 
that  is  harvested  early,  will  not  be 
fit  to  store  in  out  door  cribs,  nor 
in  our  common  corn  houses,  un- 
less it  be  first  spread  thin  on  floors, 
and  dried.  And  this  is  trouble- 
some, at  least,  if  not  impractica- 
ble. 

Squirrels,  and  rapacious  birds, 
disorderly  cattle  and  bad  fences, 
drive  persons  to  harvesting  early. 
But  there  is  commonly  more  lost 
than  saved  by  it.  When  the  corn 
stands  tolerably  secure,  and  is  in 
no  danger  from  frost,  nor  from 
thieves,  harvesting  early  is  an  er- 
ror. I  should  not  think  the  begin- 
ning of  November  at  all  too  late. 

It  is  not  safe  to  let  it  lie  long  in 
the  husks  after  it  is  gathered,  lest 
it  should  heat,  or  contract  damp- 
ness. One  unripe  ear  or  green 
stalk,  in  a  heap,  may  damage  ma- 
ny. The  common  practice  of  col- 
lecting large  companies  to  husk 
the  corn  as  soon  as  it  is  gathered, 
is  a  laudable  one.  And  after  it  is 
husked,  it  should  have  a  dry  place, 


I  and  so  much  benefit  of  the  air, 
that  it  may  be  sure  not  to  grow 
warm,  let  the  air  prove  to  be  ever 
so  moist. 

Sometimes  a  severe  early  frost 
drives  the  farmer  to  harvesting, 
as  he  knows  the  frostbitten  corn 
is  apt  to  rot  in  the  husks.  But  in 
such  a  case,  or  when  corn  holds 
its  greenness  uncommonly  late,  an 
approved  method  is,  to  cut  it  up 
close  to  the  ground,  bind  it  in  small 
bundles,  and  set  it  up  in  small 
shocks  in  the  field.  It  will  ripen 
kindly,  and  take  no  damage.  By 
this  method  the  grain  has  the  ben- 
efit of  all  the  sap  contained  in  the 
stalks,  to  bring  it  nearer  to  matu- 
rity. 

I  have  heard  of  some  persons 
in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  who, 
finding  their  Indian  corn  very 
green  at  harvesting,  have  boiled 
it  in  the  ears  after  husking;  By 
which  expedient  they  were  able 
to  dry  it  in  the  ears,  without  its 
rotting,  or  moulding.  This  may 
be  no  ill  method  at  a  pinch.  But 
rather  than  be  obliged  to  do  it 
yearly,  1  should  think  they  had 
better  lay  aside  the  culture  of  this 
plant,  or  else  use  no  seed  but  from 
the  northward,  which  will  ripen 
in  season. 

HATCHEL,  an  instrument  cal- 
led sometimes,  a  Comb,  full  of  long 
pins  of  iron  or  steel  for  teeth,  with 
which  flax  and  hemp  are  conffbed. 
They  who  manufacture  these  ar- 
ticles, as  perhaps  all  the  families 
of  farmers  should,  ought  to  be  pro- 
vided with  several  hatchels  of  dif- 
ferent finenesses.  Where  only  flax 
is  manufactured,  two  combs,  one 
coarse,  and  the  other  fine,  will  be 
sufficient. 


HAY 


HA  Y 


187 


HAY.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  greatest  quantity  of  nutriment 
is  found  in  the  leaves  and  stalks  of 
plants,  just  at  the  moment  when 
the  seed  is  forming;  and  that  the 
grass  loses  rapidly  its  value,  as  the 
seed  advances  to  maturity.  It  is 
the  better  opinion  also  that  the 
plant  itself  is  the  more  exhausted 
by  sufTering  it  to  mature  its  seed, 
and  in  crops  that  are  to  last  sever- 
alyears  this  consideration  deserves 
weight.  The  rule  applied  to  clo- 
ver is  applicable  to  all  plants,  that 
they  should  be  cut  for  hay,  when 
one  half  the  plants  of  a  tield  are  in 
flower. 

HAY  HOOK,  an  instrument  to 
pull  hay  out  of  a  mow,  or  stack. — 
This  instrument  is  often  made  of 
wood  ;  but  an  iron  one  is  far  pre- 
ferable. It  should  be  sharp  point- 
ed, armed  with  a  fluke,  and  have 
a  socket  to  receive  the  wooden 
handle.  The  handle  should  have 
a  turn  at  the  end  for  the  ease  of 
pulling.  There  can  be  no  better 
handle  than  the  half  of  an  old  ox 
bow  :  Or  a  little  more  than  half. 
But  this  instrument  will  waste  the 
hay,  and  divest  it  of  much  of  the 
seed.  A  better  way  is,  to  cut  off' 
slices  of  two  or  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, from  a  mow  or  stack,  as  it  is 
wanted  for  use. 

HAY-iMAKING,  the  curing,  or 
drying  of  grass  for  fodder.  The 
first  thing  to  be  considered  about 
hay-making,  is  the  time  of  cutting 
the  grass.  It  should  not  be  cut 
too  early,  or  before  it  has  got  its 
growth  :  For  this  will  cause  it  to 
shrink  too  much  in  drying.  On  the 
contrary,  it  should  not  stand  too 
late,  or  till  the  seed  be  quite  ripe. 


Tt  is  not  only  harder  to  cut,  but  the 
ripeness  of  the  seed  will  cause  it  to 
shatter  out  while  drying,which  will 
be  a  considerable  loss,as  the  seed  is 
the  most  rich  and  nourishing  part ; 
and  the  soil  will  be  the  more  ex- 
hausted by  nourishing  the  seed  till 
it  come  to  maturity,  and  the  next 
succeeding  crop  will  bf  the  poor- 
er. There  never  can  be  any  ad- 
vantage in  mowing  late,  unless  it 
be  thickening  the  grass  roots,  by 
scattering  some  of  the  seed, where 
they  were  before  too  thin.  He 
that  mows  early  has  the  advantage 
of  longer  days  for  drying  his  hay  ; 
and  of  shorter  nights,  when  the 
dews  are  less  detrimental  to  hay- 
making. 

But  the  farmer  who  has  many 
acres  of  the  same  kind  of  grass, 
cannot  always  expect  to  cut  the 
whole  of  it  in  exactly  the  right  sea- 
son. That  he  may  approach  as 
near  to  right  as  possible,  he  should 
cut  the  thickest  grass  first  of  all  ; 
especially  if  it  be  in  danger  of 
lodging,  or  so  thick  that  the  lowest 
leaves  perish,  or  the  bottoms  of 
the  stalks  turn  yellow.  The  thin- 
nest of  his  grass  should  be  cut  next, 
which  is  apt  to  be  ripe  soonest : 
And  last  of  all,  the  middling  sized 
grass,  or  that  which  is  on  a  medi- 
um between  thick  and  thin. 

Where  a  second  crop  is  expect- 
ed the  same  year,thick  grass  should 
be  cut  a  little  the  earlier,  that  the 
roots  may  not  be  injured  so  much 
as  to  prevent  their  speedy  recov- 
ery, by  being  closely  covered  too 
long  by  the  first  crop. 

Some  regard  should  be  had  to 
the  weather,  when  the  time  of  cut- 
ting is  in  contemplation.      Those, 


188 


HAY 


HAY 


especially,  should  regard  it,  who 
are  able  to  call  in  as  much  assist 
ance  as  they  please  in  hay-nnaking. 

Grass,  which  has  not  been  wash- 
ed by  rain  for  several  days,  has  a 
kind  of  gum  on  it,  which  is  known 
by  its  adhering  to  the  scythe.  This 
gum  is  thought  to  be  a  benefit  to 
the  hay  ;  and  farmers  are  fond  of 
mowing  their  grass  when  this  gum 
appears,  rather  than  just  after  the 
grass  has  been  washed  by  rain. 

As  to  the  drying  of  hay,  or  the 
manner  of  making  it,  I  know  there 
are  a  variety  of  opinions.  The 
right  way  is  to  do  it  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  as  much  of  the  sap  as  pos- 
sible may  be  retained,  and  in  the 
best  state  that  is  possible.  In  this 
I  should  think  all  would  agree.— 
All  persons  will  allow  that  too 
much  drying  is  hurtful.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  loss  to  rake  it,  or  stir  it  at 
all,  when  it  is  so  dry  that  the  leaves 
will  crumble.  And  doubtless  as 
much  of  the  sap  should  be  retain- 
ed as  is  consistent  with  its  being 
kept  in  good  order  for  fodder,  and 
for  long  keeping. 

Some  grasses  will  keep  well  with 
less  drying  than  is  needful  for  oth- 
ers. The  Rhode-Island  bent,  as 
it  is  called,  or  red-top  grass,  will 
do  with  less  drying  than  some  oth- 
er grasses.  It  has  been  much  prac- 
tised to  put  it  up  with  so  little  dry- 
ing that  it  heats  in  the  mow  to  so 
great  a  degree,  as  to  make  it  turn 
brown  like  tobacco ;  and  it  is 
known  that  cattle  will  eat  it  well, 
and  thrive  on  it.  But  the  mow 
will  certainly  send  out  part  of  the 
virtue  of  the  hay  in  steams.  I  can- 
not but  think  that  all  grasses  should 
be  so  much  dried,  that  mows  and 


stacks,  though  they  have  a  degree 
of  heat,  should  not  emit  any  sensi- 
ble steam  ;  and  1  would  not  wish 
to  have  hay  made  brown  by 
mow-burning.  It  surely  does  not 
appear  to  so  good  advantage  at 
market. 

Were  it  not  for  the  labour  and 
cost,  a  good  way  of  ha^-making 
would  be,  for  the  haymakers  to 
follow  at  the  heels  of  the  mowers, 
at  least  as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off, 
and  spread  the  swarths  evenly  ; 
turn  the  grass  about  the  middle 
of  the  same  day ;  make  it  up  into 
cocks  before  night ;  open  the  hay, 
and  turn  it  the  next  day  ;  and  so 
on  till  it  be  sufficiently  dried,  dou- 
bling the  cocks  if  signs  of  rain  ap- 
pear. It  will  not  commonly  take 
more  than  two  or  three  days  to  dry 
it,  unless  it  be  very  green,  or  un- 
commonly thick  and  rank.  A  per- 
son who  has  but  little  hay  to  make, 
need  not  be  much  blamed, it  he  do  in 
this  way  ;  especially  if  the  weath- 
er do  not  appear  to  be  settled. 

The  practice  of  the  best  English, 
Flemish,  and  French  farmers,  is  to 
expose  the  hay  as  little  as  possible 
to  the  sun.  It  is  carried  in  dry,  but 
it  preserves  its  green  colour;  and 
you  see  hay  of  one  or  two  years  old 
in  their  market,of  so  bright  a  green 
colour,  that  we  should  scarcely 
conceive  it  to  be  cured.  Yet  they 
are  in  the  practice  of  preserving  it 
for  years,  and  value  it  more  for  its 
age.  If  such  a  course  be  best  in 
climates  so  cool  and  cloudy,  how 
much  more  important  would  it  be 
under  our  scorching  summer  suns  ? 
But  if  the  weather  be  unsettled, 
or  if  showers  be  frequent,  it  may 
be  better  to  spread  grass  well,  as 


HAY 


HAY 


189 


soon  as  it  is  mowed,  stir  it  often, 
cock  it  the  same  day  it  is  mowed, 
open  it  the  next  fair  day  when  the 
dew  is  off,  let  it  sweat  a  Httle  in 
cock,  and  house  it  as  soon  as  it  is 
dry  enough.  It  will  bear  to  be  laid 
greener  on  a  scaffold,  than  in  a 
ground  mow  ;  and  in  a  narrov/  mow 
greener  than  in  a  broad  one.  And 
that  which  is  least  of  all  made, 
should  be  put  upon  a  scaffold. 

When  grass  is  very  thin,  and  not 
full  of  sap,  having  stood  beyond  the 
right  time  of  cutting ;  it  may  be  cut 
in  the  forenoon,  and  raked  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  ;  and 
then  dry  sufificiently  in  cocks,  in 
two  or  three  days.  But  if  a  heavy 
rain  fall,  it  will  need  to  be  opened, 
and  exposed  to  the  sun  for  a  (ew 
hours.  If  there  be  only  a  small 
quantity  of  rain,  it  may  be  sufHci- 
ent  to  pull  out  some  of  the  hay 
round  the  bottoms  of  the  cocks,  or 
only  on  that  side  which  was  wind- 
ward when  the  rain  fell,  and  lay  it 
on  the  tops.  If  the  cocks  are  so 
situated  that  the  water  has  run  much 
under  their  bottoms,  they  should 
he  turned  bottom  upwards,  and 
trimmed  at  least ;  but  it  will  most 
commonly  be  necessary  to  spread 
them  abroad. 

Sometimes  hay  will  become  too 
dry,  notwithstanding  every  precau- 
tion to  prevent  it :  For  it  will  dry 
twice  as  fast  in  some  fair  days  as  in 
otherSjbecause  of  the  different  dry- 
ness of  the  air.  When  this  is  the 
case,  it  should  be  removed  to  the 
barn  only  in  the  evening,  or  morn- 
ing, when  the  air  is  damp.  And  it  is 
good  to  have  some  greener  hay  to 
mix  with  it. 

Some  think  that  mown   grass 


should  never  be  exposed  to  the  full 
mfluence  of  the  sun,  lest  it  be  rob- 
bed of  too  much  of  its  sap,  whde  it 
is  in  its  most  fluid  state.  A  very  in- 
genious gentleman,  of  my  acquain- 
tance, does  not  permit  his  grass  to 
lie  in  swarth,  but  for  an  hour  or 
two  after  it  is  cut ;  or  no  longer 
than  till  its  wetness  be  gone,  and 
it  just  begins  to  appear  withered  : 
He  then  gathers  it  into  very  small 
parcels,  which  he  calls  grass  cocks, 
not  more  than  a  good  forkful  in 
each  :  Turns  them  over  once  in  a 
while,  about  sun  set  is  the  best 
time  :  Doubles  them  as  they  grow 
drier  :  And  when  the  hay  is  al- 
most dried  enough,  makes  up  the 
whole  into  large  cocks.  Grass 
that  is  thus  dried,  will  not  waste  at 
all  by  crumbling  ;  nor  will  much 
of  its  juices  evaporate.  I  have 
seen  his  hay,  the  flavour  of  which 
excelled  almost  any  other  that  I 
have  met  with.  The  colour  of  it, 
indeed,  was  rather  yellowish  than 
green  :  But  that  is  a  matter  of  no 
consequence  to  the  farmer  who 
does  not  send  his  hay  to  market.  I 
cannot  but  think  that,  in  dry  set- 
tled weather,  this  is  an  excellent 
method  of  hay-making.  But  in 
catching  weather,  perhaps  a  meth- 
od which  takes  less  time  is  to  be 
preferred.  From  the  above  Mr, 
Anderson's  method  is  not  much  dif- 
ferent. "  Instead,"  says  he,  "  of 
allowing  the  hay  to  lie,  as  usual  in 
most  places,  for  some  days  in  the 
swarth,  after  it  is  cut,  and  after- 
wards putting  it  up  into  cocks,  and 
spreading  it  out,  and  tending  it  in 
the  sun,  which  tends  greatly  to 
bleach  the  hay,  exhales  its  natural 
juices,  and  subjects  it  very  much 


190 


HAY 


HAY 


to  the  danger  of  getting  rain,  and 
thus  runs  a  great  risk  of  being  good 
for  little,  I  make  it  a  general  rule, 
if  possible,  never  to  cut  my  hay  but 
when  the  grass  is  quite  dry  ;  and 
then  make  the  gatherers  follow 
close  upon  the  cutters,  putting  it 
up  immediately  into  small  cocks, 
about  three  feet  high  each  when 
new  put  up  ;  always  giving  each 
of  them  a  slight  kind  of  thatching, 
by  drawing  a  few  handfuls  of  the 
hay  from  the  bottom  of  the  cock 
all  around,  and  laying  it  lightly  on 
the  top,  with  one  of  ttie  ends  hang- 
ing downwards.  This  is  done  with 
the  utmost  ease  and  expedition  ; 
and  when  it  is  once  in  that  state,  I 
consider  my  hay  as  in  a  great  mea- 
sure out  of  danger;  for  unless  a 
violent  wind  should  arise,  immedi- 
ately after  the  cocks  are  put  up,  so 
as  to  overturn  them,  nothit)g  else 
can  hurt  the  hay  ;  as  I  have  often 
experienced  that  no  rain,  however 
violent,  ever  penetrates  into  these 
cocks  but  for  a  very  little  way. — 
And,  if  they  are  dry  put  up,  they 
never  sit  together  so  closely  as  to 
heat ;  although  they  acquire  in  a 
day  or  two,  such  a  degree  of  firm- 
ness, as  to  be  in  no  danger  of  be- 
ing overturned  by  wind  after  that 
time,  unless  it  blows  a  hurricane. 

"  In  these  cocks  I  allow  the  hay 
to  remain,  until,  upon  inspection, 
I  judge  that  it  will  keep  in  pretty 
large  tramp  cocks,  &c.  The  ad- 
vantages that  attend  this  method 
are,  that  it  greatly  abridges  the  la- 
bour, that  it  allows  the  hay  to  con- 
tinue almost  as  green  as  when  it  is 
cut,  and  preserves  its  natural  jui- 
ces in  the  greatest  perfection.  For 
it  is  dried  in  the  most  slow  and 


equal  manner  that  can  be  desired. 
Lastly,  that  it  is  thus  in  a  great  mea- 
sure secured  from  almost  the  possi- 
bility of  being  damaged  by  rain." 
Essai/s  on  Agriculture. 

Clover  is  a  sort  of  hay  that  re» 
quires  a  critical  attention  in  curing : 
Because,  though  the  stalks  need 
much  drying,  the  leaves  and  heads 
will  bear  but  little  without  wasting. 
It  is  best  to  rake  it  towards  night, 
when  the  dampness  of  evening  be- 
gins to  come  on  ;  open  it  the  next 
day,  and  never  stir  it  much  when 
there  is  danger  of  its  crumbling. 

Clover,  requiring  so  long  a  time 
to  dry,  and  its  stalks  being  so  suc- 
culent that  the  leaves,  which  are 
the  best  part,  will  crumble  before 
the  hay  is  sufficiently  dried,  it  has 
been  found  expedient  to  cart  it  in 
before  the  stalks  are  dry,  and  ei- 
ther to  put  it  up  with  alternate 
layers  of  straw,  or  to  salt  it  at  the 
rate  of  from  one  half  to  one  bushel 
of  salt  to  the  ton. 

Salt  hay,  in  this  country,  has 
usually  been  hurt  by  lying  too  long 
in  the  swarths.  The  method  in 
which  I  have  treated  it  for  several 
years,  is,  to  cock  it  the  next  day 
after  it  is  cut,  and  carry  it  in,  with- 
out delaying  more  than  one  day, 
and  put  a  layer  of  some  kind  of  dry 
straw  between  load  and  load  of  it, 
in  the  mow,  to  prevent  its  taking 
damage  by  over-heating.  The 
straw  contracts  so  much  of  its 
moisture  and  saltness,  that  the  cat- 
tle will  eat  it  very  freely  ;  and  the 
hay  is  far  better  than  that  made  in 
the  common  way. 

If  this  hay  be  permitted  to  lie 
out  in  rains,  the  saltness  of  it  will 
be  diminished,    which    they  who 


HAY 


HED 


191 


have  but  little  other  fodder  may  be 
apt  to  consider  as  an  advantage. — 
But  it  will  contract  no  virtue, while 
it  loses  its  saltness.  The  fresh  wa- 
ter will  damage  it  ;  especially  for 
those  who  have  plenty  of  other 
fodder,  or  even  straw  to  mix  with 
it. 

Salt  hay  should  not  be  cut  when 
the  full  or  change  of  the  moon  is 
approaching,  lest  the  tides  should 
be  high,  before  it  can  be  got  off 
from  the  marsh. 

"Gen.  Smith,  of  Suffolk,  makes 
use  of  a  horse-rake,  for  raking  on 
his  smooth  mowing  grounds,which 
with  one  man,  a  horse,  and  a  boy 
to  ride  the  horse,  will  gather  hay 
as  fast  as  six  men  in  the  ordinary 
way.  The  rake  is  about  ten  feet 
long  ;  the  teeth  about  two  feet ; 
and  at  right  angles,  from  these  are 
some  upright  slats  of  the  same 
length,  set,  at  the  lower  end  into 
the  piece  into  which  the  teeth  are 
morticed,  and  into  another  light 
slender  piece  at  the  top. 

"  The  teeth,  when  in  operation, 
run  along  the  ground  nearly  hori- 
zontally, with  the  points  a  little  the 
lowest,  so  as  to  run  under  the  hay, 
and  as  they  take  it  up,  the  upright 
slats  retain  it  till  the  rake  is  full, 
when  the  man  who  follows  it  be- 
hind turns  it  over,  and  thus  emp- 
ties it  in  a  row  ;  then  lifts  it  over 
the  hay  thus  emptied,  and  sets  it 
in  beyond  it ;  and  so  it  proceeds 
on,  till  it  is  again  filled,  and  the 
same  process  is  again  repeated. 

"  When  one  strip  across  the  piece 
is  thus  raked  up,  the  horse  is  turn- 
ed round,  and  another  strip  is  ra- 
ked in  the  same  manner,  emptying 
the  hay  at  the  ends  of  th&  last  heaps 


raked  up,  so  that  in  this  way  win- 
rows  are  formed.  When  it  is  thus 
raked  into  winrows,  it  is  dragged 
up  by  the  rake  into  bundles,  large 
enough  for  making  into  cocks." 
farmer''s  Assistant. 

HEDGES.  A  variety  of  shrubs 
and  trees  have  been  made  use  of 
for  hedges,  but  that  which  appears 
to  be  in  highest  repute  is  the 
American  Hedge  Thorn,  (cra/cegM^ 
cordatce)  Mr.  Quincy,  of  Massachu- 
setts, gives  a  statement  of  his  mode 
of  making  hedges  of  this  plant, 
which  was  published  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Repository/,  p.  27,  and 
from  which  we  extract  the  follow- 
ing particulars.  The  seedling 
thorns  10,000,  were  imported  in 
March  1808,  from  the  nursery  of 
Thomas  Main,  near  Georgetown, 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
planted  in  a  hedge  course  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  rods,  so  far 
as  was  necessary  to  fill  that  extent 
in  one  line,  each  plant  being  five 
inches  apart.  The  residue  were 
planted  in  a  nursery  for  the  pur- 
pose of  filling  vacancies. 

The  hedge  course  was  made  in 
sandy  land,  ploughed,  of  the  width 
of  four  feet,  and  manured  and  pre- 
pared, precisely  as  for  Indian  corn; 
except  only  that  after  ploughing, 
the  centre  for  two  feet  wide  was 
turned  over  with  the  spade.  With- 
out other  preparation,  the  hedge 
was  planted  in  April,  1808,  on  a 
level,  without  either  bank  or  ditch. 

Mr.  Quincy's  communication  i^ 
dated  25th  of  June,  1 8 1 3,  at  which 
time  he  remarks  *'  1  consider  the 
experiment  now  as  completed,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  is  necessary  for  a 


192 


HED 


HED 


satisfactory  ascertainment  of  tne 
cost  of  this  species  of  fence.  For 
the  expence  of  the  hedge,  this 
year,  has  been  nothing  except  the 
annual  trimming.  It  is,  uj)on  an 
averaiie  nearly  tive  feet  high  ;  and 
a  S'lrticient  security  agairjst  cattle, 
for  almost  the  whole  extent ;  and 
is  e\erv  day  strengthening,  without 
any  application  of  attention  or  la- 
bour. 

Mr.  Qiiincy  then  gives  a  particu- 
lar account  of  every  item  of  the 
expence  in  preparing  the  groimd, 
purcliasing,  setting  out  and  trim- 
ming the  trees,  and  makes  the 
whole  expense  of  making  two  hun- 
dred aiui  tift)-tive  rods  of  hedge 
fence  ^167,93  cents, /ess  than  sixty 
SIX  cents  a  rodl  He  concludes  the 
article  with  the  following  remarks. 

"  The  course  best  to  be  adopt- 
ed. h;n'iMg  referei  ce  to  the  econo- 
my of  iabotir,  i.<  Ujought  to  be  the 
following  : 

"  Plough  tlse  hedge  course  six 
feet  zoide,  Plnnt  the  whole  course 
one  year  to  potatoes.  This  pays 
for  the  labour  as  much  as  other 
land  thus  planted.  Set  the  thorns 
eight  inches  apart.  This  is  near 
enough  in  a  country  like  this, 
where  hogs  are  not  permitted  to 
run  at  large,  and  makes  a  consid- 
erable saving  in  labour  as  well  as 
the  cost  of  the  plants.  Keep  both 
sides  of  the  hedge  planted  with  po- 
tatoes, during  the  whole  six  years 
that  the  hedge  is  coming  to  perfec- 
tion. The  potatoes  will  nearly  pay 
the  cost  of  the  labour.  The  ma- 
nure for  the  potatoes  benefits  the 
hedge;  and  while  having  the  pota- 
toes, keeping  the  hedge  clean  of 
weeds  is  easy. 


"  To  keep  the  hedge  clear  of 
weeds,  and  to  Jill  up  the  vacancies 
regularly  in  the  spring  of  every 
year,  with  plants  of  the  same  age 
with  those  of  the  original  hedge, 
are  the  two  essential  objects  of  at- 
tention after  the  hedge  course  is 
prepared  and  the  plants  are  set. 
Younger  plants  may  answer,  but 
whoever  would  make  a  hedge,  in 
the  most  speedy  and  perfect  man- 
ner, ought  to  procure  at  the  time 
of  obtaining  the  plants  for  the  ori- 
ginal hedge,  a  sufficient  extra 
number  to  supply  all  deficiencies 
likely  to  occur  during  the  whole 
time  the  hedge  is  forming;  to  be 
kept  in  a  nursery  thriving,  if  possi- 
ble a  little  better  than  those  in  the 
hedge  course.  Experience  has 
satisfied  me  that  two  for  every  te7i 
planted  in  the  hedge  course,  is  a 
number  more  than  sufficient  for 
this  object.* 

In  the  statement  of  expense,  I 
have  made  no  allowance  for  pro- 
tecting fences.  Where  these  are 
necessary,  their  expense  must  be 
added.  In  my  experiment,  by  ex- 
cluding cattle,  the  necessity  for 
them  was  obviated.  Whatever 
these  may  cost,  the  economy  of 
this  species  of  fence,  when  its  du- 
rability is  taken  into  view,  (to  say 
nothing  of  its  ornamental  nature,) 
must  be  sufficiently  apparent."! 

It  is  often  found  necessary  to 
plash,  or  interweave  the  branches 

*  This  calculation  is  too  large,  one  in  fif- 
ty, is  quite  sufficient. 

t  It  ought  to  be  stated,  that  the  Virginia 
Tlioin,  of  which  Mr.  Quincy's  hedge  was 
made,  though  rapid  in  growth,  and  though 
in  high  reputation  at  the  date  of  his  letter,  is 
found  to  be  less  adapted  to  the  purpose,  than 
the  English  wMte  Thoin. 


HEM 


HEM 


idt 


of  hedges.  Some  advise  to  cut  off 
the  tops  or  head  them  down  to 
about  three  feet,  or  three  feet  and 
an  half  from  the  ground,  when  the 
plants  are  about  four  years  old. 
Others  direct  to  saw  ofifthe  plants 
when  the  hedge  has  completed  its 
second  year,  and  ihey  are  about 
the  size  of  a  man's  thumb  to 
within  about  an  inch  or  an  ii.chand 
an  half  of  the  surface,  and  rely  on 
the  shoots.  It  is  likewise  advised 
to  place  poles  or  rails  along  the  top 
of  the  plants,  and  fasten  the  ends 
together  by  withes  or  some  kind  of 
pliant  bark.  See  Farmer''s  Assist- 
ant, Transactions  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Agricultural  Society,  and  Dr. 
Willicfi's  Domestic  EncyclopiBdia, 
HEMP,  a  plant  with  a  tough  fi- 
brous coat, which  answers  the  satne 
purposes  as  flax,  but  is  coarser  and 
stronger. 

The  plant  is  tap  rooted,  and 
therefore  does  best  in  a  deep  and 
free  soil.  It  is  luxuriant, and  quick 
in  its  growth, and  therefore  requires 
a  rich,  and  well  prepared  soil. — 
The  soils  which  have  been  found 
to  suit  it  best,  are  a  rich  gravelly 
loam,  or  a  loose  black  mould, which 
is  dry  and  deep.  It  is  an  error  to 
think  that  it  needs  a  wet  soil,  for  it 
bears  drought  almost  equally  with 
any  plant  that  we  cultivate. 

Mr.  Eliot  found  by  experiment, 
that  it  answered  very  weli  on  a 
drained  swamp  :  And  he  tells  of  a 
man  in  the  Jerseys,  who  raised  as 
much  hemp  yearly,  on  half  an  acre 
of  such  land,  as  brought  him  tifty 
pounds  York  money.  It  is  not  un- 
common for  one  acre  to  yield  half 
a  ton,  which  will  sell  for  twenty 
pounds  in  cash,  at  the  lowest.  And 
25 


I  am  told  by  one  who  is  much  ac- 
quainted with  it,  that  it  is  more  ea- 
sily broken  and  swingled  than  flax  ; 
and  that,  oftentimes,  the  brake  will 
do  all  that  is  necessary  in  cleaning 
it. 

To  prepare  land  for  a  crop  of 
hemp,  the  laiid  should  be  plough- 
ed to  a  good  depth  in  the  fall  of 
the  year  preceding.  If  it  be  green- 
sward land,  it  should  be  ploughed 
as  early  as  August  or  September, 
that  the  sward  may  be  perfectly 
rotten.  And  if  it  were  ploughed 
in  ridges  it  would  be  the  better,and 
tit  for  sowing  the  earlier.  And  by 
cross  ploughing  and  harrowing  in 
the  spring,  it  should  be  made  ex- 
tremely fine  and  mellow.  A  little 
dung  should  be  applied,  if  the  land 
be  not  in  the  best  heart ;  and  the 
fall  is  the  best  time  to  apply  it. — 
But  if  composts  are  used,  they 
should  be  laid  on  just  before  sowing. 
The  time  of  sowing  the  seed  is 
as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  soil  can 
be  got  into  good  order,  as  it  is  a 
plant  that  is  not  easily  injured  by 
frost;  but  the  middle  of  May  will 
not  be  too  late. 

The  seed  for  sowing  should  be 
of  the  last  year's  growth,  as  older 
seed  is  not  wont  to  come  up  at  all. 
I  once  sowed  seed  which  was 
brought  from  England.  It  looked 
as  well  as  any  I  ever  saw  ;  but  not 
one  in  ten  thousand  ever  sprouted. 
The  quantity  of  seed  for  an  acre, 
in  the  broad  cast  way,  is  three 
bushels  ;  but  half  that  quantity,  in 
the  drill  method,  will  be  enough. 
If  the  land  be  poor,a  smaller  quan- 
tity of  seed  will  serve.  The  ground 
should  be  watched  after  sowing, 
that  birds  do  not  take  away  the 
seeds. 


194 


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HEM 


The  drill  method  is  on  some  ac- 
counts preferable  to  the  other. — 
For  though  in  the  first  crop  it  will 
fail  short,  it  exhausts  the  land  less  5 
and.  therefore,  in  the  long  run,  it 
may  be  more  profitable.  But  in 
this  way  it  produces  more  seed, 
and  this  method  is  certainly  ad- 
vantageous on  account  of  the  more 
convenient  pulling  of  the  hemp. 
If  sown  on  narrow  ridges,  or  beds, 
and  the  trenches  shoveled  out  af- 
ter sowing  and  harrowing,  I  sus- 
pect the  broad  cast  way  would 
have  the  preference.  But  of  this 
I  have  had  no  experience. 

As  the  correspondent  parts  of 
generation  are  on  ditferent  plants, 
they  are  of  two  distinct  sexes, male 
and  female,  and  require  diflferent 
treatment.  I  will  venture  to  as- 
sert, contrary  to  M.  Mercandier, 
that  the  male  is  the  plant  which 
bears  the  flowers,  and  the  female 
that  which  bears  the  fruit,  or  seed. 
That  which  bears  the  flowers, 
will  be  fit  for  pulling  about  the  end 
of  July.  Its  ripeness  is  known  by 
its  growing  yellow  at  the  top,  and 
white  at  the  root,  hy  the  falling  of 
the  flowers,  and  the  withering  of 
the  leaves.  If  care  be  taken  in 
pulling,  not  to  hurt  those  plants 
which  are  left,  they  will  thrive  the 
better  after  it,  as  they  will  have 
more  room,  and  as  the  earth  will 
be  stirred  about  their  roots.  And 
the  drill  method  is  favourable  to 
this  work,  as  the  pullers  need 
not  tread  among  the  thickest  of  the 
hemp.  And  sowing  in  beds  has  the 
same  advantage. 

After  pulling,  it  must  be  put  in- 
to the  water  without  delay, to  steep. 
Ponds  and  still  waters  are  best.  It 


will  not  take  more  than  four  or  five 
days  to  water  it  enough.  But  it 
must  be  watched,  lest  it  should  be 
overdone.  After  watering,  it  must 
be  spread  and  dried  in  the  sun. 

The  fruitfijl  kind  does  not  ripen 
till  about  five  or  six  weeks  later. 
Its  ripeness  is  known  by  the  seed's 
turning  brown.  After  it  is  well 
dried,  and  the  seed  taken  oft"  by  a 
knid  of  coarse  comb,  it  must  he 
watered.  It  will  take  almost  Ibn  e 
times  as  much  watering  as  the  first 
kind.  The  one  kind  is  more  fit  to 
be  manufactured  into  thread  and 
cloth,  the  other  more  suitable  for 
rigging  of  ships,  and  ropes.  But 
the  latest  knid  may  be  made  plia- 
ble and  fine,  if  labour  enough  be 
bestowed  upon  it.  Instead  of 
steeping,  spreading  hemp  in  the 
dew  wdl  answer,  as  I  have  found 
by  experience  ;  atid  this  method  is 
practised  in  England. 

The  dressing  of  hemp  may  be 
performed  in  the  same  mar.ner  as 
that  of  flax  if  it  be  not  uncommon- 
ly large  and  long.  A  person,  who 
is  well  acquainted  with  the  culture 
and  manufacture  of  hemp,  assured 
me,  that  n  hen  his  neighbour  raised 
it  on  a  drained  swamp,  he  had  it 
twelve  feet  long ;  and,  that  he 
might  manage  it  easily  in  dressing, 
he  cut  it  in  the  middle.  It  was 
then  as  long  as  ordinary  hemp,and 
as  strong  for  every  purpose. 

If  some  of  the  stalks  of  hemp 
should  be  too  large  and  stubborn 
for  the  brake,  they  may  be  put  by 
themselves  to  be  peeled  by  hand. 
The  doing  of  it  may  be  an  amuse- 
ment for  children  and  invalids. 

But  to  facilitate  the  dressing  of 
hemp,  mills  should  be  erected  for 


HEM 


HEM 


193 


doing  it.  Or  the  machinery  nnay 
be  an  appendage  to  some  other 
mill.  Two  brakes  should  be  mo- 
ved together,  a  coarser  and  a  finer, 
placed  head  to  head,  that  the  hand- 
fuls  may  be  easily  shifted  from  one 
to  the  other.  It  is  light  work  for 
two  bo}s  to  tend  them.  But  the 
breaking  of  large  hemp  by  hand,  is 
severe  labour  for  the  strongest 
men. 

If  no  convenient  stream  be  at 
hand,  a  mill  may  be  constructed  to 
be  worked  by  a  horse. 

It  was  formerly  the  custom  to 
beat  hemp  abundantly  with  mal- 
lets, or  with  pestles  in  large  mor- 
tars, or  in  fulling  mills,  to  make  it 
soft  and  tit  for  spinning.  But  Mr. 
Mercaiidier  has  shewn  how  it  may 
be  more  easily  done,  by  steeping  it 
in  warm  water,  or  in  lie,  and  wash- 
ing it.     See  his  Treatise  on  Hemp. 

The  great  profit  on  a  crop  of 
hemp,  and  its  being  an  article  that 
will  readily  command  cash,  should 
recommend  the  culture  of  it  to  all 
our  farmers.  Besides  the  hemp  it- 
self, of  the  value  of  twenty  pounds 
per  acre,  after  it  is  dressed,  the 
seed  of  an  acre  must  be  allowed  to 
be  of  considerable  value.  Persons 
need  not  fear  their  crops  will  lie 
upon  their  hands,  when  they  con- 
sider the  vast  sums  of  money  which 
are  yearly  sent  to  other  countries 
for  this  article,  almost  enough  to 
deprive  the  country  of  a  medium, 
and  how  naturally  the  demand  for 
it  will  increase  as  it  becomes  more 
plenty.  There  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  of  success  in  raising  hemp,  if 
the  soil  be  suitable,  and  well  pre- 
pared; for  it  is  liable  to  no  dis- 
temper ;  cattle  will  not  destroy  it, 


unless  it  be  with  their  feet  ;  and  it 
is  an  antidote  to  all  sorts  of  devour- 
ing insects.  Neither  is  the  plant 
difficult  as  to  climate.  Though  the 
hottest  climates  do  not  suit  it,  tem- 
perate and  cool  ones  do  ;  and  it 
has  been  found,  by  the  small  trials 
that  have  been  made,  to  thrive 
well  in  the  various  parts  of  New- 
F]ngland.  The  most  northern  parts 
are  very  suitable  for  the  growing 
of  hemp.  The  southern  are  equal- 
ly so. 

A  new  method  of  rotting  hemp 
was  communicated  by  M.  Bralle, 
and  published  in  a  foreign  Journal, 
and  is,  in  substance  as  follows.  To 
25  gallons  of  water  boiling  hot, add 
1 2  ounces  of  green  soap,  and  when 
the  soap  is  dissolved,  22  pounds  of 
hemp  are  to  be  immersed,  so  as  to 
be  entirely  covered  with  the  liquor, 
the  vessel  closed,  the  fire  put  out, 
and  the  hemp  left  to  macerate 
for  two  hours.  Several  steepings 
may  be  made  in  succession,  care 
being  taken  to  add  soap,  each  time, 
to  replace  what  has  been  absorb- 
«^d,  and  to  heat  the  water  to  the 
former  temperature.  The  same 
water  may  be  employed  for  fifteen 
days  continually. 

When  the  bundles  of  hemp  are 
taken  out,  they  are  covered  with 
straw,  that  they  may  cool  gradual- 
ly, without  losing  their  humidity. 
Next  day  they  are  to  be  spread  on 
a  floor,  the  hands  shifted,  and  a 
heavy  roller  passed  over  them,  af- 
ter which  the  hemp  separates  easi- 
ly from  the  reed  by  beating.  The 
hemp  thus  separated,  is  spread  on 
the  grass,  and  turned,  and  after  five 
days  removed  to  the  ivare-house. 
In  steeping  the  hemp,  the  bundles 


196 


HEM 


H  I  D 


should  be  kept  in  a  vertical  posi- 
tion, as  the  operation  is  found  to 
succeed  better  so  than  v.hen  thej 
are  horizontal. 

The  advantages  of  this  method 
are,  1st.  The  superior  speed  of  the 
process  to  that  in  common  use  : 
2d,  Its  bein^;  practicable  at  all  sea- 
sons :  3d.  Its  not  beint;  injurious  to 
health, or  producing  any  bad  smell : 
4th.  A  saving  of  expense,  when  a 
proper  apparatus  is  used  :  5th.  A 
superior  quality  ofthe  licmp  so  pre- 
pared, and  less  waste,  so  liiat  near- 
ly a  fourth  more  hemp  is  obtained 
from  the  same  raw  materials  :  6th. 
The  extending  the  culture  of  hemp 
to  all  situations,  which  can  now  be 
carried  on  only  in  the  vicinity  of 
running  water. 

A  very  good  apparatus,  for  the 
process,  is  formed  by  a  boiler,  with 
covers  for  steeping  vessels.  See 
Steam  Boiler. 

A  process  similar  to  the  above 
described,  wouid,  probably,  save 
the  trouble  and  ex[)ense  of  water- 
rotting  flax.  Lie  made  of  wood 
ashes,  would,  perhaps,  answer  the 
purpose  of  water  impregnated  with 
soap. 

The  Farmer's  Assistant  states 
that  in  the  bog  meadows  in  Orange 
County,  N.  Y.  the  hemp  is  cut 
close  to  the  ground  with  an  instru- 
ment made  for  the  purpose.  That 
when  dried  it  is  gathered  in  bun- 
dles, bound  with  straw  and  stacked 
in  the  field  till  about  Christmas.  It 
is  then  spread  on  the  snow,  and 
when  the  snow  dissolves  in  iVlarch, 
it  is  generally  found  sufficiently 
rotted. 

For  further  directions  relative  to 
the  culture  of  hemp,  see  a  "  letter 


from  Hon.  Justin  Ely,"  published 
in  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  vol.  III.  p.  105.  And 
for  the  mode  of  dressing  it  without 
rotting,  see  Flax. 

HERD'S  GRASS,  or  Cat's-tail, 
Phleum  Pratense,  called  Timothy 
Grass  in  the  southern  States.  This 
grass  is  a  native  of  New-England. 
Mr.  Eliot  says  it  was  first  found  at 
Piscataqua  in  New-Hampshire,  by 
one  Herd,  who  propagated  it, 
whence  the  name.  It  is  cultivated 
in  our  improved  fields  for  hay.  It 
requires  about  ten  or  a  dozen 
quarts  of  the  seed  for  an  acre.  It 
does  best  in  rich  and  moist  land. — 
More  needs  not  to  be  said  of  a  grass, 
the  great  value  of  which  is  so  well 
known  in  this  country  ;  especially 
in  the  northern  parts, where  it  pros- 
pers more  than  in  the  southern. — 
It  is  of  more  importance  to  our  far- 
mers than  any  other  grass  that  they 
cultivate. 

HIDE  BOUND,  a  distemper  in- 
to wliich  horses  fall  when  they  are 
poorly  fed  and  neglected.  "  A 
horse  that  is  hide  bound  grows 
lean,  has  a  feverish  heat,  his  skin 
sticks  to  his  ribs, the  spine  becomes 
harder  than  usual,  small  biles 
break  out  on  his  back,  and  yet  his 
appetite  sometimes  continues  good. 
As  this  disorder  seldom  is  an  origi- 
nal compiair)t,  but  generally  arises 
from  S()me  former  cause,  regard 
must  be  had  to  that  cause,  in  the 
method  of  cure.  But  as  to  the  dis- 
order itself,  Vegelius  directs  the 
anointing  the  whole  body  with  oil 
and  wine  mixed  together,  rubbing 
them  strongly  against  the  hair,  in 
a  warm  sun,  in  order  that  the  skin 
may  be  relaxed,  and  a  sweat  break 


HID 


HOE 


197 


out  ;  after  x^hich  the  horse  should 
be  well  curried,  and  placed  in  h 
vvarnfi  stable,  with  plenty  of  litter. 
"  The  authors  of  the  Maison 
Rustique  advise  that  the  next  da\ 
after  bieedi'ig  the  horse,  a  fomen- 
tation be  made  of  emollient  and 
aro  riatic  streiigthening  plants,boil- 
e>i  !U  iees  of  wine,  or  beer,and  that 
the  whole  body  of  the  horse  be  rub- 
bed with  these  plants,  whilst  they 
are  warm,  till  it  is  thoroughly  wet; 
and  (hat  the  loins,  belly,  and  neck, 
as  well  a*  the  rest  of  the  body,  be 
anointed  with  a  mixture  of  one 
p^rt  honey  and  three  parts  of  oint- 
ment of  elder,  rubbing  it  strongly 
in  with  the  hand,  that  it  may  pene- 
trate the  skni.  This  done,  the 
horse  should  be  covered  with  a 
cloth  dipt  in  the  warm  fomentation, 
and  doubled,  and  another  cover- 
ing should  be  put  over  this,  tying 
it  on  with  one  or  two  surcingles. 
The  horse  should  remain  in  this 
condition  24  hours,  and  then  be 
foinented,  rubbed,  &c.  twice  as  be- 
fore. These  fomentations  being 
finished,  a  warm  covering  must  be 
continued,  lest  the  horse  catch 
cold  ;  and  he  should  then  have  an 
opening  c!yster,and  the  next  morn- 
ing a  purging  medicine  ;  continu- 
ing to  wash  his  head  and  neck,and 
also  to  rinse  his  mouth  with  the  de- 
coction. 

"  For  food,  put  info  a  pail  or 
two  of  water  about  half  a  bushel 
of  barley  meal  carefully  ground, 
stir  it  well  about,  and  let  it  settle. 
When  the  heaviest  parts  have  sub- 
sided, pour  the  thin  part  off  for 
the  horse  to  drink,  and  give  him 
what  remained  at  the  bottom,  at 
three  different  times  in  the  day, 


mixing  with  it  a  due  quantity  of 
rrude  antimony. — The  horse  must 
have  rest  for  some  time,  and  be 
ted  with  the  best  hay,  or  grass  ac- 
cording to  the  season  of  the  year. 
In  spring,  there  is  nothing  better 
than  new  grass.  In  about  three 
weeks,  he  will  begin  to  mend  re- 
markably."    Mills  on  Cattle, 

HOE,  a  well  known  instrument 
used  in  tillage.  It  is  called  by 
some  writers  the  hand  hoe,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  horse  hoe. 

Hoes  are  chiefly  of  two  kinds, 
narrow  and  broad.  The  use  of 
the  narrow  hoe  is  to  break  up 
spots  of  hard,  or  lough  ground, 
as  the  balks  left  by  the  plough  in 
swarded  land,  or  the  corners  of 
lots  where  the  plough  cannot  con- 
veniently reach ;  or  to  take  up 
strong  roots,  such  as  those  of  the 
shrub  oak,  &c.  Therefore,  this 
tool  must  be  made  thick  and 
strong,  with  a  large  eye,  that  it 
may  admit  a  strong  helve. 

It  has  also  the  name  of  a  break- 
ing up  hoe ;  but  it  is  seldom  made 
to  do  the  work  of  a  plough  in  this 
country  of  late,  unless  by  the  poor- 
est people,  and  in  new  places 
where  teams  cannot  be  easily  had. 

The  broad  hoe  is  a  very  impor- 
tant implement  among  farmer?,  as 
it  is  much  used,  though  not  so 
much  as  it  should  be.  The  more 
mellow  the  land  is,  the  larger  the 
hoe  should  be,  that  work  may  be 
done  more  expeditiously.  The 
tough  and  hard  soil  requires  a  nar- 
rower hoe,  to  render  the  labour 
more  easy. 

Where  land  is  not  stony,  hoes 
should  be  kept  sharp  by  grinding. 
They  will  enter  the   ground  the 


198 


HOE 


HOE 


more  easily,  and  destroy  weeds 
and  their  roots  more  effectually. 

For  the  ease  of  the  labourer, 
hoes  should  be  made  as  light  as 
is  consistent  with  the  needful  de- 
gree of  strength  :  Their  handles 
especially  should  be  made  of  some 
light  kind  of  wood,  as  ash,  or  white 
maple,  or  a  young  tree  of  spruce. 
Great  and  important  use  is  made 
in  weeding  between  carrots,  beets, 
and  other  crops,  that  do  not  require 
hilling,  of  the  Dutch  hoe,  which  is 
used  for  cutting  up  weeds,  the  la- 
bourer passing  backwards,  and 
pushing  the  hoe  forwards.  It  is 
expeditious,  and  effectual,  for 
weeding.  A  small  hand  hoe,  of 
steel,  not  more  than  two  inches 
wide,  and  six  inches  long  is  excel- 
lent for  light  weeding.  For  the 
Horse  //oe,  see  that  article. 

HOEING,  either  burying  seeds 
in  the  earth  with  the  hoe,  or 
breaking  and  stirring  the  soil, 
chiefly  when  plants  are  growing 
in  it. 

This,  after  tillage,  as  1  may  call 
it,  has  been  found  to  be  of  great 
advantage  to  almost  every  kind  of 
plants,  and  to  some  it  is  so  neces- 
sary that  no  crop  is  to  be  expected 
without  it.  The  deeper  land  is 
hoed,  the  greater  advantage  do 
plants  receive  from  hoeing,  if  due 
care  be  taken  that  their  roots  be 
not  disturbed,  or  too  much  cut  to 
pieces. 

The  ends  to  be  answered  by 
hoeing  are  chiefly  these: — 1.  To 
destroy  w^eds,  which  are  always 
ready  to  spring  up  in  every  soil, 
and  which  would  rob  the  cultivat- 
ed plants  of  most  of  their  food. 
Scraping  of  the  surface,  if  it  be 


done  frequently,  may  answer  this 
purpose;  but  to  destroy  the  roots 
of  weeds,  deeper  hoeing  is  neces- 
sary. 2.  To  keep  the  soil  from 
becoming  too  compact,  which  pre- 
vents the  roots  exlendina  them- 
selves freely  in  search  of  their 
food,  at  the  same  time  keeping  up 
a  fermentation,  by  which  the  ve- 
getable food  is  concocted,  and 
brought  into  contact  with  the  roots. 
For  this  purpose,  the  deeper  land 
is  hoed  the  better.  But  hoeing 
should  cease,  or  be  only  superfi- 
cial, when  the  roots  are  so  far  ex- 
tended as  to  be  much  injured  by 
hoeing.  They  will  bear  a  little 
cutting  without  injury.  For  where 
a  root  is  cut  off,  several  new 
branches  will  come  in  its  place. 
3.  To  render  the  soil  more  open 
and  porous,  so  that  it  shall  greedi- 
ly drink  in  the  nightly  dews,  and 
that  rain  may  not  run  off,  but  readi- 
ly soak  in  as  it  falls,  and  be  retained. 
Accordingly,  the  more  and  often- 
er  land  is  hoed,  the  more  moisture 
it  retains,  the  better  it  bears 
drought,  and  the  more  its  plants 
are  nourished.  4.  Another  design 
of  hoeing,  and  which  has  not  been 
enough  attended  to,  is  to  nourish 
plants  by  drawing  fresh  soil  near 
to  them,  the  effluvium  of  which 
enters  their  pores  above  ground, 
and  increases  their  growth.  5.  At 
the  same  time,  earthing  of  plants 
makes  them  stand  more  firmly, 
and  increases  their  pasture  in  the 
spots  where  the  roots  most  abound. 
At  the  same  time  it  prevents  the 
drying  of  the  earth  down  to  the 
roots. 

But  earthing,  or  hilling  of  plants, 
should    be    done     with    caution. 


HOE 


HOE 


199 


Hilling  excessively  is  hurtful,  as 
it  does  not  pernnit  the  roots  to 
have  so  much  benefit  from  the 
rains,  and  too  much  hinders  the 
influence  of  the  sun  upon  the  low- 
ermost roots.  Whatever  hilling  is 
done,  should  be  done  by  little  and 
little,  at  several  hoeings,  that  the 
roots  may  gradually  and  easily  ac 
commodate  themselves  to  the  al- 
teration of  their  condition.  Lastly, 
frequent  hoeing  serves  to  prevent 
the  standing  of  water  on  the  sur- 
face, so  as  to  chill  the  ground,  and 
check  all  fermentation  in  it. 

When  all  the  hoeing  between 
rows  of  plants  is  performed  with 
the  hand  hoe,  the  labour  is  severe, 
and  more  expensive  to  the  owner; 
and  the  plants  will  on  the  whole, 
receive  far  less  advantage  from 
hoeing.  Therefore,  where  land 
is  tolerably  free  from  obstacles,  I 
would  earnestly  recommend  that 
the  hoe  plough,  or  the  common 
horse  plough,  which  answers  near- 
ly the  same  end,  be  much  used  ; 
and  the  earth  stirred  with  it  to  a 
good  depth,  and  frequently,  during 
the  proper  season  of  hoeing,  which 
is  the  former  |)art  of  summer,  but 
varies  with  respect  to  different 
crops. 

A  plough,  called  a  cultivator, 
has  been  constructed,  with  two 
mouldboards,  which  turns  the 
mould  both  ways  at  once,  towards 
each  of  the  two  rows  between 
which  it  passes.  But,  as  it  re- 
quires more  than  one  horse  to 
draw  it  in  stiffground,  two  furrows 
made  with  a  hoe  plough,  or  horse 
plough,  according  to  the  customary 
practice,  may  answer  full  as  well. 
When  the  soil  is  light  and  mellow, 


it  will  be  a  saving  of  time  to  use 
this  cultivator;  and  the  work  will 
be  done  with  more  regularity  and 
neatness,  if  guided  with  skill  and 
due  care. 

The  usual  method  of  horse  hoe* 
ing  is  as  follows:  At  the  tirst  hoe- 
ing, turn  the  furrows  from  the  rows, 
so  that  they  form  a  veering,  or 
ridge,  in  the  intervals  between  the 
rows.  The  plough  should  pass  as 
near  to  the  rows  as  may  be  with- 
out danger  of  eradicating  or  dis- 
turbing the  plants  ;  for  it  is  best 
that  the  soil  be  loosened  as  near 
to  the  roots  as  possible:  Because 
when  they  are  tender  and  weak, 
they  will  extend  their  roots  but 
little  ;  and  there  will  be  no  oppor- 
tunity afterwards  of  ploughing  and 
stirring  the  earth  so  near  to  them, 
without  too  much  danger  of  tear- 
ing and  injuring  their  roots.  After 
ploughing,  the  rows  are  to  be 
cleared  of  weeds  with  the  hand 
hoe,  and  a  little  fresh  earth  brought 
into  contract  with  them. 

At  the  next  hoeing,  and  all  after 
hoeings,  in  our  common  husban- 
dry, the  furrows  are  to  be  turned 
towards  the  rows,  so  as  to  form  a 
henting,  or  trench,  in  the  middle 
of  each  interval ;  and  cross  the 
furrows  last  made,  that  the  land 
may  be  the  more  thoroughly  pul- 
verized. This  operation  carries 
the  share  of  the  plough  farther  from 
the  roots,  and  at  the  same  time  af- 
fords plenty  of  fresh  earth  about 
the  plants  ;  which  must  be  finished 
with  the  hand  hoe.  But  if,  in 
ploughing,  any  of  the  plants  should 
chance  to  be  covered,  they  must 
be  set  free  without  delay. 

At  the  last  hoeing,  either  of  In- 


300 


HOE 


HOG 


dian  corn,  or  of  any  thing  that  is 
planted  in  hills,  as  it  is  vulgarly 
called,  it  is  best  to  make  but  one 
furrow  in  an  interval,  and  to  pa.-s 
the  plough  both  ways,  or  cut  the 
ground  into  squares  with  (he 
plouj^h,  or  rather  with  the  cultiva- 
tor. Tliis  leaves  the  roots  the 
more  room,  and  less  work  will  re- 
main to  be  done  with  the  hand 
hoe. 

If  the  horse  be  weak,  or  the 
ground  hard  and  stiff,  it  may  be 
needful  to  let  the  plough  go  twice 
in  a  place,  which  makes  four  times 
in  an  interval.  For  the  plough 
should  go  as  deep  for  hoeing,  as  in 
any  other  ploughing,  or  else  the 
intention  of  it  will  be  partly  de- 
feated ;  which  is  to  keep  that 
quantity  of  soil  light  and  mellow 
from  which  the  plants  are  to  draw 
the  most  of  their  nourishment. 

We  apply  horse  hoeing  to  Indian 
corn,  when  the  ground  is  well 
cleared  from  obstacles,  and  could 
not  be  easily  persuaded  to  neglect 
it.  Every  farmer  knows  how 
much  it  saves  labour,  and  that  (he 
crop  is  increased  by  it.  Why  then 
will  they  not  be  persuaded,  by  all 
that  has  been  experienced,  and 
written,  by  some  of  the  wisest 
farmers,  to  apply  this  method  of 
culture  to  many  other  plants  ?  I 
have  no  doubt  it  might  be  done 
with  equal  advantage,  hideed, 
we  cultivate  but  few  plants  in  til- 
lage, for  which  this  kind  of  culture 
would  be  improper.  In  Europe, 
they  horse-hoe  all  kinds  of  grain, 
and  even  some  kinds  of  grasses. 

In  a  dry  season,  or  in  land  that 
is  in  no  danger  of  ever  being  too 
wet^  it  is  advisable  to  hoe  only  in 


the  morning  and  evening.  And  if 
farmers  will  work  as  eariv  and  iaie 
as  they  can,  the,}  may  afford  to  de- 
sist, and  rest  themselves  from  niiie 
till  four,  when  the  air  is  hottest. 
The  ground  will  get  and  retain  ihe 
more  tnoisture  which  is  thus  h;>ed 
early  and  late.  And  in  the  mi-Jdie 
of  some  of  our  bot(e^t  days,  there 
is  danger  of  hurting  tender  plants, 
by  drawing  (he  scalding  hot  earth 
close  to  their  stems.  But  the 
opinion  entertained  by  many,  that 
no  hoeing  at  all  should  be  done  in 
a  dry  season,  is  irrational  and  ridic- 
ulous. They  deprive  their  land  of 
the  benefit  of  the  dew,  by  neglect- 
ing to  hoe  it,  suffer  it  to  be  overrun 
with  destructive  weeds,  which  rob 
(he  plan(s  of  snost  of  their  nourish- 
m(Mi(,  and  allow  (he  ground  to  be 
so  compacted  and  hard,  that  the 
rain  when  it  comes  will  not  pene- 
trate it.  This  strange  opinion  will 
occasion  much  loss  to  those  whose 
conduct  is  influenced  bv  \L 

HOGSTY,  a  kind  of  building  in 
which  hogs  are  confiiied  and  fed. 
The  ways  of  constructing  these 
houses  are  various  :  But  the  best 
are  those  which  are  framed  and 
boarded.  The  boards,  (hat  the 
swine  may  not  gnaw  (hem  to  pie- 
ces, should  be  of  some  harder  wood 
than  white  pine,  and  they  should 
be  fastened  with  ribbings  and 
spikes.  Whatever  be  (he  con- 
structure  of  sties,  they  should  al- 
ways have  one  part  close  and  warm, 
with  a  tight  roof  over  it ;  and  the 
other  part  open,  in  which  the 
trough  is  placed.  Swine  will  not 
well  bear  to  be  wholly  secluded 
from  the  weather  and  sunshine  5 
and  it  is  hurtful  to  them  to   have 


HOG 


HOP 


201 


a  cold  and  wet  lodging ;  nnore 
hurtful  than  many  people  are  ready 
to  imagine. 

Although  there  should  be  a  part 
of  the  sty,  planked  and  boarded  and 
warm,  covered  from  rain  and  sun, 
and  amply  supplied  with  litter,  yet 
the  greater  part  of  it  should  have 
no  wooden  floor.  The  trough  in 
which  pigs  are  fed  should  be  tirmly 
fixed  to  the  floor,  so  that  they  may 
not  overset  it,  and  it  is  very  impor- 
tant that  the  divisions  of  a  pig-stye 
be  so  numerous,  that  pigs  of  near- 
ly equal  size  and  strength  only 
should  be  permitted  to  feed  togeth- 
er, otherwise  the  more  powerful 
will  exclude  the  others,  and  mate- 
rially stint  their  growth. 

The  more  comfortably  hogs  are 
kept,  the  less  nourishment  they  re- 
quire. The  trough  should  be  on 
the  upper  side  covered  with  one 
or  more  lids,  and  upright  pie- 
ces set  before  it  at  such  distances 
that  one  hog  only  can  put  his  head 
between  any  two  of  them.  If  six- 
teen hogs  are  to  be  kept  in  the 
same  sty,  it  should  be  thirty-two 
feet  long  and  twelve  wide,  and  the 
apartments  should  be  so  divided, 
that  too  many  of  the  animals  may 
not  be  forced  to  lie  together.  And 
it  would,  probably,  be  well  to  di- 
vide likewise  the  feeding  apart- 
ment. Posts  should  be  set  up  in 
the  sty  for  the  hogs  to  rub  them- 
selves. If  thirty -two  hogs  are  to 
be  kept  or  fatted,  perhaps  the  bet- 
ter way  is  to  have  two  hog-stys  of 
the  dimensions  last  described,  pla- 
ced together  with  a  roof  over  the 
whole,  and  a  passage  between 
them  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
food  to  the  troughs. 
26 


The  upper  part  of  the  sty,  or 
some  part  of  it  may  be  appropria- 
ted to  storing  the  different  articles 
of  food,  which  are  wanted  for  feed- 
ing the  animals,  and  it  would  be 
well  to  have  a  steam  boiler  beneath 
the  same  roof.  If  a  part  of  the 
roof  be  made  to  extend  considera- 
bly beyond  the  sty,  it  will  afford  a 
cover  for  forming  a  heap  of  com- 
post with  the  dung  of  the  swine. 
See  Farmer'' s  Assistant,  Art.  Hog- 
sty. 

HOP,  Humulus,  a  narcotic  plant 
of  the  reptile  kind,  the'^flower  of 
which  is  an  ingredient  in  beer,ale, 
&c.  As  I  have  not  had  much  ex- 
perience in  hops,  I  shall  give  an 
account  of  the  management  of 
them,  chiefly  abstracted  from  the 
Complete  Farmer,  and  abridged. 

A  rich,  deep,  mellow,  dry  soil, 
rather  inclining  to  sand  than  clay, 
is  best  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of 
hops.  A  black  garden  mould  is 
excellent. 

The  ground  should  be  ploughed 
very  deep,  or  dug  with  a  spade, re- 
duced to  a  fine  mould  by  repeated 
ploughing  and  harrowing,  and  laid 
even. 

When  the  ground  is  in  proper 
readiness  for  planting,  let  a  line  be 
stretched  on  a  straight  side  of  a 
field,  with  knots  or  rags  in  it,as  far 
asunder  as  you  design  your  hills 
shall  be  ;  and  stick  in  the  ground 
a  sharp  pointed  stick  at  every  knot, 
as  marks  for  the  places  where  the 
hills  are  to  be  made.  Remove  the 
line  to  such  a  distance  as  to  make 
the  hills  equidistant  both  ways; 
and  so  on  through  the  whole 
ground. 

The  distance  of  the  hills  should 


202 


HOP 


HOP 


be  regulated  by  the  strength  of  the 
soil.  But  in  every  case  they  should 
be  far  enough  asunder  to  admit  the 
hoe  plough  at  all  times.  If  the  soil 
be  dry  and  shallow,  six  or  seven 
feet  will  be  a  convenient  distance  : 
But  if  it  be  rich,  moist,  and  apt  to 
bear  large  hops,  it  may  be  right  to 
allow  eight  or  nine  feet. 

The  time  to  plant  hops  is  when 
they  begin  to  shoot  in  the  spring. 
The  sets  are  cuttings  from  the 
roots,  or  branches  which  grow  from 
the  main  root.  They  should  be 
from  five  to  seven  inches  long,with 
three  or  more  joints  or  buds  on 
each,  all  the  old  and  hollow  part 
being  cut  otT.  Make  holes  twelve 
or  sixteen  inches  wide,  and  of  a 
depth  proportioned  to  the  nature 
of  the  ground.  If  shallow,  with 
hard  clay  or  gravel  under,  dig  not 
into  it,  lest  you  make  a  basin  to 
retain  water  ;  but  raise  a  small  hill 
of  good  mould.  If  there  is  a  good 
depth  of  rich  mellow  mould,  dig 
the  hole  a  foot  and  a  half,  or  two 
feet  deep  ;  the  hops  will  thrive  the 
better. 

When  all  things  are  ready  for 
planting,  till  up  the  holes  with  the 
mould  before  thrown  out,  if  it  be 
good  ;  but  if  the  same  earth  be  not 
rich  enough,  make  use  of  fine  fresh 
mould,  or  of  a  compost  provided 
for  the  purpose,  a  peck  in  each 
hill,  but  no  dung  on  any  accotmt. 

Then  with  a  setting  stick  make 
five  or  six  holes,  one  in  the  middle 
perpendicular,  and  the  rest  round 
it  sloping,  and  meeting  at  the  to[> 
near  the  centre.  Put  in  the  sets  so 
that  they  may  stand  even  with  the 
surface,  press  the  mould  close  to 
them,and  cover  them  with  fine  mould 


two  or  three  inches  thick.  A  stick 
should  be  placed  on  each  side  of 
the  hill  to  secure  it. 

The  ground  being  thus  planted, 
all  that  is  to  be  done  in  the  follow- 
ing summer  is  to  keep  the  hills  and 
alleys  clear  of  weeds  by  frequent 
hoeings,  to  dig  the  ground  in  May, 
and  carry  off  the  stones  raised  by 
digging  ;  to  raise  a  small  hill  about 
the  plants,  and  throw  some  mould 
on  the  roots,  and  in  May  or  Jurie  to 
twist  all  the  vines  and  branches  to- 
gether in  a  loose  knot,and  lay  them 
thus  twisted  on  the  top  of  the 
hill. 

Early  in  the  following  spring, 
when  the  weather  is  fine,  open  the 
hills,  and  cut  off  the  shoots  of  the 
first  year,  within  an  inch  of  the 
stock,  together  with  the  younger 
suckers  that  have  sprung  from  the 
sets,  and  cover  the  stock  with  fine, 
earth. 

in  the  third  and  following  years, 
when  you  dig  your  hop  ground,  let 
the  earth  be  taken  away  with  a 
spade  or  hoe,  round  about  the  hills, 
very  nearthem,that  you  may  more 
conveniently  come  at  the  stork,  to 
cut  it.  Then  in  fair  weather,  if 
your  hops  be  weak,  begin  ti»  dress 
them  :  But  if  strong,  do  it  later  ; 
for  dressing  late  restrains  their  too 
early  springing,  which  hurts  the 
hop. 

After  dressing  in  the  second  year, 
the  next  thing  is  to  pole  them. — 
Poles  ten  or  twelve  feet  long  will 
do  then  :  But  in  the  third  year, 
when  they  come  to  their  full  hear- 
ing slate,  they  will  require  poles 
of  full  size  :  This,  if  the  ground  be 
rich,  and  the  hop  vit'orous,  will  be 
from  sixteen  to  twenty    feet ;  or 


HOP 


HOP 


20^ 


there  will  be  danger  of  losing  great 
part  of  the  crop. 

The  hop  will  soon  run  itself  out 
of  heart,  if  it  be  over  poled.  Nei- 
ther can  a  good  crop  be  expected 
from  over  poled  ground  ;  because 
the  branches  which  bear  the  hops 
grow  very  little,  till  the  buds  have 
overreached  the  poles,  which  they 
cannot  do  when  the  pole  is  long. 
Two  small  poles  are  sufficient  for 
a  hill  in  a  young  ground. 

A  hop  garden,  Mr.  Young  says, 
will  last  almost  forever,  by  renew- 
ing the  hills  that  fail  to  the  amount 
of  about  a  score  annually  :  But  it 
is  reckoned  better  to  grub  up  and 
new  plant  it  every  20  or  25  years. 
In  forward  years  hops  are  ripe 
at  the  beginning  of  September. — 
When  they  begin  to  change  colour, 
or  are  easily  pulled  to  pieces ; 
when  they  emit  a  fragrant  smell, 
and  when  their  seeds  begin  to  look 
brown  and  grow  hard,  you  may 
conclude  that  they  are  ripe.  Then 
pick  them  with  all  expedition ;  for 
a  storm  of  wind  will  do  them  great 
mischief  at  this  time. 

When  the  poles  are  drawn  up  in 
order  to  be  picked,  the  vines 
around  should  be  cut  asunder  at 
the  height  of  three  or  four  feet 
from  the  ground  :  For  cutting  them 
lower,  especially  while  the  hops 
are  green,  would  occasion  so  great 
a  flow  of  sap,  as  would  weaken  the 
root. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  one 
who  had  much  experience,  that 
hops  which  are  late  picked  bear 
more  plentifully  the  following  year 
than  such  as  are  picked  early  :  For 
which  reason  he  recommends  late 
picking.      But  the  hops  which  are 


picked  early  look  better,  and  are 
undoubtedly  stronger. 

The  best  way  of  drying  hops  is 
on  kilns.  Four  pounds  ofundried 
hops,  will  make  one  pound  after 
they  are  dried. 

Before  hops  are  bagged,  they 
should  be  laid  in  a  heap,  that  they 
may  sweat  and  grow  tough  :  And 
if  they  are  covered  for  a  while 
with  blankets,  they  will  be  the  bet- 
ter. The  bags  are  coarse  linen 
cloth.  They  are  commonly  about 
eleven  feet  long,  and  near  two 
yards  and  a  half  in  circumference, 
and  contain  about  250  weight  of 
hops.  The  small  bags,  called  pock- 
ets, contain  about  half  as  much. 

The  manner  of  bagging  is  thus. 
Make  a  round  or  square  hole  about 
26  or  30  inches  over,  in  the  floor 
of  the  chamber  where  the  hops  are 
laid  in  heaps  after  sweating.  Tie 
with  a  piece  of  pack  thread,a  hand- 
ful of  hops  in  each  lower  corner  of 
the  bag,  to  serve  as  handles  for  the 
more  easy  lifting  or  removing  the 
bag ;  and  fasten  the  mouth  of  the 
bag  to  a  frame,  or  hoop,  somewhat 
larger  than  the  hole,  that  the  hoop 
may  rest  on  its  edges.  The  upper 
part  thus  fixed,  the  rest  of  the  bag 
hangs  down  through  the  hole,  but 
not  so  far  as  to  touch  the  lower 
floor.  Then  throw  into  it  a  bushel 
or  two  of  hops,  and  let  a  man  go 
into  the  bag,  and  tread  the  hops 
down  till  they  lie  close  ;  then 
throw  in  more  and  tread  ;  and  so 
on  till  the  bag  is  full.  Loose  it 
from  the  hoop,  and  sew  up  the 
mouth  as  close  as  possible,  tying 
hops  in  the  upper,  as  was  done  in 
the  lower  corners.  The  harder 
the  hops  are  pressed,and  the  closer 


204 


HOR 


HOR 


and  thicker  the  bag  is,  the  longer 
and  better  the  hops  will  keep. 

A  small  manuring  of  hop  ground 
every  second  year  is  suliicient. — 
Dung  was  formerly  more  in  use 
than  at  present,  experience  having 
shewn  that  lime,  sea  sand,  marie, 
ashes,  &c.  answer  the  end  better, 
and  last  longer.  But  hog  dung 
prevents  mildew  from  taking  hops. 
Each  pole,  according  to  Dr. 
Hales,  has  three  vines,which  makes 
six  vines  to  a  hill.  All  the  sprouts 
above  this  number,  should  be  bro- 
ken off  in  the  spring. 

"  Method  of  extracting  the  virtue 
of  Hops  in  Brezoing.  The  usual 
method  is  to  put  in  hops  without 
any  preparation  into  the  strong 
beer,  or  alewort ;  the  consequence 
is,  the  richer  and  better  the  wort 
is,  the  less  it  will  partake  of  the  es- 
sence of  hops.  The  rich  fast  wort 
Bheathes  up  the  pores  of  the  hop, 
and  as  it  were  embalms  the  leaves, 
so  that  the  beer  or  alewort  can  ex- 
tract scarcely  any  part  of  the  ne- 
cessary quality  of  the  hop  ;  but 
when  it  is  put  into  the  small  beer 
wort,  a  fluid  of  a  more  thin  nature, 
there  the  pores  are  unsheathed, 
and  the  small  beer  is  rendered  too 
bitter  :  therefore  the  hops,  before 
they  are  put  into  the  strong  drink, 
should  be  previously  soaked  in  a 
pail  of  hot  water."  Domestic  En- 
cyclopa.dia. 

HORN  DISTEMPER,  a  disease 
of  neat  cattle,  the  seat  of  which  is 
in  their  horns.  Cows  are  more 
subject  to  it  than  oxen.  It  does 
not  attack  bulls ;  and  steers  and 
beifers,  under  three  years  old, 
bave  not    been    known    to    have 

%     The  distemper  gradually  con- 


sumes the  pith  of  the  horn.  Some- 
times it  is  in  both  horns  at  once, 
but  more  usually  in  one  only. 

The  disease  is  discoverable  by 
the  coldness,  or  loss  of  the  natural 
warmth  of  the  horn  ;  by  dulnessof 
the  eyes,  sluggishness,  loss  of  ap- 
petite, and  a  disposition  to  lie 
down.  When  the  brain  is  atfect- 
ed,  cattle  will  toss  their  heads  and 
groan  much  as  if  in  great  pain. 

To  eii'ect  the  cure,  the  horn 
should  be  perlbiated  with  a  nail 
gimblet,through  which  the  corrupt- 
ed thin  matter  will  be  discharged, 
if  care  be  taken  to  keep  it  open. 
By  this  bornig,  which  should  be 
nearly  horizontal,or  in  the  depend- 
ing part  of  the  horn,  and  two  or 
three  inches  from  the  head  of  the 
animal,  the  cure  sometimes  is  com- 
pleted. When  it  proves  other- 
wise, a  mixture  of  rum  and  honey 
with  myrrh  and  aloes,  should  be 
thrown  into  the  horn  with  a  syringe ; 
and  be  several  times  repeated,  if 
the  disease  continue.  For  a  more 
particular  account,  see  a  letter 
from  the  Hon.  C.  Tufts,  Esq.  in 
the  1st  vol.  of  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

HORSE,  one  of  the  most  useful 
of  tame  quadrupeds.  The  marks 
or  evidences  of  a  good  one  are 
these,  a  high  neck,  a  full  breast,  a 
lively  eye,  a  strong  back,  a  stifT 
dock,  full  buttocks,  ribs  reaching 
near  to  the  hips,  well  made  hoofs, 
rather  large,  and  a  good  gait. 

The  size  of  a  horse  should  be  in 
proportion  to  the  work  in  which  he 
is  chiefly  to  be  employed.  Small 
sized  ones  often  prove  good  in  the 
saddle.  They  are  apt  to  be  hardy, 
and  in  proportion  to  their  sizCjand 


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205 


the  quantity  of  their  eating,  usuaJ- 
ly  are  the  most  profitable.  Plough 
horses,  and  all  draught  horses, 
should  be  large,  as  their  weight  is 
of  importance  in  drawing;  and  as 
it  is  often  inconvenient  to  put  two 
horses  to  one  plough,  especially  in 
horse  hoeing.  Largeness  is  also 
of  importance,  when  they  are  used 
single,  in  journeying,  as  they  most 
usually  are,  in  a  chaise  or  sleigh. 

A  horse's  manner  of  going  is  a 
matter  of  no  small  importance. — 
The  ambling  gate,  or  what  in  this 
country  is  vulgarly  called  pacing, 
is  not  good,  neither  for  the  horse 
nor  the  rider.  It  is  tiresome  to 
both.  It  habituates  a  horse  to  car- 
ry his  feet  too  near  to  the  ground, 
so  that  he  is  the  more  liable  to  trip 
and  stumble. 

The  method  so  much  practised 
formerly  in  this  country,  of  teach- 
ing horses  to  pace  swiftly,  and  rac- 
ing in  that  gait,  is  highly  perni- 
cious. It  puts  them  to  a  much 
greater  strain  than  runnitig  ;  and 
numbers  have  been  thus  ruined. — 
Some  colts  naturally  amble,  and 
others  trot.  But  all  may  be  made 
fo  trot,  if  due  care  and  pains  be 
taken  with  them  while  they  are 
young,  or  as  soon  as  they  are  first 
ridden.  In  a  carriage  an  amble  is 
tiresome  to  a  horse,  appears  highly 
improper,  and  is  disgusting  to  every 
one.  And  I  do  not  see  why  it 
should  appear  at  all  more  tolera- 
ble in  the  saddle. 

When  any  change  of  gait  is  want- 
ed for  the  ease  of  the  rider,  the 
canter  is  to  be  preferred,  than 
which  none  can  be  more  easy. 

The  way  of  breaking  a  young 
horse  that  is  mostly  used  in  this 


country,  is  highly  absurd,  hurtful, 
and  dangerous.  He  is  mounted  and 
ridden  before  he  has  been  used  to 
tlie  bridle  or  to  bearing  any  weight 
on  his  back.  If  he  will  not  go  for- 
ward, he  is  most  unmercifully  beat- 
en ;  by  which  his  spirits  are  bro- 
ken, and  his  strength  impaired.  If 
he  rears  up,he  is  pulled  backwards, 
with  the  risk  of  hurting  both  horse 
and  man.  If  he  runs  and  starts,  as 
he  probably  will  under  such  man- 
agement, he  flings  the  rider,  per- 
haps is  frightened,  gains  his  liberty, 
and  IS  encouraged  to  do  just  so  the 
next  opportunity;  and  the  unfor- 
tunate rider  blesses  himself,  us  he 
has  reason  to  do,  if  he  escape  with- 
out broken  limbs.  Or  if  the  horse 
should  chance  to  go  kindly,  the  ri- 
der continues  the  exeicise  till  the 
horse  is  fatigued,  discouraged,  and 
injured. 

Instead  of  this  mad  manage.'nent, 
the  way  practised  in  the  older 
countries  should  be  adopted.  Let 
a  horse  first  ofall  be  tamed  with 
the  bridle. by  leading  him  again  and 
again  ;  in  the  first  place,  after,  or 
by  the  side  of  another  horse  ;  and 
after  he  walks  well,  bring  him  to 
trot  after  his  leader.  In  the  next 
place,  put  on  the  saddle,  and  lead 
him  in  that,  time  after  time.  Then 
lay  a  small  weight  on  the  saddle, 
and  if  he  be  apt  to  start,  fasten  it, 
that  it  may  not  be  flung  off,  increa- 
sing the  weight  from  time  fo  time, 
till  he  learns  to  carry  what  is  equal 
to  a  man's  ivelght.  Lastly,  let  a 
man  gently  mount  him,  while  an- 
other holds  him  by  the  bridle,  and 
fix  himself  firmly  in  the  saddle. — 
The  place  of  riding  is  recommend- 
ed to  be  a  ploughed  field.  Let  him 


206 


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thus  be  ridden  with  a  horse  going 
before  him.  till  he  learn  the  use  of 
the  bit,  and  will  stop.,  or  go  for- 
ward, at  the  pleasure  of  the  rider, 
and    without    the  apphcation     of 
much  force.        Being  exercised  in 
this  manner  a  few  times,  and  treat- 
ed   with  all   possible    gentleness, 
tht  re  will  be  no  more  occasior)  for 
leading  him.        He  will  go  well  of 
hiinseli ;  and  be    thoroughly  bro- 
ken, without  so  much  as  giving  him 
one  blow,  and    without  danger  or 
fatigue,  to  the  horse  or  his  rider. 
And.  what  is  much  to  be  regarded, 
the  horse's  spirits  will  be  preserv- 
ed, though  he  be  sufficiently  tam- 
ed.     In  teaching  a  horse  to  draw, 
gentienessmust  be  used.  He  should 
be  tried  first  in  company  with  oth- 
er   horses,  whether  in  carting  or 
ploughing  ;  and  the  drought  should 
not   be  so  heavy  as  to  fret  him  or 
put  him  to  great  exertion  till  ho  has 
learned  to  draw  steadily.       After 
this  he  may  be   put  to  draw  light 
loads   by  himself.     Lastly  he  may 
be  put  to  a  pleasure  carriage,  but 
coupled  with  another  rather  than 
alone,  and  to  a  sleigh  rather  than  a 
chaise. 

It  may  be  taken  for  a  general 
rule,  that  the  gait  which  is  easiest 
to  a  horse,  will  be  the  easiest  to 
his  rider.  For  jaded  horses,it  has 
always  been  observed,  are  apt  to 
go  hard,  and  to  tire  their  riders. 

The  feeding  of  horses,  as  I  con- 
ceive, has  not  been  sufficiently  at- 
tended to  in  this  country  ;  which 
is,  doubtless,  one  reason  why  they 
are  in  general  so  mean  and  despi- 
cable. Too  many  keep  horses 
who  cannot  well  afford  to  feed 
them.       They  should  neither  run 


upon  the  roads  and  commons,  nor 
in  pastures  that  are  filled  with  wild 
and  water  grasses.  They  love  a 
dry  pasture,  not  too  much  shaded, 
and  short  grasses  of  the  best  kinds. 
Clover  and  white  honey-suckle, 
both  green  and  dry,  are  excellent 
food  tor  them.  It  nourishes  them 
well,  and  prevents  costiveness, 
which  is  very  hurtful  to  them. — 
The  best  of  clover  hay  will  keep 
them  as  well  as  most  other  kinds 
of  hay  with  oats. 

To  fit  a  horse  for  a  journey  he 
should  not  be  suffered  to  grow  too 
fat  and  gross.  He  should  for  some 
time  be  kept  in  the  stable  rather 
than  in  the  pasture,  and  fed  mostly 
with  hay  and  provender :  But  ra- 
ther sparingly  if  he  incline  to  be 
fat.  He  should  have  exercise  daily 
to  harden  his  flesh,  and  keep  him 
in  the  habit  of  travelling.  He  should 
be  shod  some  days  before  he  be- 
gins ajourney,  that  the  shoes  may 
be  well  settled  to  his  feet,  and  the 
nails  a  little  rusted  at  the  points, 
that  they  may  hold  the  faster.  And 
the  pads  of  the  saddle  should  be 
well  fitted  to  his  back,  so  as  to  fill 
the  hollows,  and  bear  equally  on 
every  part.  And  while  he  is  on 
the  journey,  he  should  be  stabled 
every  night.  It  is  destructive  to 
expose  a  horse  to  the  dampness  and 
cold  of  the  night  after  severe  exer- 
cise. But  it  would  be  best,  if  nei- 
ther horses,  nor  any  of  our  cattle, 
were  wholly  confined  to  dry  meat 
in  winter.  Horses  indicate  this, 
by  their  eating  snow  with  their  hay. 
Set  a  basket  of  snow  within  reach 
of  a  horse,  when  he  is  at  his  man- 
ger, and  he  will  take  a  mouthful 
from  each  alternately.     Of  alljui- 


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207 


cy  food  for  horses  in  winter,  wri- 
ters on  hiisbaiidry  seem  to  give  car- 
rots the  preference.  They  have 
been  found  by  experience  to  an- 
swer well  instead  of  oats  for  la- 
bouring horses  ;  and  to  fatten  those 
which  are  lean. 

He  that  would  be  sure  to  keep 
his  horse  in  good  order,  must  be- 
ware whom  he  suffers  to  ride  him, 
and  must  see  that  he  is  never 
abused.  Profuse  sweating  should 
always  be  avoided.  And  when  a 
horse  is  much  warmed  by  exercise, 
he  should  not  be  exposed  to  cold 
air,  or  night  dew,  and  much  less 
to  rain  and  snow.  If  he  cannot 
be  instantly  rubbed  down  and 
housed  when  warm,  he  should  be 
covered  with  a  blanket ;  and  he 
should  always  have  a  dry  stable, 
and  be  well  littered.  The  neglect 
of  these  precautions  may  bring  on 
incurable  disorders. 

Horses  should  not  be  too  much 
deprived  of  the  liberty  of  motion, 
as  they  too  often  are.  Close  con- 
finement after  hard  labour,  will  be 
apt  to  abate  their  circulations  too 
suddenly,  make  them  chilly,  and 
stiffen  their  joints.  To  be  depriv- 
ed of  motion,  is  bad  for  man  and 
beast.  H  -rses  therefore  should 
not  be  straitened  for  room  in  their 
stables.  Stables  should  not  be  so 
low  as  to  prevent  their  tossing  up 
their  heads  as  high  as  they  please. 
Some  stahles  have  so  little  room 
over  head  as  to  bring  horses  into 
a  habit  of  carrying  their  heads  too 
low.  They  become  afraid  to  lift 
Ihem  up.  They  should  also  have 
room  in  their  stables  to  turn  their 
heads  to  any  part  of  their  bodies, 
that  they  may  defend  themselves 


from  the  biting  of  insects,  allay 
itching,  &ic.  And  their  halters 
should  always  be  so  long,  and  their 
stable  so  wide,  that  they  ma)  lie 
down  conveniently.  Nor  should 
horses  be  so  placed  as  to  be  able 
to  deprive  each  other  of  his  fod- 
der. 

When  horses  are  kept  in  sta- 
bles, as  they  generally  are  in  the 
coldest  half  of  the  year,  they  should 
be  daily  dressed,  as  it  is  called. 
The  curry  comb,  and  the  brush, 
should  be  well  used  on  all  parts  of 
their  skin,  which  are  covered  with 
hair.  This  increases  perspiration 
through  the  pores  of  the  skin, 
which  is  necessary  to  health  ;  and 
causes  the  blood  to  move  faster  in 
the  veins.  This  treatment  will 
not  only  cause  them  to  look  bet- 
ter, but  they  will  have  better 
health,  and  more  activity  and  cour- 
age. They  will  digest  their  food 
better,  and  be  better  for  service. 
But  if  rubbing  and  friction  be 
wholly  neglected,  or  slightly  per- 
formed, the  hair  will  appear  dry 
and  rough;  the  perspirable  matter 
hardens  in  the  pores  of  the  skin, 
or  remains  lodged  at  the  roots  of 
the  hair,  and  has  the  appearance 
ofa  duty  white  dust:  Atid  some- 
times like  small  scales  attended 
with  itching.  More  especially  is 
rubbing  necessary  for  horses,  when 
they  are  growing  cold  after  being 
svveated  by  labour.  In  such  cases 
it  should  never  be  omitted. 

Columella  observes  "  that  the 
bodies  of  cattle  ought  to  be  rub- 
bed down  daily,  as  well  as  the 
bodies  of  men ;  and  says  it  often 
does  thern  more  good  to  have 
their  backs    well    rubbed    down. 


208 


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HOR 


than  their  bellies  well  filled  with 
provender." 

But  in  warm  weather  it  would 
be  best  for  them,  that  they  should 
not  have  the  confinement  of  the 
halter,  nor  even  of  the  stable.  A 
small  spot  of  feeding  ground,  if  it 
were  only  a  few  rods,  adjoining  to 
the  stable,  and  the  door  left  open, 
that  a  horse  may  go  in  and  out  al- 
ternately as  he  pleases,  would 
greatly  conduce  to  the  health  of 
the  animal.  This  degree  of  liber- 
ty will  be  most  needful,  when  the 
flies  are  troublesome  ;  and  be  bet- 
ter for  him  than  confinement  to  a 
stable  that  is  perfectly  dark.  In 
fly  time  it  gives  a  horse  much 
ease  and  comfort  to  smear  his 
hmbs,  neck  and  head,  with  rancid 
fish  oil,  or  something  else  that  will 
keep  the  flies  from  attacking  h'un. 
And  in  all  seasons,  when  horses 
have  been  heated  with  exercise, 
they  should  be  well  rubbed,  or 
curried. 

When  a  horse  runs  in  a  pasture 
during  the  grass  season,  he  should 
have  some  shelter,  not  only  a 
shade  to  defend  him  from  the  in- 
tense beat  of  the  sun,  but  a  shed, 
or  a  clump  of  trees,  that  he  may 
retreat  from  the  inclemencies  of 
the  atmosphere. 

But  horses  that  are  daily  work- 
ed, in  summer,  should  be  mostly 
kept  upon  green  fodder  in  stables, 
rather  than  grazed  in  pastures. 
The  tendance  of  them  will  not  be 
so  burdensome,  with  a  spot  of  high 
and  thick  grass  at  hand,  as  leading 
them  to  and  from  a  pasture,  at  the 
distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
This  will  prevent  their  being  often 
chilled  by  feeding  in  wet  nights. 


A  large  quantity  of  manure  will 
thus  be  saved.  And  a  very  small 
quantity  of  land  will  answer,  in 
comparison  with  what  it  takes  for 
the  pasturing  of  a  horse.  Keep- 
ing a  sithe  and  a  basket  at  hand, 
a  horse  may  be  foddered  in  this 
way,  in  two  or  three  minutes  ;  and 
by  the  time  that  the  whole  spot 
has  been  once  mowed  over,  that 
which  is  first  cut  will  be  grown  up 
again.  Where  a  number  of  horses 
are  soiled,  a  pair  of  poles,  or  a 
hand  cart,  will  be  better  than  a 
basket  to  carry  the  hay  to  them. 
This  practice,  called  soiling,  an- 
swers well  near  to  cities  and  large 
towns,  where  lands  for  pasturage 
are  not  plenty ;  and  where,  by 
means  of  the  plenty  of  manure, 
lands  may  be  made  to  yield  the 
greatest  crops  of  grass.  For  very 
thick  grass  should  not  be  fed  off; 
because  the  greater  part  of  it  will 
be  wasted  by  the  trampling,  and 
the  excrements  of  animals. 

When  grain  is  given  to  horses 
it  is  an  economical  practice  to 
have  it  either  ground  or  boiled. 
When  horses  are  soiled,  or  fed  in 
a  stable  on  green  grass,  it  should 
be  cut  and  tarried  in  during  the 
morning,  while  the  dew  is  on. 

A  disorder,  called  Ptyalism,  has 
for  some  years  past  been  gaining 
ground  among  horses  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States,  which 
is  an  excessive  watering  or  slaver- 
ing at  the  mouth.  Various  causes 
have  been  assigned  for  this  disor- 
der, but  none  of  them  satisfactory. 
Soiling  them,  is,  however,  a  cer- 
tain remedy. 

HORSE  HOE,  a  small  light 
plough,  drawn  by  a  single  horse, 


HOR 


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209 


either  with  one  or  two  mould 
boards.  It  answers  in  extensive 
culture,  all  the  purposes  of  the 
hoe,  though  it  may  be  well  to  have 
it  followed  with  the  hand  hoe  in 
every  species  of  culture.  In  the 
cultivation  of  potatoes  and  Indian 
corn  it  seems  to  be  indispensable 
that  it  should  be  so  followed.  But 
in  drill  husbandry,  with  potatoes 
planted  in  rows,  or  drills,  with  In- 
dian corn  planted  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  with  carrots,  Swedish 
turnips,  and  grains  of  all  sorts,  it 
need  not  be  followed  with  the  hand 
hoe,  but  a  man  must  follow  to  pull 
up  the  weeds,  which  the  horse  hoe 
had  not  fully  destroyed. 

HORSE  SHOEING.  The  fol 
lowing  directions  for  shoeing  hor- 
ses are  taken  from  an  English  pub 
lication.  "  Let  nothing  be  cut 
from  the  sole-bmder,  or  frog,  ex- 
cept tlie  loose  rotten  scale.  No 
opening  of  heels  on  any  occa- 
sion,— it  infallibly  causes  in  time 
the  disease  called  hoof-bound. — 
No  shoes  to  be  fitted  on  red  hot. 
Shoes  always  to  be  made  of  the 
best  hard  and  well  wrought  iron, 
with  not  a  convex,  but  a  flat  and 
eveii  surface  next  to  the  ground. 
So  that  the  horse  may  stand  in  a 
natural  and  easy  position.  No 
caulks  for  either  heel  or  toe  of  fore 
or  hind  feet.  The  web  of  the 
shoe  not  so  wide  as  usual,  nor  so 
thick  nor  strong  at  the  heel,  and 
never  to  project  beyond  it,  in  or- 
der that  the  foot  may  stand  per- 
fectly level,  and  the  frog  be  not 
prevented  from  touching  the 
ground.  It  is  as  absurd  to  pare 
down  the  frog  as  is  usually  done, 
as  it  would  be  to  pare  away  the 
27 


thick  skin,  which  nature  has  placed 
over  the  human  heel !  All  the  hor- 
ses in  England  are  now  shod  ac- 
cording to  the  above  directions." 

"  When  a  horse  is  well  shod,  if 
water  is  poured  upon  the  bottom 
of  his  foot,  it  will  not  pass  between 
the  hoof  and  the  shoe.  Shoes  for 
draft  horses,  that  have  seldom  oc- 
casion to  go  out  of  a  walk,  should 
be  heavy,  strong,  and  with  high 
heels,  and  pointed  at  the  toe  with 
steel."  See  Mason'' s  Farrier j pub- 
lished by  Peter  Cottom,  Richmond.^ 
Virginia,   1821. 

HURDLE.  The  hurdles  used 
in  husbandry,  for  fences,  and 
frames  of  wood,  consist  of  two 
poles,  four  feet  apart,  connected 
with  small  sticks  across  from  the 
one  to  the  other.  Spruce  poles 
are  good  for  this  use,  being  light 
and  tough.  The  sticks  may  be  of 
split  timber,  such  as  does  not  rot 
too  soon  ;  or  round  sticks  of  natur- 
al growth,  such  as  thrifty  suckers 
from  the  stumps  of  oak  trees.  If 
they  are  wattled,  or  have  twigs 
wove  into  them,  the  sticks  may  be 
a  foot,  or  eighteen  inches  apart; 
and  they  will  resemble  the  hurdles 
on  which  fish  are  dried.  If  they  are 
not  wattled,  the  sticks  must  be  so 
near  together,  that  neither  sheep 
nor  hogs  can  pass  between  them. 
Cheap  gates  may  be  conveniently 
made  in  this  way.  A  hurdle  is  of- 
ten wanted,  to  make  a  good  fence 
across  a  run  of  water,  being  most 
suitable  for  this  purpose,  as  it  may 
be  fastened  by  strong  stakes  at  the 
ends,  and  as  it  resists  the  current 
of  water  but  little.  They  are 
useful  to  fence  small  pens  and 
yards    on  any    sudden    occasion. 


210 


I  M  P 


IM  P 


And  as  they  are  easily  removed, 
they  are  useful  in  England,  in  eat- 
insj  off  a  crop  of  turnips  with  sheep. 
If  th'ire  should  be  need  of  prevent- 
ing the  climbing  of  boys  over  them, 
the  ends  of  the  cross  sticks  may 
rise  a  few  inches  above  the  upper 
pole,  and  be  made  sharp  at  the 
points. 

HURTS,  and  Bruises  in  the 
withers.  Horses  are  very  often 
hurt,  or  wrung  in  the  withers,  by 
the  biting  of  other  horses,  or  by 
untit  saddles,  especially  when  the 
bows  are  too  wide  ;  for  by  that 
means  they  bruise  the  flesh  against 
the  spines  of  the  second  and  third 
vertebrae  of  the  back,  which  form 
that  prominence  which  rises  above 
their  shoulders.  When  the  swel- 
ling is  moderate,  the  usual  method 
is  to  wash  the  part  with  salt  and 
water,  or  to  apply  horse  dung,  or 
salt  and  black  soap  mixed  togeth- 
er, which  very  often  succeeds. — 
Any  restringent  charge,  as  bole 
and  vinegar  with  whites  of  eggs, 
has  the  same  etfect;  as  also  the 
whites  of  eggs  beat  up  into  a  foam 
with  a  piece  of  alum.  This  is  very 
much  commended. 

"Sometimes  the  hair  is  rubbed 
otf,  and  the  part  becomes  galled, 
in  which  case  nothing  is  preferable 
to  the  rectified  spirit  of  wine  or 
brandy,  which  ought  to  be  used 
often,  covering  the  part  with  a  flax- 
en cloth  dipped  in  bees-wax,and  a 
little  oil  melted  together,  to  keep 
the  dirt  from  it  and  defend  it  from 


the 


Far, 


'     Gibson's 

1. 

IMPROVEMENT.    This  is  not 
the  mere  use,  and  occupying  of 


lands  as  the  word  is  very  impro- 
perly used,  but  it  implies  such  an 
employment  of  them  as  shall  con- 
stantly render  them  profitable  to 
the  occupant.  If  lands  are  so  in- 
ff  rior  in  their  natural  qualities  and 
productiveness,  as  not  to  return  to 
the  cultivator  a  reasonable  profit 
for  his  labour,  rent,  and  interest,  it 
would  be  better  to  abandon  them 
either  altogether,  or  to  bestow 
more  labour  and  manure  on  a  part 
of  them,  leaving  the  residue  for  a 
scanty  pasture  for  their  cattle  and 
sheep.  Perhaps  the  greatest  error 
itito  which  our  farmers  too  often 
fall  is  the  attempt  to  cultivate  too 
much  land  even  when  it  is  good — 
but  the  error  is  still  greater  when 
the  lands  are  of  inferior  quality. — 
The  practice  of  cropping  their 
lands,  till  they  will  no  longer  yield 
sufficient  to  pay  the  expense  of 
culture,  is  perhaps  the  source  of 
the  poverty  of  many  farmers.  No- 
thing can  be  more  pernicious  than 
the  custom  of  exhausting  lands,and 
then  leaving  them  to  recruit  by 
neglect,  and  permitting  them  to 
bear  such  weeds,  and  exhausting 
plants,  as  any  soil,  however  impov- 
erished, will  furnish.  The  Euro- 
pean mode  of  fallowing,which  con- 
sists of  repeated  turnings  of  the 
soil,  enriched  by  the  weeds,  which 
spring  up,  spontaneously,  upon  the 
ground  so  abandoned  is  perhaps 
the  most  judicious  course  ;  but  it 
is  doubted,  whether  in  a  country 
like  our  own,  in  which  the  lands  of 
first  quality,  are  not  yet  exhausted, 
and  are  more  than  competent  to 
supply  all  the  wants  of  our  own 
population,  and  all  that  other  na- 
tions will  take  at  a  price,  which 


IMP 


IMP 


211 


^111  return  the  expense  of  labour 
and  capital  can  be  advantageous. 
It  would  seem,  therefore  to  be  the 
evident  policy  of  our  farmers  to 
cultivate  no  more  land  than  what 
they  can  attend  to  thoroughly,  and 
instead  of  spreading  their  labours 
over  lart^e  tracts,  no  one  acre  of 
which  on  computation  yields  a  fair 
remuneration  for  their  toil  and  ca- 
pital, that  they  should  confine 
themselves  to  smaller  portions, and 
cultivate  these  with  spiritand  intel- 
ligence. 

To  apply  these  general  remarks, 
suppose  a  farmer,  possessed  of  one 
hundred  acres  of  sandy  or  gravelly 
land,  and  to  own  10  or  20  head  of 
cattle.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  believ- 
ed that  on  a  farm  of  such  a  size, 
there  should  not  be  10  or  15  acres 
of  meadow  ground,  orof  richersoil. 
If  he  would  devote  all  his  manure 
from  his  cattle  to  his  best  lands — if 
instead  of  reaping  10  or  15  bush- 
els of  rye,  or  25  or  30  bushels  of 
Indian  corn  to  the  acre,  he  would 
apply  all  his  manure  carefully  pre- 
served, and  intelligently  increased 
by  all  the  substances,  calculated  to 
make  a  compost  heap  to  10  acres 
of  the  best  part  of  his  land,  he 
would  be  able  to  gather  1000  bush- 
els of  potatoes,  1000  bushels  of 
carrots,  as  many  of  Swedish  tur- 
nips, and  150  bushels  of  Indian 
corn  on  his  10  acres  of  cultivated 
land.  Can  it  be  doubted  that  his 
stock  would  be  better  fed,  his  fami- 
ly better  supplied,  his  net  income 
from  articles  sold  from  his  farm 
much  more  increased,  than  if  he 
should  persevere  in  the  old  system 
of  raising  rye  at  the  rate  of  1 5  or 
20,  or  corn  at  the  rate  of  35  bush- 


els to  the  acre  ?  We  only  ask  that 
the  experiment  should  be  tried — 
but  above  all  that  the  culture  of 
roots,  and  the  increase  of  manure 
should  be  attempted  for  only  a  (ew 
successive  years.  We  have  no 
fears  that  this  system  would  be 
ever  afterwards  abandoned. 

In  ascertaining  the  composition 
of  sterile  soils  with  a  view  to  their 
improvement,  any  particular  ingre- 
dient which  is  the  cause  of  their 
unproductiveness,  should  be  par- 
ticularly attended  to;  if  possible 
they  should  be  compared  with  fer- 
tile soils  in  the  same  neighbour- 
hood, and  in  similar  situations.  If 
a  barren  soil  contains  salts  of  iron, 
or  any  acid  matter  it  may  be  im- 
proved by  quick  lime.  If  there  be 
an  excess  of  lime  or  chalky  matter, 
sand  or  clay  should  be  applied. — 
Where  there  is  too  much  sand, 
clay,  marie,  or  vegetable  matter  is 
required.  Peat  makes  a  good  ma- 
nure for  a  sandy  soil.  The  im- 
provement of  peats,  bogs,  or  marsh 
lands  must  be  commenced  by  drain- 
ing. 

The  materials  necessary  for  the 
purpose  of  improving  soils  are  sel- 
dom far  distant:  Sand  is  generally 
found  beneath  clay,  and  clay  often 
beneath  sand.  Peat  and  bog  earth 
are  commonly  to  be  obtained  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  gravel  and  sand. 
Swamp-land  after  being  drain- 
ed, may  often  be  improved  by 
quick  lime, which  is  sometimes  bet- 
ter than  paring  and  burning,  as  by 
the  latter  process  much  vegetable 
matter,  capable  of  being  convert- 
ed into  manure  is  dissipated  and 
lost.     See  Soil,  Farm  and  Soil. 

I  would  entreat  farmers  to  con- 


212 


I  M  P 


I  M  P 


sider  that  the  cost  of  raising  a  poor 
crop,  ono  time  with  another,  is 
nearly  as  much  as  that  of  raising  a 
large  one.  There  is  the  same  ex- 
pended in  fencing — the  same  tax 
paid — the  same  quantity  of  seed 
sown — the  same  almost  expended 
in  ploughing,  as  rich  land  ploughs 
so  much'more  easily  than  poor,  as 
to  make  up  for  the  extra  number  of 
ploughings  in  a  course  of  tillage.  I 
may  add,  there  is  the  same  or  more 
labour  in  thrashing.  An  attention 
to  these  things  is  enough  to  con- 
vince any  one  of  the  great  impor- 
tance of  endeavouring  to  improve 
crops  by  a  more  spirited  and  ra- 
tional husbandry. 

If  a  farmer  think  lie  cannot  af- 
ford to  lay  out  a  farthing  more  on 
the  tillage  of  an  acre,  than  he  has 
been  accustomed  to  do,  let  him  be 
entreated  to  save  a  little  in  fencing, 
and  so  enable  himself  to  do  it, leav- 
ing out  some  of  his  lands  that  bring 
little  or  no  profit,  and  pay  tax- 
es for  a  less  quantity  of  land  in  til- 
lage ;  or  let  him  turn  some  of  his 
tillage  land  to  grass  ;  and  lay  out 
the  same  quantities  of  labour  and 
manure  on  a  third  less  land  in  til- 
lage. Lands  m  tillage  might  thus 
be  made  profitable  ;  and  more  so 
than  mary  are  ready  to  imagine. 

it  has  often  been  observed,  that 
those  farmers  in  this  country  who 
have  the  fewest  acres,  commonly 
get  the  best  living  from  their  farms. 
It  is,  doubtless,  because  their  lands 
are  under  better  cultivation.  And 
some  have  taken  occasion  to  re- 
mark, that  our  farmers  are  ruined 
by  the  great  plenty  of  land  in  their 
possession.  Though  this  remark 
is  just,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  it 


should  continue  to  be  so ;  any 
more  than,  that  being  rich  should 
necessarily  make  a  man  poor. — 
What  need  has  the  man  who  pos- 
sesses three  hundred  acres,  to  de- 
stroy the  wood,  or  clear  the  land, 
as  they  call  it,  any  faster  than  he 
can  make  use  of  the  soil  to  the  best 
advantage  ?  What  need  has  he  to 
be  at  the  expense  of  enclosing 
more  than  his  neighbour  does,  who 
has  only  one  hundred  acres,  while 
he  has  no  more  ability,  or  occasion, 
for  doing  it?  Or  to  pay  taxes  for 
more  acres  in  grass  or  tillage  ?  It 
is  a  foolish  and  ruinating  ambition 
in  any  one, to  desire  to  have  a  wide 
farm,  that  he  may  appear  to  be 
rich,  when  he  is  able  to  give  it  on- 
ly a  partial  and  slovenly  culture. 

If  such  improvements  as  are  pos- 
sible, and  even  easy,  were  made  in 
the  husbandry  of  this  country,  ma- 
ny and  great  advantages  would  be 
found  to  arise.  As  twice  the  num- 
ber of  people  might  be  supported 
on  the  same  quantity  of  land,  all 
our  farming  towns  would  become 
twice  as  populous  as  they  are  like- 
ly to  be  in  the  present  state  of  hus- 
bandry. There  would  be,  in  gen- 
eral, but  half  the  distance  to  travel 
to  visit  our  friends  and  acquaint- 
ance. Friends  might  oftener  see, 
atid  converse  with  each  other. — 
Half  the  labour  would  be  saved  in 
carrying  corn  to  mill,  and  produce 
to  market;  half  the  journeying  sa- 
ved in  attending  courts  ;  and  half 
the  expense  in  supporting  govern- 
ment, and  in  making  and  repairing 
roads;  half  the  distance  saved,  in 
going  to  the  smith,  the  weaver, 
clothier,  &c. ;  half  the  distance 
saved  in  going  to  pubhc  worship, 


I  N  A 


I  N  C 


213 


and  most  other  meetings  ;  for 
where  steeples  are  four  miles  apart, 
they  would  be  only  two  or  three. 
IVluch  time,  expense,  and  labour, 
would  on  these  accounts  be  saved  ; 
and  civilization,  with  all  the  social 
virtues,  would,  perhaps,  be  propor- 
tionably  promoted  and  increased. 

Nothing  is  wanting  to  produce 
these,  and  other  agreeable  effects, 
but  a  better  knowledge  of,  and  clo- 
ser attention  to.  matters  of  husban- 
dry, with  their  necessary  conse 
quences,  which  would  be  a  more 
perfect  culture,  a  judicious  choice 
of  crops,  and  change  of  seeds,  and 
making  every  advantage  of  ma- 
nures. 

Improvements  of  vast  importance, 
might  also  be  made  in  the  manage- 
ment of  meadows  and  pastures. 
See  those  articles. 

INARCHING,  "a  method  of 
grafting,  commonly  called  grafting 
by  approach,  and  is  used  when  the 
stock  intended  to  graft  on,  and  the 
tree  from  which  the  graft  is  to  be 
taken,  stand  so  near,  or  can  be 
brought  so  near,  that  they  may  be 
joined  together.  The  method  of 
performing  it  is  as  follovvs  :  Take 
the  branch  you  would  inarch,  and 
having  fitted  it  to  that  part  of  the 
stock  where  you  intend  to  join  it, 
pare  away  the  rind  and  wood  on 
one  side,  about  three  inches  in 
length.  After  the  same  manner, 
cut  the  stock  or  branch  in  the  place 
where  the  graft  is  to  be  united,  so 
that  the  rind  of  both  may  join 
equally  together :  Then  cut  a  lit- 
tle tongue  upwards  in  the  graft,and 
make  a  notch  in  the  stock  to  admit 
it;  so  that  when  they  are  joined, 
the  tongue  will  prevent  their  slip- 


ping,and  the  graft  will  more  close- 
ly unite  with  the  stock.  Having 
thus  placed  them  exactly  together, 
tie  tliem  with  some  soft  tying  5  then 
cover  the  place  with  grafting  clay, 
to  prevent  the  air  from  entering  to 
dry  the  wound,  or  the  wet  from 
getting  in  to  rot  the  stock.  You 
shouldalso  fix  a  stake  in  the  ground, 
to  which  that  part  of  the  stock,  to- 
gether with  tiie  graft,  should  be 
fastened,  to  prevent  the  wind  from 
breaking  them  asunder,  which  is 
often  the  case,  when  this  precau- 
tion is  not  observed.  In  this  man- 
ner the^  are  to  remain  about  four 
months,  in  which  time  they  will  be 
sufficiently  united,  and  the  graft 
may  then  be  cut  from  the  mother 
tree,  observing  to  slope  it  off  close 
to  the  stock.  And  if  at  this  time 
you  cover  the  joined  parts  with 
fresh  grafting  clay,  it  will  be  of 
great  service  to  the  graft. 

'^This  operation  is  always  per- 
formed in  April  or  May,  and  is 
commonly  practised  upon  myrtles, 
jasmines,  walnuts,  firs,  pines,  and 
several  other  trees  that  will  not 
succeed  by  common  grafting,  or 
budding."     Dictionary  of  Arts. 

INCREASE,  a  word  commonly 
used  in  husbandry,  to  express  the 
proportion  in  which  a  crop  ex- 
ceeds the  seed  from  which  it  is 
raised.  It  is  generally  true  that 
the  smaller  the  quantity  of  seed 
the  greater  is  the  increase ;  be- 
cause a  plant  that  stands  by  itself, 
has  all  the  food  that  the  earth  is 
adapted  to  give  it.  But  plants 
that  are  so  near  together  that  their 
roots  intermingle,  do  more  or  less 
rob  each  other  of  their  food.  But 
we  must  not  conclude  from  hence. 


214 


INC 


INC 


that  the  less  quantity  of  seed  we 
sow,  the  better.  Because,  in  get- 
ting a  crop,  other  things  beside  the 
increase  from  the  seed,  are  to  be 
taken  into  consideration. 

Other  things  being  equal,  those 
crops  are  most  to  be  coveted, 
which  require  the  smallest  propor- 
tion of  seed.  But  the  greatest 
profit,  on  the  whole,  is  to  direct 
the  choice  of  crops.  The  cheap- 
ness of  seed  sometimes  misleads 
the  farmer.  To  this  cause  may 
be  ascribed,  not  seldom,  the  culti- 
vation of  maize  on  soils  that  are 
more  suitable  for  other  kinds  of 
corn  ;  or  on  soils  that  will  pro- 
duce no  crop  of  maize  worth  cul- 
tivating. In  a  suitable  soil,  well 
dunged,  it  is  not  uncommon  for 
one  quart  of  maize  to  yield  ten 
bushels,  which  is  an  increase  of 
320  fold.  The  expense  of  seed, 
therefore,  for  producing  a  bushel 
of  corn,  at  67  ceits,  is  but  2  cents. 
But  an  increase  of  20  fold  is  a  good 
crop  of  wheat;  the  seed  to  pro- 
duce a  bushel  of  wheat  at  one  dol- 
lar and  17  cents  will  be  more  than 
6  cents :  So  that  the  expense  of 
seed  for  wheat,  is  much  greater 
than  for  maize.  One  consequence 
of  this  ditference  in  seed  is,  that 
many  of  the  poor  can  obtain  seed 
for  the  former  crop,  who  cannot 
obtain  it  for  the  other.  And  I 
suspect  that  the  greater  expense 
for  seed  of  English  grain,  as  we 
call  it,  has  gradually  brought  the 
people  of  this  country  into  a  habit 
of  sowing  it  too  thin,  and  made 
them  establish  rules  of  doing  so. 
It  is  certain  we  sow  much  thinner 
than  Europeans  do. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  what 


quantities  of  seed  will  answer  best 
for  given  quantities  of  ground.  But 
it  is  observable,  that,  in  kindness 
to  man,  the  beneficient  Governor 
of  nature  has  made  most  plants  of 
the  farinaceous  kind,  capable  of 
getting  their  full  growth  when  they 
stand  near  together.  The  great- 
est increase  from  the  seed,  is  not 
to  be  accounted  the  most  profita- 
ble crop. 

A  yield  of  thirteen  for  one  may 
be  of  more  advantage  than  twenty 
for  one.  If  one  bushel  of  wheat 
sowed  on  an  acre  produce  20,  and 
two  bushels  sowed  on  an  acre  pro- 
duce 26,  it  is  manifestly  more  pro- 
fitable to  sow  the  two  bushels. 
The  farmer  may  consider  one  of 
the  two  bushels  as  yielding  20,  and 
the  other  6.  But  as  the  labour  in 
both  cases  is  precisely  the  same, 
it  is  clearly  more  profitable  in  this 
case  to  have  thirteen  for  one  in- 
crease than  20  for  one.  Now,  in 
Europe,  generally,  they  sow  dou- 
ble, and  some  times  treble  the 
quantity  of  seed  that  we  do.  Can 
we  be  certain,  till  we  try  the  ex- 
periment that  one  of  the  causes  of 
the  superiority  may  not  be  their 
liberality  in  saving  seeds  ? 

Another  matter  in  which  in- 
crease is  to  be  considered,  is  the 
breeding  of  cattle,  and  other  an- 
imals. The  farmer  may  reckon 
increase  in  neat  cattle  as  follows : 
He  that  has  one  cow  may  expect, 
in  one  year,  to  possess  a  cow  and 
calf; — in  two  years,  a  cow,  a  year- 
ling and  a  calf; — in  three  years,  a 
cow,  a  twoyearold  steer  or  heifer, 
a  yearling  and  a  calf.  The  two 
year  old  steer  or  heifer  may  be 
worth  3L   the  yearling  40s.   and 


IND 


IND 


215 


the  calf  20s.  So  that  the  increase 
from  a  cow  worth  4/.  in  three  years 
may  be  worth  6/.  Consequently, 
he  that  lets  out  a  cow  for  half  her 
increase,  as  is  the  practice  in  some 
places,  gets  25  per  cent,  simple 
interest  on  the  money  he  buys  her 
with.  No  man  therefore  that  has 
a  due  regard  to  his  own  interest, 
will  choose  to  hire  cows  at  this 
rate  ;  or  take  them  to  the  halvey 
as  it  is  called,  engaging  to  return 
the  cow  and  half  her  increase  at 
the  end  of  three  years.  When 
cows  are  thus  let  the  owner  ought 
to  risk  the  cow  and  her  otf- 
spring. 

The  increase  of  sheep  is  a  mat- 
ter of  greater  uncertainty,  as  they 
are  liable  to  more  fatal  diseases 
and  accidents  than  black  cattle 
are.  But  as  they  often  bring  two 
at  a  yeaning,  it  many  times  hap- 
pens that  ewes  increase  as  fast  as 
cows,  or  faster.  But  as  a  lamb 
grows  to  maturity  in  one  year,  and 
a  she  calf  not  in  less  than  three 
years,  ewes  may  be  said  to  increase 
three  times  as  fast  as  cows,  even 
when  they  bear  single. 

INDIAN  CORN,  Ze«,  a  well 
known  and  useful  plant  of  the 
grain  kind.  It  is  called  maize  in 
most  countries,  zea  in  some. 

The  parts  of  generation  are  on 
different  parts  of  the  same  plant. 
The  panicles,  or  tossels,  contain 
ihe  farina  fmcundans^  which  fall- 
ing on  the  silk,  or  the  green 
threads  at  the  end  of  the  ear,  im- 
pregnate the  ear,  and  render  it 
fruitful.  If  the  tossels,  or  spin- 
dles, were  cut  off  before  the  grain 
in  the   ear   is  formed,    the   crop 


would  be  spoiled.  This  has  been 
proved  by  experiment.  But  this 
effect  will  not  take  place,  unless 
all  the  tossels  be  removed ;  be- 
cause one  of  them  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  impregnate  twenty  plants. 
The  silks,  or  threads,  must  be  un- 
disturbed to  the  time  of  impregna- 
tion. They  are  as  necessary  as 
the  sowing  itself.  If  part  of  them 
are  taken  away  or  pulled  out  as 
soon  as  they  appear,  part  of  the 
corn  will  be  wanting  on  the  ear: 
For  every  single  grain  has  one  of 
these  threads.  It  is  therefore  a 
bad  practice  to  sutTer  weaned 
calves  to  go  among  the  corn,  as 
some  do,  at  the  season  of  impreg- 
nation. 

Maize  is  considered,  in  this 
country,  as  a  most  important  crop. 
It  is  preferred  to  wheat  and  rye, 
because  it  is  not  subject  to  blast- 
ing, nor  to  any  other  distemper 
that  is  apt,  in  any  great  degree, 
to  cut  short  the  crop.  A  good 
soil,  well  tilled  and  manured, 
seldom  fails  of  giving  a  good  pro- 
duce. 

Though  it  be  not  so  light  and 
easy  to  digest  as  most  other  sorts 
of  corn,  it  is  found,  that  people 
who  are  fed  on  it  from  their  in- 
fancy, grow  large  and  strong,  and 
enjoy  very  good  health.  There 
are  a  variety  of  ways  of  preparing 
it  for  food.  The  Indians  parch  it 
in  embers,  then  reduce  it  to  meal, 
and  carry  it  with  them,  when  they 
go  forth  to  war,  or  hunting.  When 
they  eat  it  they  reduce  it  to  a  paste 
with  water,  for  it  needs  no  other 
cooking.  It  is  called  nocake. 
The  green  ears,  either  roasted 


216 


I  N  D 


1  N  D 


or  boiled,  are  delicate  food  :  espe- 
cially some  of  the  more  tender 
sorts,  which  are  cultivated  for  this 
purpose.  Ripe  corn,  the  hulls  be- 
ing taken  off  with  a  weak  lie,  and 
boiled  till  it  is  soft,  is  an  excellent 
food  ;  and  not  inferior  to  it  is 
pounded  corn,  known  by  the  name 
of  samp.  In  either  way,  many  ac- 
count it  equal  to  rice.  But  the  most 
common  use  of  it  is  in  meal  sifted 
from  the  bran,  made  into  bread  or 
puddings.  For  the  latter,  it  is  al- 
lowed to  excel  all  other  sorls  of 
flour:  For  the  former  it  does  not 
answer  well  by  itself;  but  is  excel- 
lent when  mixed  with  an  equal 
quantity  of  rye  meal. 

The  cheapness  of  seed,  being 
next  to  nothing,  greatly  recom- 
mends, to  the  poorer  sort  of  peo- 
ple, the  culture  of  this  corn.  For 
it  is  often  the  case,  that  they  are 
scarcely  able  to  procure  other 
seed  for  their  ground.  But  this 
they  can  often  have  gratis. 

In  our  new  settlements,  border- 
ing on  the  wilderness,  it  seems  to 
be  of  more  importance  than  in  oth- 
er places ;  because  the  stalks, 
leaves  and  husks,  being  good  fod- 
der, supply  the  new  beginners  with 
winter  food  for  their  cattle,  before 
hay  can  be  raised. 

Of  all  soils  a  clayey  one  may 
justly  be  accounted  the  worst  kind 
for  this  crop.  A  loamy  soil  is 
best ;  or  even  sand,  if  it  be  not 
destitute  of  vegetable  food,  and 
manure  sufficient  is  added.  In  the 
northern  parts  of  New-England,  it 
is  not  worth  while  to  plant  this 
corn  on  clay.  On  any  soil  it  re- 
quires much  tillage  and  manure  in 


this  country  ;  if  either  be  scanty, 
a  good  crop  is  not  to  be  expect- 
ed. 

I  think  it  is  not  the  best  method 
to  plant  it  on  what  we  call  green 
sward  ground,  at  least  in  the  north- 
ern parts.  It  is  apt  to  be  too  back- 
ward m  its  growth,  and  not  to  ripen 
so  well.  But  if  we  do  it  on  such 
land,  the  holes  should  be  made 
quite  through  the  furrows,  and 
dung  put  into  the  holes.  If  this 
caution  be  not  observed,  the  crop 
will  be  uneven,  as  the  roots  in 
some  places  where  the  furrows  are 
thickest,  will  have  but  little  bene- 
fit from  the  rotting  of  the  sward. — 
But  if  the  holes  be  made  through, 
the  roots  will  be  fed  with  both  fix- 
ed and  putrid  air,  supplied  by  the 
fermentation  in  the  grass  roots  of 
the  turf.  In  this  way,  I  have 
known  great  crops  raise^d  on  green 
sward  ground,  where  the  soil  was 
a  sandy  loum,  but  mostly  sand. 

But  in  the  course  of  my  expe- 
rience, I  have  found  pease  and 
potatoes  the  most  suitable  crops 
for  the  first  year.  In  the  second, 
it  will  be  in  good  order  for  Indian 
corn.  This  case,  however,  may 
be  peculiar  to  the  northern  parts 
of  New-England. 

For  this  crop,  it  is  certainly 
best  to  plough  in  the  fall  preced- 
ing; and  again  in  the  spring,  just 
before  planting.  If  the  land  be 
flat,  and  inclining  to  cold,  it  should 
lie  in  narrow  ridges  during  the 
winter;  and  if  it  is  naturally  moist, 
the  corn  should  be  planted  on 
ridges ;  otherwise  it  should  be 
ploughed  plain  in  the  spring. 

Some     recommend     gathering 


IND 


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21 


seeA  corn  before  the  time  of  har- 
vest, being  the  ears  that  iirst  ripen. 
But  I  think  it  would  be  better  to 
mark  them,  and  let  them  remain  on 
the  stalks,  till  they  become  sapless. 
Whenever  they  are  taken  in,  they 
should  be  hung  up  by  the  husks,  in 
a  dry  place,  secure  from  early  frost ; 
and  they  will  be  so  hardened  as  to 
be  in  no  danger  of  injury  from  the 
frost  in  winter. 

I  would  not  advise  the  farmer  to 
plant  constantly  his  own  seed  -,  but 
once  in  two  or  three  years,  to  ex- 
change seed  with  somebody  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  miles.  Change  of 
seed  is  doubtless  a  matter  of  im- 
portance in  most  kinds  of  vegeta- 
bles ;  though  it  has  not  yet  beeti  so 
plainly  discovered  in  this  as  in  some 
others.  But  let  the  farmer  beware 
of  taking  his  seed  from  too  great  a 
distance.  If  he  should  bring  it,  for 
instance,  a  hundred  miles  from  the 
southward,  his  corn  would  fail  of 
ripening ;  if  as  far  from  the  north, 
he  must  expect  a  lighter  crop  ;  and 
in  case  of  drought,  the  latter  will 
be  more  apt  to  sutfer,  as  it  has  been 
proved  by  experiment.  A  farmer 
in  the  county  of  Bristol,  took  seed 
from  the  county  of  Cumberland. 
It  came  on  well  at  ftrst.  But  the 
summer  being  pretty  hot  and  dry, 
it  parched  up,  and  produced  next 
to  nothing,  though  the  seed  he  had 
taken  from  his  own  field  turned  out 
very  well. 

If  the  farmer  cannot  convenient- 
ly obtain  new  seed  ;  or  if  he  be 
loth  to  part  with  a  sort  that  has  ser- 
ved him  well,  and  choose  rather  to 
use  it  than  seed  he  has  not  tried  ; 
let  him,  at  least,  shift  seed  from 
one  field  to  another,  and  especial- 
28 


ly    from    one   kind  of  soil  to  an- 
other. 

And  in  the  choosing  of  seed,  some 
regard  should  be  had  to  the  state  of 
the  soil  on  wtiich  it  is  intended  to 
grow.  If  it  be  poor,  or  wanting  iu 
warmth,  the  yellow  sort  with  eight 
rows  will  be  most  suitable,  as  it  ri- 
pens early.  A  better  soil  should 
have  a  larger  kind  of  seed,  that  the 
crop  may  be  greater,  as  it  undoubt- 
edly will. 

If  twenty  loads  of  good  manure 
can  be  afforded  for  an  acre,  it 
should  be  spread  on  the  land  and 
ploughed  in  :  Ifno  more  than  half 
of  that  quantity,  it  will  be  best  to 
put  it  in  holes.  In  the  former  case, 
the  corn  usually  comes  up  better, 
suflfL'rs  less  by  drought,  and  worms ; 
and  the  land  is  left  in  better  order 
after  the  crop.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  plants  are  more  assisted  in  their 
growth,  in  proportion  to  the  quan- 
tity of  manure.  If  the  manure  be 
new  dung,  burying  it  under  the  fur- 
rows is  by  far  the  better  niethod. 
None  but  old  dimg  should  be  put 
in  the  holes. 

Let  the  ground  be  cut  into  exact 
squares, by  shoal  fiirrows  made  with 
a  horse  plough,  from  three  to  four 
feet  apart,  according  to  the  large- 
ness or  smallness  of  the  sort  of  corn 
to  be  planted.  This  furrowing  is 
easily  done  with  one  horse,  and  is 
by  no  means  lost  labour,as  the  more 
the  ground  is  stirred,  the  more  lux- 
uriantly the  corri  will  grow.  If  dung 
is  to  be  put  in  the  angles  where  the 
furrows  cross  each  other,  the  fiir- 
rowing  should  be  the  deeper,  that 
the  dung  may  not  lie  too  light. 

The  right  time  of  seedirig  the 
ground  may  be  from  the  first  to  tlie 


218 


IND 


IND 


third  week  in  May ;  or  a  little  soon- 
er or  later  according  to  the  dryness 
of  the  soil,  and  the  forwardness  of 
the  spring.  The  farmers  have  a 
rule  in  this  case,  said  to  be  borrow- 
ed fronr»  the  aboriginals,  which  is,  to 
plant  corn  when  the  leaves  of  white 
oak  begin  to  appear.  But  so  much 
time  is  commonly  taken  up  in  plant- 
ing this  corn,  it  being  tedious  work 
to  dung  it  in  holes,  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  begin  in  the  driest  part 
of  the  tieid  a  little  earlier  than  this 
rule  directs. 

Shell  the  seed  gently  by  hand, 
that  it  may  not  be  torn  or  bruised 
at  all,  rejecting  about  an  inch  at 
each  end  of  the  ear.  And,  if  any 
corns  appear  with  black  eyes,  let 
them  also  be  rejected,  not  because 
they  will  not  grow  at  all  the  con- 
trary being  true;  but  because  the 
blackness  indicates,  either  some 
defect  in  drying,  or  want  of  perfec- 
tion in  the  grain.  Put  five  corns 
in  what  is  called  ahilKandlet  them 
not  be  very  near  together;  for  the 
more  the  roots  crowd  each  other, 
the  more  they  will  prevent  the 
growth  of  each  other.  Four  corns 
would  perhaps  be  a  better  number, 
if  it  were  certain  they  would  all 
prosper.  The  true  reasons  for  put- 
ting more  thmi  one  in  a  place  1  take 
to  be,  that  by  means  of  it,  the  rows 
may  be  so  far  apart  as  to  admit  of 
ploughing  between  them  ;  and  that 
some,  labour  in  hand  hoeing  is  sa- 
ved, it  being  no  more  work  to  hoe 
a  hill  with  five  plants, than  with  one 
in  it. 

Some  steep  their  seed.  But  in 
general  it  had  better  be  omitted  ; 
for  it  will  occasion  it  to  perish  in 
the  ground,  if  the  weather  should 


not  prove  warm  enough  to  bring  it 
up  speedily.  If  planting  a  second 
time  should  become  necessary,  by 
means  of  the  destruction  of  the  first 
seed  ;  or  if  planting  be  delayed  on 
any  account  till  the  begiiming  of 
June,  then  it  will  be  proper  that  the 
seed  should  have  boiling  water 
poured  on  it.  Let  it  not  soak  more 
than  half  a  minute,  and  be  cooled 
speedily,  and  planted  before  it 
dries.  The  corn  will  be  forward- 
er in  its  growth  by  several  days. — 
The  seed  should  be  covered  with 
about  two  inches  of  earth. 

To  prevent  birds  and  vermin 
from  pulling  up  the  corn, steep  some 
corn  in  a  strong  infusion  of  Indian 
poke,  or  refuse  tobacco,  and  scat- 
ter it  over  the  ground  before  the 
corn  is  up.  White  threads  stretch- 
ed over  a  field  of  corn,  will  pre- 
vent crows  from  alighting  upon  it: 
But  I  doubt  whether  this  will  deter 
any  other  birds. 

A  handful  of  ashes  on  each  hill, 
will  nourish  the  plants,  and  have  a 
tendency  to  prevent  their  being  an- 
noyed by  worms.  Some  lay  it  on 
just  before  the  first,  or  second  hoe- 
ing. It  will  have  a  better  effect  in 
preventing  worms,  if  laid  on  before 
the  corn  is  up.  But  it  is  common- 
ly designed  to  answer  chiefl}  as  a 
top  dressing  ;  and  for  this  purpose 
it  would  answer  better  near  the 
third  hoeing;  for  then  the  plants 
want  the  greatest  degree  of  nour- 
ishment, as  they  begin  to  grow  very 
rapidly.  Two  dressings  with  ash- 
es, to  answer  the  two  purposes, 
would  not  be  amiss. 

When  the  plants  are  three  or 
four  inches  high,  the  plough  must 
pass  in  the  intervals,  making  two 


IND 


IND 


i>19 


furrows  in  each,  turned  from  the 
rows  ;  and  then  the  weeds  killed 
with  the  hand  hoe,  and  a  httle  fresh 
earth  drawn  about  the  plants.  This 
operation  we  call  weeding. 

In  about  half  a  month  after,plough 
again,  but  across  the  former  fur- 
rows, and  turn  the  furrows  towards 
the  rows.  Then  with  the  hand  hoe 
earth  the  corn  as  much  as  it  will 
well  bear.  This  is  called  mould- 
ing, or  half-hilling. 

When  the  plants  are  about  knee 
high,  and  before  they  send  out  their 
panicles,  or  spindles,  give  them  the 
third  and  last  hoeing.  The  best 
way  at  this  hoeing  is  to  plough  one 
furrow  in  an  interval,  both  ways. 
The  cultivator  with  two  mould- 
boards  would  be  better  for  this 
work,  than  the  common  horse 
plough,  as  it  would  throw  the  mould 
equally  towards  each  row,andsave 
labour  in  hand  hoeing.  The  ground 
would  thus  be  cut  into  squares,and 
the  hills  almost  completely  formed. 
In  finishing  them,  care  should  be 
taken  that  they  be  not  made  too 
high,  or  steep;  that  so  they  may 
not  divert  the  water,  which  falls  in 
rains,  from  the  roots.  When  hills 
are  too  much  raised,  they  also  pre- 
vent the  warm  influence  of  the  sun 
upon  the  lowermost  roots,  by  too 
great  a  thickness  of  earth  ;  in  con- 
sequence of  which,  the  plants  are 
put  to  the  exertion  of  sending  out  a 
new  set  of  roots,  at  a  suitable  dis- 
tance from  the  surface. 

Some  think  high  hills  are  need- 
ful to  make  the  corn  stand  upright. 
I  never  could  perceive  the  advan- 
tage of  it.  But  I  am  confident  it 
is  oftener  broken  by  winds  when 
the  hills  are    uncommonly    high, 


which  is  a  greater  evil  than  its 
leaning  half  way  to  the  ground,  if 
indeed  that  beany  evil  at  all, which 
1  think  may  be  doubted. 

The  farmer,  who  wishes  for  a 
large  crop  of  this  corn,  should  not 
annoy  it  with  runnirig  beans,  or 
pumpions;  the  former,  by  winding 
round  the  stalks  and  ears,  cramp 
them  in  theirgrowth,and  sometimes 
bend  them  down  to  the  ground  by 
their  weight ;  the  latter,  by  their 
luxuriant  growth,  rob  the  hills  of 
much  vegetable  food,  and  by  their 
thick  shade,  shut  out  the  influet)ce 
of  the  sun  from  the  roots  of  the 
corn.  So  that  they  must  needs  be 
very  detrimental  to  its  growth,  and 
ripening. 

Instead  of  the  common  method 
of  planting,  if  your  land  be  rich  and 
easy  to  till,  and  free  from  obstacles, 
I  should  think  it  would  be  best  to 
plant  the  corn  in  the  drill  method, 
the  rows  being  of  the  same  distance 
as  in  the  common  way,  placnig  the 
corjis  about  tive  or  six  inches  asun- 
der. 1  have  found  by  experiment, 
that  a  greater  quantity  of  corn  may 
be  produced  in  this  method,  than 
in  hills  ;  and  the  labour  is  but  lit- 
tle, if  at  all  increased.  In  a  small 
field, where  the  dung  had  been  even- 
ly spread,  and  ploughed  in,  I  plant- 
ed one  row  thus,  the  rest  being  in 
the  common  way  ;  and  it  yielded, 
at  harvest,  one  eighth  part  more 
corn  by  measure  than  either  of  the 
two  nearest  rows,  the  corn  being 
equally  ripe  and  good. 

Within  a  few  years,  and  since 
Mr.  Deane's  death  his  hints  as  to 
planting  corn  in  drills  have  been 
tried  and  with  great  success.  Mr. 
Stevens,  of  New- York,  raised  118 


220 


IND 


IN  h 


bushels  on  an  acre.  Mr.  Ludlow, 
of  the  same  State,  98,  and  Mr.Hun- 
newell,  of  Massachusetts,  111  in 
the  drill  method.  Mr.  Stevens 
planted  double  rows,  only  8  inches 
apart,  and  the  seed  in  rows  also  8 
inches  asunder,  but  planted  diago- 
nally so  as  that  no  one  stalk  should 
be  opposite  to  another.  The  dou- 
ble rows  were  distant  from  each 
other  5i  feet.  Mr.  Ludlow  plant- 
ed in  single  rows,  the  grains  at  8 
inches  apar!  in  each  row,  and  the 
rows  four  feet  apart.  Mr.  Steven's 
land  was  much  more  highly  ma- 
nured. 

When  there  is  reason  to  appre- 
hend that  the  ground  will  prove  too 
moist  for  this  crop,  it  will  be  ad- 
visable to  plough  it  into  narrow 
ridges,  and  seed  each  ridge  with 
one  or  two  rows,  as  shall  be  found 
most  convenient.  Some  of  the 
finest  crops  that  I  have  known, have 
been  raised  in  this  method. 

Whf  n  a  st^son  is  at  all  wet,  this 
would  be  tluAest  culture  in  almost 
any  soil,  unless  the  very  driest  be 
excepted. 

There  is  a  kind  of  ridging,which 
would  be  very  proper  for  this  plant, 
not  only  on  account  of  drying  the 
soil,  but  that  the  land  may  have  an 
alternate  resting,  or  fallowing,  be- 
tween the  rows.  In  the  conmion 
method  of  plain  ploughing,  it  com- 
monly happens  that  a  hill  stands 
precisely  in  the  place  of  a  hill  of 
ihe  pre(  eding  year.  When  this  is 
the  case, the  plants  will  receive  less 
nourisliment  than  if  the  hill  had  had 
a  new  situation*  That  each  hdl 
may  always  have  this  advantage. 
Set  a  ridge  be  formt  d  by  two  fur- 
rows, turning  part  of  a  row  of  hills 


on  each  side,  so  as  to  meet  each 
other,  in  the  last  year's  interval : 
Thus  small  ridges  will  be  formed, 
on  which  the  rows  should  be  plant- 
ed. If  dung  be  first  spread  over 
the  ground,  the  most  of  it  will  be 
buried  where  it  should  be,  in  the 
bottom  of  these  ridges.  At  the  time 
of  weeding,or  at  the  second  hoeing, 
the  remainders  of  the  old  hills  may 
be  turned  towards  the  new  rows. 
VVith  such  a  mode  of  cullure,  land 
could  not  soon  be  exhausted,  even 
by  a  successive  cropping  with 
maize.  Land  which  has  before 
been  planted  on  ridges  is  as  proper 
for  this  management,  as  if  it  had 
been  planted  in  hills,  or  even  more 
proper.  For  the  success  of  a  me- 
thod not  very  dissimilar  to  this,  see 
Experiment  for  raising  Indian  corji, 
in  the  Memoiis  of  the  American 
Academy,  by  Joseph  Greenleaf, 
Esq. 

Care  should  be  taken  that  the 
top  stalks  of  the  corn  should  not  be 
cut  too  early.  Perhaps  the  best 
possible  rule  is  to  examine  wheth- 
er the  ears  are  pretty  generally  fil- 
led out,  and  whether  they  are  so 
firm  as  to  resist  a  light  impression 
of  the  finger  nail,  hi  that  case, they 
may  be  cut  without  injury,  but 
while  in  a  growing  state  it  is  inex- 
pedient to  cut  them. 

We  are  certainly  guilty  of  an  er- 
ror when  we  harvest  this  corn  too 
early.  The  difference  of  early  and 
late  harvested  corn  may  be  seen  by 
the  shrinking  of  corn  in  the  former 
case.  In  drying,  large  spaces  may 
be  left  between  the  kernels  on  the 
cob;  but  that  which  is  well  ripen- 
ed on  the  stalk,  will  shew  no  such 
interstices.  The  corn  will  undoubt- 


IND 


1  N  D 


221 


edly  be  growing  better  till  the  stalk 
below  the  ear  is  perfectl)  sapless, 
and  the  cob  dry  ;  receiving  contin- 
ual nourishnjent  from  the  sap,  un- 
less the  frost  or  some  accident 
should  happen  to  prevent  it.  Squir- 
rels and  other  animals  drive  peo- 
ple to  early  harvesting  ;  but  there 
is  commonly  more  los^t  than  saved 
by  it.  When  corn  stands  tolerably 
safe  from  the  attacks  of  tanie  and 
wild  animals,  harvesting  early  is  an 
unpardonable  error.    See  Harvest. 

This  plant  is  so  luxuriant  in  its 
growth  that  it  impoverishes  the  soil 
faster  than  almost  any  other  crop. 
Therefore  it  is  not  good  husbandry 
to  plant  it  more  than  two  years  in 
succession.  It  would  be  better  still 
to  grow  it  but  one  year  in  the  same 
place. 

European  writers  say,  the  land 
should  be  ploughed  as  soon  as  the 
crop  is  off,  to  prevent  the  stalks 
from  drawing  the  moisture  out  of 
the  ground.  But  the  reason  of  this 
is  not  so  evident  as  to  carry  con- 
viction, unless  the  steins  are  quite 
in  a  green  state.  It  is,  however,  a 
good  method  to  plough  all  fields  in 
tillage,  as  soon  as  the  crop  is  off. 

The  following  remarks  on  the 
culture  of  this  valuable  vegetable 
are  extracted  from  a  letter,  written 
by  S.  W.  Pomeroy,  Esq.  to  John 
Lowell,  Esq.  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary of  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Society,  and  published  in  the  Agri- 
cultural Repository,  vol. VI.  No.  2. 
"  Indian  corn  forms  the  basis  of 
our  bread  stuff,  and  gives  deserved 
reputation  to  two  great  staples. 
Beef  and  Pork  ^  without  corn  you 
get  none  of  the  latter  ; — and  a  far- 
mer who  has  no  pork  in  his  tubs, 


may  be  considered  as  fairly  on  the 
roaa  to  ruin,  as  a  Bank  with  its 
vaults  destitute  of  specie,  for  it  is 
well  known  that  Ruta  Baga,  pota- 
toes or  carrots, a/one,  will  not  fatten 
such  pork  as  our  farmers  or  fisher- 
men have  been  accustomed  to,  or 
that  will  be  found  profitable  for 
consumption." 

"  it  is  admitted,  that  on  most 
farms  near  sea-ports,  where  corn 
and  manure  can  be  purchased,  the 
system  of  potatoe  and  root  culture, 
to  the  exclusion  of  corn,  may  be 
found  profitable  ;  nor  would  I  be 
understood  other  than  an  advocate 
for  such  a  system,  in  a  regular  rota- 
tion, upon  an  extensive  scale  ;  but 
1  wish  at  the  same  time  to  hold  up 
to  view  the  golden  fleece  found 
by  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  their 
first  landing  ;  and  which,  had  it  not 
existed,  or  continued  with  their  de- 
scendants nearly  a  century  after, 
the  fair  inheritance  we  now  possess, 
in  the  opinion  of  many  sound  po- 
litical economists,  could  not  liave 
been  transmitted  to  us." 

"  On  suitable  soils,  well  tilled  and 
manured,  an  average  crop  may  be 
estimated  at  forty  bushels,  weigh- 
ing 2-^00  pounds  of  the  most  nutri- 
tious substance  to  be  fou.  d  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  north  of  the 
latitude  of  the  sugarcane — and 
which  can  be  preserved  with  ease, 
for  a  number  of  years.  You  have 
the/ofWer,  which,  if  seasonably  and 
well  cured,  is,  in  the  opinion  of  ju- 
dicious farmers,  equal  to  half  a  ton 
of  good  hay — then  comes  three  or 
four  tons  of  pumpkins,  should  the 
season  favour,  fifty  or  an  hundred 
bushels  of  turnips — and,  not  unfre- 
quently,  a  comfortable    supply  of 


222 


IND 


J  ND 


white  beans  !  No  wonder  that  plen- 
ty of  the  necessaries  of  hfe  are  as 
sure  to  follow  large  crops  of  corn 
as  effect  succeeds  cause  in  any  de- 
partment of  physics  !" 

The  writer  combats  the  general 
opinion  that  corn  is  an  exhausting 
crop,  queries  whether  it  is  more  so 
than  potatoes,  and  observes  that 
"  Experience  demonstrates  that  tlie 
larger  the  crop  of  corn,  the  better 
the  succeeding  crop  ;  this  was  as- 
serted by  Dr.  Eliot,  the  father  of 
New-England  husbandry,  in  his 
Essays  on  Field  Husbandry,  pub- 
lished in  1747  ;  at  which  period  it 
appears  that  oats  usually  succeed- 
ed corn,  and  possibly,  in  some  dis- 
tricts, such  a  murderous  course  has 
continued  ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
Corn,  after  supporting  its  allies,ihe 
pumpkins, ihe  beans  and  the  turnips, 
from  the  provisions  charged  to  its 
account,  has  to  answer  for  the  de- 
teriorating effects  of  oats;  the  most 
inimical  to  grass  of  any  plant  that 
can  be  named.  Moreover,  it  will 
be  recollected  that  formerly,  the 
rich  alluvial  bottoms  or  intervals, 
were  planted  with  corn,  without  a 
particle  of  manure,  for  a  number  of 
years  in  succession,  till  the  product 
was  considerably  reduced  ; — would 
potatoes,  or  any  root  crop, with  such 
management  have  continued  more 
productive  ?  and  hence  has  not  the 
reputation  of  corn  materially  suf- 
fered ? 

"  We  will  next  inquire  what  re- 
turn does  corn  make  to  the  soil  ? 
1  cannot  answer  so  well,  as  by  quo- 
ting from  Arator.*     "  Indian  corn 

*  A  series  of  Agricultural  essays  entitled 
Arator  by  Col.  John  Taylor,  of  Carolina 
County,  Virginia,  This  work,  though  adapt- 


may  be  correctly  called  meal,  mea- 
dow and  manure  ;  it  produces  more 
food  for  man,  beast  and  the  earth, 
than  any  other  farinaceous  plant. 
If  the  food  it  produces  for  the  two 
first  was  wasted,  and  men  and 
beasts  should  thence  become  poor 
and  perish,  ought  their  poverty  or 
death  to  be  ascribed  to  the  plant 
which  produced  the  food,  or  to 
those  who  wasted  it  ?  Is  Indian 
corn  justly  changeable  with  the  im- 
poverishment of  the  earth,  if  the 
food  it  provides  for  that  is  not  ap- 
plied ? 

"  Let  us  compare  it  with  wheat. 
Suppose  that  the  same  land  will 
produce  as  much  grain  of  the  one 
as  of  the  other,  which  in  its  use 
will  make  equal  returns  to  the 
earth.  Here  the  equality  ends,  if 
indeed  it  exists  even  in  this  point. 
The  corn  stalks  infinitely  exceed 
the  wheat  straw  in  bulk,  weight, 
and  a  capacity  for  making  food  for 
the  earth.  If  any  attentive  man 
who  converts  both  his  stalks  and 
straw  into  manure,  will  compare 
the  product  in  April,  when  he  may 
distinguish  one  from  the  other,  he 
will  find  in  the  former  a  vast  su- 
periority in  quantity.  The  Eng- 
lish farmers  consider  wheat  straw 
as  their  most  abundant  resource 
for  manure,  and  corn  stalks  are  far 
more  abundant ;  corn  therefore  is 
a  less  impoverishing,  because  a 
more  compensating  crop  to  the 
earth,  credited  only  for  its  stalks 
than  any  in  England.  In  compar- 
ing crops  to  ascertain  their  relative 


ed  to  the  agriculture  of  that,  and  the  adjoin- 
ing states,  will  be  found  to  contain  valuable 
practical  information  to  the  New-England 
Farmer. 


IND 


IND 


223 


product,  and  operation  on  the 
earth,  we  must  contrast  farinaceous 
crops  with  each  other;  and  con- 
sider the  htter  or  oflfal  they  pro- 
duce, not  as  wasted,  but  as  judi- 
ciously applied  to  the  compensa- 
tion of  the  land.  At  the  threshold 
of  the  comparison,  corn  exhibits  a 
return  from  the  same  land  of  more 
offal,  or  litter  in  its  stalks  alone, 
than  wheat  does  altogether.  But 
to  the  stalks  of  corn  its  blades, 
tops,  husks  and  cobs  remain  to  be 
added,  each  of  which  will  nearly 
balance  the  litter  bestowed  on  the 
land  by  wheat.  "  The  author  con- 
cludes his  encomium  upon  Indian 
corn,  with  observing,  that  "  as  a 
fallow  crop  it  is  unrivalled,  if,  as 
fallow  crops  aught  constantly  to  do, 
it  receives  the  manure.''' 

"  Arthur  Young,  who  has  given 
such  an  impetus  to  rural  economy, 
and  to  root  culture  particularly,  in 
Great  Britain ;  in  his  travels  through 
France  in  1789,  makes  the  follow- 
ing remarks.  "  The  line  of  maize 
(corn)  may  be  said  to  be  the  divi- 
sion between  the  good  husbandry 
of  the  south,  and  the  bad  husban- 
dry of  the  north  of  the  kingdom, 
till  you  meet  with  maize  very  rich 
soils  are  fallowed,  but  never  after  ; 
perhaps  it  is  the  most  important 
plant  that  can  be  introduced  into 
the  agriculture  of  any  country, 
whose  climate  will  suit  it.  The 
only  good  husbandry  in  the  king- 
dom, (some  small  rich  districts  ex- 
cepted,) arises  from  the  possession 
and  management  of  this  plant.  For 
the  inhabitants  of  a  country  to  live 
upon  that  plant,  which  is  the  pre- 
paration for  wheat,  and  at  the  same 
time  ke€p  their  cattle  fat  upon  the 


leaves  of  it,  is  to  possess  a  treasure, 
for  which  ihey  are  indebted  to 
their  climate."  "  Planted  in 
squares  or  rows,  so  far  asunder, 
that  all  imaginable  tillage  may  be 
given  between  them ;  and  the 
ground  thus  cleaned  and  prepared 
at  the  will  of  the  farmer,  is  an  in- 
valuable circumstance  ;  and  finally 
it  is  succeeded  by  wheat.  Thus  a 
country,  where  soil  and  climate 
admit  the  course  of,  1st  maize,  2nd, 
wheat,  is  under  a  cultivation  that, 
perhaps,  yields  the  most  food  for 
man  and  beast,  that  is  possible  to 
be  drawn  from  the  land." 

"  The  perfect  culture  and  copi- 
ous manuring  demanded  by  corn. 
"  Mr.  Pomeroy  maintains,  instead 
of  being  an  objection  to  the  culti- 
vation is  an  argument  in  its  favour; 
and  he  contends  "  that  should  In- 
dian corn  be  made  the  basis  of  an 
extensive  rotation  system,  with  a 
pointed  attention  to  the  manures, 
which  it  has  the  capacity  to  in- 
crease in  a  compound  ratio,  the 
agriculture  of  Massachusetts  may 
not  only  approximate  to  that  of 
Great  Britain,  but  with  the  en- 
ergies such  a  system  might  be  ex- 
pected to  elicit,  equal  it." 

In  speaking  of  his  method  of  cul- 
tivating corn  Mr.  Pomeroy  says, 
"  Having  a  large  bed  of  Beets 
planted  in  narrow  rows  or  drills,  in 
the  usual  way,  and  a  severe  drought 
ensuing,  the  leaves  were  observed, 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  to  wilt  and 
fall  down,  in  all  but  the  out-side 
rows,  which  remained  erect  and 
flourishing ;  and  when  the  crop 
was  taken  up  were  nearly  double 
the  size  of  those  from  the  centre 
of  the  bed  !  That  a  greater  expos- 


224 


IND 


IND 


ure  to  the  atmosphere  was  a  prin- 
cipal cause  could  not  be  doubted ; 
and  the  idea  immediately  present- 
ed that  if  they  had  been  cultivated 
on  ridges  so  far  apart  as  to  permit 
a  plough  to  pass,  it  would  in  efTcct, 
be  making  tlie  whole  crop  outside- 
1-010 s :  and  for  upwards  of  fifteen 
years  since,  all  the  arable  crops 
upon  my  farm  have  been  cultivat- 
ed on  ridges  with  manifest  advan- 
tage,— as  to  product,  labour  and 
the  nnquestioiiable  improvement  of 
the  soil.  The  ridges  of  beets, 
carrots,  parsnips,  turnips  and  ruta- 
baga are  about  two  feet,  cabbag<^s 
four,  and  corn  and  potatoes  five 
feet  and  an  half  apart." 

"  But  to  return  to  the  culture  of 
corn:  in  describing  which  that  of 
potatoes  must  necessarily  be  em- 
braced ;  as  I  deem  it  wrong  for  two 
crops  of  the  same  kind  to  succeed 
each  other,  when  it  can  well  be  a- 
voided ;  nevertheless,  as  potatoes 
should  be  employed  as  the  pioneers, 
of  a  farm,  and  it  is  frequently  the 
case  that  cold  moist  or  rough  soils, 
not  suitable  for  corn,  are  found, 
sufficient  to  be  occupied  by  as  ma- 
ny potatoes  as  the  farmer  can  well 
manage,  or  may  want  under  such 
circumstances,  the  permitting  two 
crops  of  corn  to  follow  07i  ridges 
may  be  justifiable  ;  whereas  in  the 
common  method  it  should  be  con- 
sidered as  unpardonable. 

"  If  we  begin  the  system  with 
sward  land,  it  is  broken  up  in  the 
autumn ;  harrowed  fine  in  the 
spring,  and  light  furrows  run  out 
five  feet  and  an  half  apart:  into 
these  fiirrows  potatoes  are  dropped 
from  six  to  eight  inches  asunder, 
according  to  size,  the  carts  follow 


and  cover  them  with  manure  ;  ft 
furrow  is  then  turned  from  each 
side  so  as  to  meet  over  the  manure, 
a  little  labour  with  the  hoe  may  be 
required,  to  make  all  level  and 
complete  the  planting;  other  fur- 
rows are  turned  up,  and  at  the  first 
hoeing  the  baulk  is  cleared  and 
the  ridge  completed.  In  the  sub- 
s'-quent  culture  the  plough  ap- 
proaches only  the  sides  of  the 
ridgc's.  and  rotitinnes  deepening 
the  furrow  between  them.  The 
following  spring  the  ridges  are  re- 
versed and  placed  directly  over 
those  deep  fiirrows.  The  manure 
is  turned  in  while  the  ridges  are 
forming;  or  by  ojtening  a  furrow 
on  the  top  to  receive  it,  with  a  pair 
of  oxen  walking-  ori  each  side,  cov- 
ered with  hoes  and  the  crop  plant- 
ed. If  the  land  is  in  good  heart, 
and  manure  abundant,  the  kernels 
may  be  six  inches  apart,  or  as  ma- 
ny dropped  together  as  to  insure 
four  stalks  to  remain  two  feet  apart, 
in  which  case  the  manure  is  depos- 
ited confoimably  ;  either  method 
will  give  the  same  number  of  plants 
to  the  acre  ;  1  think  four  stalks  to- 
gether afford  support  to  each  other 
against  winds,  and  are  not  so  apt  to 
send  up  suckers  as  when  single,  and 
there  may  be  some  advantage  by 
concentratirig  the  manure,  in  for- 
warding the  young  plants  during 
the  cold  seasons  which  we  fre- 
quently have  in  June;  still  I  have 
not  had  sufficient  experience  to 
determine  which  method  is  prefer- 
able ;  if  the  land  is  stony,  the  last 
will  be  found  most  convenient. 
As  soon  as  the  plants  appear,  the 
earth  is  stirred  about  them  with  the 
hand,  and  ashes  at  the  same  time 


IND 


IND 


225 


strewed  on,  in  the  proportion  of  a 
handful  to  four  plants,  the  cultiva- 
tion proceeds  sinnilar  to  that  de- 
scribed for  the  potatoes — the 
ploughing  continues  as  often  and 
as  long  as  you  please,  without  dis- 
turbing the  roots  of  the  corn,  or 
breaking  it  down,  deepening  the 
soil  and  turning  up  the  dead  earth 
to  the  sides  of  the  ridges,  which 
chocks  the  growth  of  weeds  great- 
ly 5  and  if  the  crop  is  at  first  tho- 
roughly hand-weeded,  they  will 
give  but  little  trouble  afterwards. 

It  has  not  been  in  my  power  to 
make  a  comparison  with  a  crop 
cultivated  in  the  common  method, 
but  I  have  had  several  foremen 
since  ridging  has  been  practised  on 
the  farm,  who  were  at  first  preju- 
diced against  it,  but  were  soon 
convinced  of  its  utility  ;  and  none 
of  them  have  estimated  the  in- 
crease of  product,  with  the  same 
quantity  of  manure,  at  less  than 
one  fifth,  and  the  saving  of  labour 
full  as  much. 

"  It  is  probable  that  on  rich 
soils  with  plenty  of  manure,  larger 
crops  may  be  obtained  by  making 
the  ridges  much  nearer,  but  the 
labour  will  be  more,  and  the  ad- 
vantage of  uncommon  deep  cul- 
ture without  extra  expense  must 
be  abandoned  ;  the  importance^  of 
such  culture  to  the  succeeding 
crops  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
following  relation. 

"  About  fifteen  months  since,  I 
was  applied  to  severally,  by  two 
respectable  farmers,  from  an  ad- 
joining town,  who  are  considered 
as  judicious  and  as  thrifty,  as  any 
in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  to  be  in- 
iormed  how  I  had  managed  a  piece, 
99 


the  former  state  of  which  they  had 
well   known    to  make  it    prcidiire 
such  a  second  crop  of  clover,   m 
such    a    season    of    drought    that 
theirs  was  dried  up,  and  on   land 
naturally  more  moist,   which  they 
considered  stronger,  aid  had  been 
well  cultivated  and  highly  manur- 
ed ?  They  were  told  in  reply,  that 
'  the    land    was    under    the   sixth 
course  of  rotation,   viz.: — 1.  po- 
tatoes;   2.  corn;    3.  carrots  and 
beets ;  4.  corn  ;  5.  spring  wheat, 
of  which  it  carried  thirty  bushels 
of  59  lbs. ;    6.  clover,  first  crop, 
two  tons  and  an  half;  second  the 
same  season,   and    which  had  at- 
tracted their  notice,  about  one  ton 
to  the  acre.'     That  it  had  from 
16  to  20  lbs.  of  clover,  and  half  a 
bushel  of  herds'-grass  seed   to  an 
acre  ;  one  half  ploughed   in  with 
the  wheat,  and  the  remainder  sown 
on  the  furrow,    harrowed  in  and 
well  rolled  :  and  fiirther^  that  no 
stock  were  suffered  to  graze  upon 
it.     It  should  also  be  stated,  that 
a  heavy  crop  of  herds'-grass   was 
produced  the  last  season,  and  that 
it  gives  promise  of  another; — that 
the    soil   is   a    deep    sandy    loam, 
known   to    many   farmers    by  the 
name    fox-coloured     earth,     and 
which  some  of  them  are  too  fearful 
of  turning  up  ;  that  when  first  cul- 
tivated   in   the    common  method, 
which  was  some  years  previous  to 
the    present   rotation,    it   did   not 
shew  two  inches  of  brown  soil,  or 
vegetable   mould,   and   had   been 
considered  as  poor  pasture.     And 
I  would  observe,  that  had  the  land 
been  longer  under  previous  culti- 
vation, the  third  and  fourth  courses 
might  have  been  omitted,  and  the 


226 


IND 


IND 


rotation  thereby  shortened  two 
years  " 

Mr.  Pomeroy  recommends  the 
following  preparation  of  seed  corn 
for  "  protecting  it  against  squirrels 
and  other  vermin." 

"  Take  equal  parts  of  tar  and 
train  oil,  simmer  them  together 
and  turrj  over  the  corn  ;  then  sift 
on  ashes,  lime,  or  plaster,  stirring 
it,  till  each  kernel  has  taken  up  as 
much  as  will  permit  its  being  con- 
veniently handled."  He  like- 
wise thinks  it  probable  that  wal^ 
nuts,  acorns,  chesmits,  &LC.  thus 
prepared  for  planting  would  be 
protected ;  "  the  destruction  of 
which  by  squirrels,  has  very  much 
retarded  plantations  of  those  va- 
luable trees.  The  Farmer's  As- 
sistant say,  that  when  seed  corn  is 
prepared  with  tar,  "it  is  neces- 
sary first  to  soak  it  sufficient  to 
make  it  vegetate ;  as  without  this 
the  coat  of  tar  will  keep  out  the 
moisture,  and  prevent  the  seed 
from  sprouting." 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  p.  241,  contains  a 
statement  of  the  production  of  one 
acre  of  land  cultivated  by  Jona- 
than Hunnewell,  Esq.  and  the 
manner  of  its  cultivation.  By  this 
it  appears  that  the  field  was  an  old 
pasture  ;  that  it  was  ploughed  in 
the  fall  of  1818,  cross  ploughed  in 
the  spring  of  1819,  and  planted 
with  corn  in  hills  in  the  common 
form,  but  well  manured  in  the  hill 
with  a  mixture  of  horse  hung,  lime 
and  ashes  ;  when  the  corn  was  fit 
for  weeding,  it  was  ashed  by  put- 
ting about  half  a  pint  of  unleached 
ashes  to  each  hill ;  a  part,  how- 
ever, was  left  without  any  ashes. 


j  The  difference  was  very  visible 
between  the  corn,  which  had  ashes, 
and  that  which  had  none.  No 
plough  was  suffered  among  it  after 
an  early  half-hilling ;  nor  had  it 
any  hoeing  except  to  destroy  the 
worst  of  the  weeds,  and  to  stir  in 
the  turnip  seed,  which  was  sown 
amongst  it.  One  acre  produced 
781  bushels  of  corn  when  shelled. 
The  seed  of  this  corn  was  present- 
ed to  Mr.  Hunnewell  by  Samuel 
Blagge,  Esq.  of  Boston,  who  had 
it  of  William  Jarvis,  Esq.  of  Wea- 
thersfield,  Vermont,  and  is  the 
same  sort,  we  believe,  which  has 
been  advertised  in  the  newspapers 
as  the  Dutton-corn. 

In  1820  the  same  ground  was 
planted  again,  after  a  fall  and 
spring  ploughing.  It  was  furrowed 
out  at  a  distance  of  four  feet,  leav- 
ing each  furrow  one  foot  wide. 
The  furrows  were  well  manured 
with  a  mixture  of  horse-diing,  lime, 
ashes,  and  dock- mud.  The  seed 
raised  the  last  year  was  planted  in 
the  drill  on  each  furrow,  making 
Mreerozo5  to  each  furrow.  Care  was 
taken  to  drop  the  corn  as  near  six 
inches  apart  as  possible  without 
waiting  time.  The  cultivation 
similar  to  that  of  the  preceding 
year.  The  corn  when  ripe,  ap- 
peared on  the  1 3th  of  October  as 
though  some  pains  had  been  to 
strip  it  of  the  husks  ;  but  it  is  the 
nature  of  this  corn  to  husk  itself  in 
the  field.  In  good  seasons  it  re- 
quires but  ninety  days  to  ripen. 
The  product  of  one  acre  of  this 
corn  was  one  hundred  and  eleven 
bushels.  Mr.  Hunnewell  received 
a  premium  from  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Society  for  this  last 
mentioned  crop. 


INO 


INO 


227 


Oliver  Fiske,  Esq.  of  Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts,  has  ascertained 
by  an  experiment  detailed  in  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Repo- 
sitory, vol.  VI.  p.  244,  that  corn 
planted  in  rows  produces  more 
than  when  planted  in  hills,  and  re- 
ceived a  premium  for  his  experi- 
ment, 

INOCULATING,  or  BUD- 
DING, inserting  a  bud  so  that  it 
will  live  and  grow,  in  the  side  of 
the  trunk,  or  limb  of  a  tree.  It 
answers  the  same  end  as  grafting. 
Mr.  Miller  says,  "  This  is  com- 
monly practised  upon  all  sorts  of 
stone  fruit  in  particular,  such  as 
peaches,  nectarines,  cherries, 
plums,  &c.  as  also  upon  oranges 
and  jasmines,  and  is  preferable  to 
any  sort  of  grafting.  The  method 
of  performing  it  is  as  follows  :  You 
must  be  provided  with  a  sharp 
penknife,  having  a  flat  haft  (the 
use  of  which  is  to  raise  the  bark 
of  the  stalk  to  admit  the  bud)  and 
some  sound  bass  mat,  which  should 
be  soaked  in  water,  to  increase  its 
strength,  and  make  it  more  plia- 
ble ;  then  having  taken  off  the 
cuttings  of  the  trees  you  are  to 
propagate,  you  should  choose  a 
smooth  part  of  the  stock  about  five 
or  six  inches  above  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  if  designed  for  dwarfs  ; 
but  if  for  standards,  they  should  be 
budded  six  feet  above  ground  ; 
then  with  your  knife  make  a  hori- 
zontal cut  cross  the  rind  of  the 
stock,  and  from  the  middle  of  that 
cut  make  a  slit  downwards  about 
two  inches  in  length,  so  that  it 
may  be  in  the  form  of  T  ;  but 
you  must  be  careful  not  to  cut  too 
deep,  lest  you  wound  the  stock. 


Then  having  cut  off  the  leaf  from 
the  bud,  leaving  the  foot  stock  re- 
maining, you  should  make  a  cross 
cut  about  half  an  inch  below  the 
eye,  and  with  your  knife  slit  off 
the  bud,  with  part  of  the  wood  to  it. 
This  done,  you  must  withyour knife 
pull  off  that  part  of  the  wood 
which  was  taken  with  the  bud.  ob- 
serving whether  the  eye  of  the 
bud  be  left  to  it  or  not  (for  all 
those  buds  which  lose  their  eyes 
in  stripping  should  be  throwa 
away,  being  good  for  nothing.) 
Then  having  gently  raised  the 
bark  of  the  stock  where  the  cross 
incision  was  made,  with  the  flat 
haft  of  your  penknife,  cleave  the 
bark  from  the  wood,  and  thrust 
the  bud  therein,  observing  to  place 
it  smooth  between  the  rind  and 
the  wood  of  the  stock,  cutting  off 
any  part  of  the  rind  belonging  to 
the  bud,  which  may  be  loo  long 
for  the  slit  made  in  the  stock  : 
And  so  having  exactly  fitted  the 
bud  to  the  stock,  you  must  tie 
them  closely  round  with  bass  mat, 
beginning  at  the  under  part  of  the 
slit,  and  so  proceed  to  the  top, 
taking  care  that  you  do  not  bind 
round  the  eye  of  the  bud,  which 
should  be  left  open. 

"  When  your  buds  have  been 
inoculated  three  weeks  or  a  month, 
you  will  see  which  of  them  have 
taken  ;  those  of  them  which  ap- 
pear shrivelled  and  black  being 
dead,  but  those  which  remain  fresh 
and  plump  you  may  depend  are 
joined.  At  this  time  you  should 
loosen  the  bandage,  which,  if  not 
done  in  time,  will  pinch  the  stock, 
and  greatly  injure,  if  not  destroy, 
the  bud. 


228 


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«  The  March  following"  (per- 
haps  April  in  iliis  countr))  "you 
must  cut  off  the  stock  close  to  the 
bud,  sloping  it  that  the  wet  may 
pass  off,  and  not  enter  the  stock. 
To  thi*  part  of  the  stock,  left  above 
the  bud,  it  is  very  proper  to  fasten 
the  shoot  which  the  bud  makes  in 
summer,  to  secure  it  from  being 
blown  out ;  but  this  part  of  the  stock 
must  continue  on  no  longer  than  un- 
til the  bud  has  acquired  strength  to 
support  itself,after  which  it  must  be 
cut  offclose  above  the  bud  that  the 
stock  may  be  covered  thereby. 

"  The  time  for  inoculating  is 
from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  mid- 
dle of  September,  according  to  the 
forwardness  of  the  season,  and  the 
particular  sorts  of  trees  to  be  ino- 
culated, which  may  be  easily 
k  lown  by  trying  the  buds,  whether 
they  will  come  off  well  from  the 
wood.  But  the  most  general  rule 
is,  when  you  observe  the  buds  for- 
med at  the  extremity  of  the  same 
year's  shoots,  which  is  a  sign  of 
their  having  finished  their  spring 
growth."     Gardener''s  Diet. 

INSECT.  We  shall  only  be 
able  to  notice  a  iew  of  those  insects, 
which  are  more  injurious  than  oth 
ers  to  the  labours,  and  often  fatal  to 
the  hopes  of  the  husbandman,  with 
the  intimation  of  such  remedies  as 
have  been  found  most  effectual. 

The  Grasshopper  is  one  of  the 
most  constant  aimoyers  of  the  far- 
mer. In  all  years  it  is  found  in 
greater  or  less  numbers.  In  hot 
and  dry  seasons  it  seems  to  multi- 
ply more  rapidly,  and  occasionally 
it  lays  waste  whole  tracts  of  coun- 
try. The  causes  of  the  varieties  in 
their  numbers  is  unknown.     Some 


insects,  for  instance  one  of  the  lo- 
custs, it  is  ascertained,  lie  in  the 
chrysalis  state,  exactly  sixteen 
years — but  why  such  insects  as  the 
grasshopper,  which  never  quits  us, 
should  sometimes  over-abound  so 
as  to  endanger  the  subsistence  of 
man,  is  not  understood.  It  is  mat- 
ter of  regret,  thatno  method  has  yet 
been  discovered  of  checking  this 
insect.  The  letting  in  of  troops  of 
turkies  and  chickens  to  the  field  is, 
to  be  sure,  a  palliative  :  But,  it  is 
obvious  that  it  cannot  be  exten- 
sively practised.  The  poultr}'^, 
themselves,  do  great  mischief  to  the 
crop,  and  the  support  of  them,  in 
great  numbers  throughout  the  year, 
might  be  fairly  set  against  the  be- 
nefit they  might  do. 

Curculio,  a  small  bug,  which  per- 
forates the  young  fruit  of  the  pear, 
apple,  and  all  stone  fruits,  and  de- 
posits its  eggs  within  them.  There 
are  several  sorts  of  them.  The 
eggs  soon  hatch,  and  a  small  mag- 
got is  produced,  which  feeds  either 
on  the  pulp,  or  on  the  kernel  of  the 
seed,  for  the  tastes  and  habits  of  the 
various  species  are  very  different. 
In  the  stone  fruits  this  injury  de- 
stroys their  growth,  and  they  fall, 
with  th^ir  little  enemy  within  them, 
who  soon  seeks  shelter  in  the  ground, 
where  he  passes  the  winter  in  the 
chrysalis  state,  and  comes  forth, 
just  as  the  young  fruit  is  forming,or 
as  the  petals  of  the  flowers  are  fal- 
ling, to  renew  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. As  this  is  a  winged  insect, 
and  probably  flies  with  ease,  for  he 
is  never  caught,  like  the  canker- 
worm,  ascending  the  trunk,it  would 
seem  that  most  of  the  remedies 
proposed    in    agricultural    works 


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229 


must  be  ineffectual,  as  they  are  ir- 
rational. Tying  therefore,  a  bag 
of  salt  on  the  tree,  or  surrounding 
it  with  grease  and  blubber,  can 
have  no  effect,  except  so  far  as  the 
effluvia  might  operate  to  deter  the 
insect.  In  that  view  pieces  of  shin- 
gles, covered  with  moist  tar,  sus- 
pended in  many  places,  on  the  ex- 
terior limbs  might  be  more  effec- 
tual. We  think,  however,  very 
lightly  of  all  these  remedies.  If 
the  Curculio  is  to  be  extirpated  or 
checked,  we  think  it  must  be  in  the 
ground.  It  is  ascertained  that 
pavements  will  check  them.  It  is 
said  that  tanners'  spent  bark  will 
do  it,  and  this  is  now  in  a  course 
of  experiments.  It  certainly  ac- 
cords better  with  the  history  of  the 
insect,  and  is  more  rational.  Any 
substance,  which  will  check  the  de- 
scent, or  ascent^  will  occasion  their 
destruction. 

We  must  enter  our  protest  against 
all  projects  of  boring  holes  into 
trees,  and  filling  them  with  mercu- 
ry, or  mercurial  preparations,  or 
any  other  substance,  as  preventa- 
tives against  the  Curculio,  the  Ap- 
his, and  as  some  say,  all  insects. 
This  is  too  empyrical,  and  there  is 
too  much  nonsense  already  in  the 
world  to  attempt  to  increase  it. 

Aphis.  Plant  or  Tree  Lice,  Al- 
most every  plant  has  a  species  of 
this  insect  peculiar  to  itself.  Its 
powers  of  reproduction  are  almost 
infinite,  and  more  rapid  than  can 
well  be  imagined.  It  is  pernicious 
to  cabbages,  Swedish  turnips,  and 
to  many  trees  and  shrubs.  In  green- 
houses they  are  readily  destroyed 
by  the  smoke  of  tobacco,  or  of  sul- 
phur.     But  in  the  open  air,  fumi- 


gation, though  much  in  vogue  many 
years  since,  is  of  no  avail.  The 
best  remedy  is  the  simplest.  Soap 
suds,  forcibly  applied,  will,  after 
one  or  two  applications  effectually 
destroy  them,  without  apparent  in- 
jury to  the  plants. 

The  cut  worm,  an  insect  so 
called,  is  an  ash  coloured  worm, 
with  a  stripe  almost  black  upon 
its  bark.  At  its  full  growth,  it 
is  about  the  bigness  of  a  goose 
quill,  and  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in 
length.  The  greatest  mischief  that 
they  commonly  do,  is  to  young  cab- 
bages, cauliflowers,  &c.  They  nev- 
er choose  to  appear  on  the  surface 
in  the  day  time  ;  but  keep  them- 
selves buried  about  an  inch  or  two 
beneath  it.  In  the  night  they  come 
up,  eat  off  the  stems  of  the  young 
plants,  and  again  bury  themselves 
in  the  soil,  often  attempting  to 
draw  in  the  plants  after  them. 

They  sometimes  destroy  other 
vegetables.  I  have  known  them  to 
cut  off  great  part  of  a  field  of  Indian 
corn,  before  the  first  hoeing :  But 
this  is  not  a  common  case. 

They  begin  to  devour  in  May, 
and  cease  in  June. 

I  once  prevented  their  depreda- 
tions in  my  garden,  by  manuring 
the  soil  with  sea  mud,  newly  taken 
from  the  flats.  The  plants  gener- 
ally escaped,  though  every  one  was 
cut  offin  a  spot  of  ground  that  lies 
contiguous.  From  the  success  of 
this  experiment  I  conclude,  that  salt 
is  very  ofl'ensive,  or  pernicious  to 
them.  Lime  and  ashes  in  some 
measure  prevent  their  doing  mis- 
chief; but  sea  water,  salt,  or  brine, 
would  be  more  effectual  antidotes. 
The  most  effectual  and  not  a  labo- 


230 


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rious  remedy  even  in  field  culture 
is  to  go  round  every  morning  and 
open  the  earth  at  the  foot  of  the 
plant,  and  you  will  never  fail  to  find 
the  worm  at  the  root  within  four 
inches.  Kill  him  and  you  will  save 
not  only  the  other  plants  of  your 
field,  but  probably  many  thousands 
in  future  years. 

Top  worms,  oy  spindle  worms,  a 
white  worm,  resembling  a  grub, 
found  in  the  hose,  or  socket,  of  a 
plant  of  maize,  which  eats  off  the 
stem  of  the  plant,  and  renders  it  un- 
fruitful. When  its  excrements  ap- 
pear on  the  leaves,  it  may  be  known 
that  a  worm  is  in  the  socket.  They 
are  most  commonly  found  in  places 
that  are  rich  and  dungy,  particular- 
ly in  corn  that  grows  near  to  barns  ; 
but  they  will  sometimes  prevail 
through  whole  fields.  Sprinkling 
the  corn,  when  they  begin  to  eat, 
with  a  weak  lie  of  wood  ashes  will 
effectually  destroy  them.  So  I  sup- 
pose, would  almost  any  bitter  infu- 
sion ;  but  of  this  1  have  made  no 
trial. 

The  striped  bug,  or  yellow  fly,  is 
a  small  four  winged  insect,  the  out- 
ward wings  of  which  are  striped 
with  yellow  and  black.  They  eat 
and  destroy  the  young  plants  of  cu- 
cumbers, melons,  squashes  and 
pumpions.  They  begin  to  eat  while 
the  plants  are  in  seed  leaf;  and, 
unless  they  are  opposed,  will  total- 
ly destroy  them,  especially  in  a  dry 
season. 

These  insects  may  be  consider- 
ably thinned,  by  killing  them  in  a 
dewy  morning,  when  they  have  not 
the  free  use  of  their  wings,  and 
cannot  well  escape. 

I  have  sometimes  defended  the 


plants  in  some  measure,  by  encir- 
cling them  with  rock  weed.  But 
nothing  that  I  have  tried  has  proved 
so  effectual,  as  sifting,  or  sprinkling 
powdered  soot  upon  the  plants, 
when  the  morning  dew  remains  on 
them.  This  forms  a  bitter  cover- 
ing for  the  plants,  which  the  bugs 
cannot  endure  the  taste  of.  Per- 
haps watering  the  plants  with  some 
bitter  infusion  might  equally  pre- 
serve them,  if  it  were  often  repeat- 
ed. I  prefer  soot,  as  1  know  by 
experience  that  once  sprinkling 
with  it  will  answer  the  end,  unless 
it  happen  to  be  washed  offby  rain. 
When  this  happens,  the  sooting 
should  be  repeated ;  lime  and 
washes  will  answer  as  well. 

The  turnip  jiy,  a  well  known 
winged  insect,  which  eats  the  seed 
leaves  of  turnips,  before  the  first 
rough  leaf  appears.  Their  ravages 
are  so  general,  and  of  such  conse- 
quence, that  the  ingenious  have  at- 
tended to  the  matter,  and  explored 
many  methods,  both  preventive  and 
remedial,  to  oppose  them. 

One  of  the  preventive  methods 
is,  making  the  ground  so  rich  that 
the  plants  will  grow  rapidly,  and 
continue  but  for  a  short  time  in  the 
seed  leaf ;  for,  after  the  evolution 
of  rough  leaves,  the  plants  are  al- 
most or  quite  out  of  danger  of  this 
insect. 

It  is  also  recommended,  to  pass 
a  roller  over  the  ground,  as  soon  as 
the  seed  is  sown.  This  not  only 
prevents  the  too  sudden  escape  of 
the  moisture  in  the  surface,  and 
causes  the  plants  to  rise  sooner  and 
more  vigorously  ;  but  fills  up  or  clo- 
ses ten  thousand  little  interstices  in 
the  surface,  which  serve  the  insects 


INS 


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231 


as  places  of  retreat.  The  conse- 
quence is,  either  that  they  are  de- 
stroyed by  rains,  driven  away  by 
winds  and  storms,  or  stiffened  with 
the  dews  of  the  coldest  nights. 

Mr.  Tull  thought  it  best  that  the 
seed  should  be  buried  at  different 
depths  in  the  soil,  and  says,as  they 
will  come  up  at  different  times,  ei- 
ther the  first  or  the  last  will  proba- 
bly escape  the  fly.  He  according- 
ly constructed  his  turnip  drill  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  burj  the  seed 
at  different  depths. 

The  same  thing  in  effect  may  be 
done  in  the  broad  cast  way  of  sow- 
ing. The  ground  may  be  harrow- 
ed with  a  common  harrow  with  iron 
teeth  ;  then  half  the  seed  sowed, 
and  the  ground  smoothed  with  a 
bush  harrow  and  rolled  ;  then  the 
other  half  sowed,  and  bushed  in,  or 
raked.  After  which  the  roller 
should  be  again  passed  over  the 
surface. 

Some  writers  on  this  subject  are 
confident  that  the  best  method  is, 
to  sow  the  seed  very  thick,  equal 
to  double  the  usual  quantity  of 
seed,  that  when  the  flies  have  eat: 
en  all  they  can,  there  may  be  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  plants  remaining 
to  insure  a  good  crop.  Another 
project  is  sowing  a  mixture  of  old 
and  new  seed,  as  the  latter  is  known 
to  come  up  sooner  than  the  former, 
one  or  other  of  which  may  happen 
to  escape. 

After  the  turnips  are  up,  if  the 
flies  appear  in  plenty,  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  pass  a  smooth  roller  over 
them.  If  the  roller  be  drawn  care- 
fully by  hand,  or  even  by  a  horse, 
turning  the  roller  about  on  the  head 
lands  only,  the  operation  may  be 


performed  without  hurting  the  tur- 
nips ;  and  the  flies  will  mostly  be 
crushed  by  the  roller.  This  oper- 
ation should  be  performed  in  a 
dewy  morning,  when  the  flies  are 
so  stiff  that  they  cannot  make  their 
escape. 

Or,  instead  of  this,  I  am  confident 
that  the  sifting  of  soot  over  the  tur- 
nip ground  in  a  dewy  morning  will 
be  effectual ;  at  the  same  time  that 
it  will  answer  as  a  slight  top  dres- 
sing, and  increase  the  growth  of  the 
plants. 

Some  writers  assert,  that  only 
drawing  a  green  bush  of  elder  over 
the  young  plants  will  save  them 
from  the  fly.  I  think  it  may  have 
some  tendency  towards  it ;  but  I 
have  never  made  the  experiment. 
An  infusion  of  elder,  applied  by 
sprinkling,  would  probably  have  a 
greater  effect.  But  I  should  ex- 
pect more  from  an  infusion  of  to- 
bacco. 

Some  set  plants  of  tobacco  thinly 
in  their  turnip  ground,  thinking  that 
the  scent  of  them  does  something 
towards  repelling  the  fly.  I  have 
no  objection  to  this,  excepting  that 
a  much  richer  ground  is  requisite 
for  tobacco  than  for  turnips,  in  our 
climate.     See  Turnip. 

The  red  worm  is  another  enemy 
to  the  farmer.  This  insect  is  slen- 
der, and  usually  about  an  inch  long, 
with  a  hard  coat,  and  a  pointed 
head.  It  eats  off  wheat,barley  and 
oats,  above  the  crown  of  the  roots. 
It  perforates,or  bores  quite  through 
bulbous  roots,  turnips,  potatoes,&:c. 
My  turnips,  for  several  years,which 
were  sown  in  the  spring,  have  been 
thus  almost  ruined,  though  on  a  soil 
that  suited  them.     When  a  turnip 


232 


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is  once  wounded  by  them,  it  grows 
no  bit^ger,  unless  it  be  in  ill  shapes, 
and  hard  excrescences, and  becomes 
totally  unfit  for  the  tabie.  As  to 
potatoes,  I  have  seidon)  known 
them  do  much  hurt,  unless  when 
they  were  planted  in  a  soil  that  did 
not  suit  them  particularly  in  a  clay. 
It  is  easier  to  say  what  will  not  stop 
those  borers,  than  what  will  do  it. 
I  have  manured  with  sea  mud  ;  ap- 
plied dried  salt  to  the  soil  after  the 
plants  were  up  ;  mingled  dry  salt 
with  the  seed  when  it  was  sowed  ; 
steeped  the  seeds  in  brine  before 
sowing,  and  coated  them  with  sul- 
phur ;  but  all  in  vain. 

I  suppose  the  burning  of  a  stub- 
ble as  it  stands  would  destroy  all  the 
worms  that  happened  to  be  very 
near  to  the  surface.  A  certain  En- 
glish writer  thinks  that  a  perfect 
summer  fallow  would  destroy  them, 
partly  by  exposing  some  of  them 
to  the  heat  of  the  sun  at  each 
ploughing,  and  partly  by  depriving 
them  of  food. 

I  should  think  ploughing  late  in 
autumn  might  destroy  many  of 
them,  by  exposing  them  to  the  most 
violent  action  of  the  frost.  Or  in 
a  garden  throwing  up  the  soil  in 
ridges  with  the  spade,  so  to  lie  du- 
ring the  winter,  would  have  a  good 
effect.  Liming  plentifully,  if  it 
could  be  afforded,  I  should  rely  up- 
on as  a  most  effectual  antidote  to 
this,  and  several  other  kinds  of  in- 
sects. The  Complete  Farmer  men- 
tions lime  and  soot  as  good  anti- 
dotes to  this  insect  in  particular. 

Red  Worm,  or  Wire  Worm.  Mr. 
William  Moody  of  Saco,  (Maine) 
in  a  communication  to  Hon.  Josiah 
Quincy,  pubUshed  in  the  J\Jassa- 


chusetts  Agricultural  Repository^ 
vol.  IV.  p.  353,  observes,  ''  I  am 
persuaded,  from  experience,  that 
sea  sand,  put  under  corn  or  pota- 
toes with  manure  or  spread  on  the 
land,  will  go  far,  if  not  wholly  to 
the  total  destruction  of  those  de- 
structive worms,  on  which  nothing 
else  seems  to  have  any  effect.  It 
has  a  beneficial  effect  spread  on 
land  before  ploughing,  or  even 
after  land  is  planted  with  corn  or 
potatoes,  not  only  to  destroy  the 
wire  worm  and  other  insects,  but 
to  increase  the  crop.  With  my 
neighbours  a  load  of  sea-sand  is 
considered  preferable  to  a  load  of 
the  best  manure,  to  mix  in  with 
their  common  barn  manure,  or  to 
spread  on  their  gardens  and  low 
flat  land." 

Probably  sea-mud,  or  sea-water 
would  have  good  effects  as  pre- 
servatives against  these  and  other 
insects. 

The  garden  jlea  is  a  minute  fly 
that  eats  cabbages,  and  other  plants 
of  the  brassica  kind,  while  they 
are  in  seed  leaf.  They  are  of  a 
very  dark  colour,  or  nearly  black. 

1  once  applied  some  clefts  of 
the  stems  of  green  elder  to  some 
drills  of  young  cabbages,  which 
this  fly  had  begun  to  eat,  and  could 
not  find  that  they  eat  any  after- 
wards. But  as  !  made  this  trial 
but  once,  1  dare  not  positively 
assert  its  efficacy.  I  would  hearti- 
ly recommend  the  trial  of  bitter 
steeps  to  gardeners  who  are  trou- 
bled with  this  insect.  They  are 
earlier  in  gardens  than  any  other 
insect ;  and  1  have  never  known 
them  fail  to  appear  in  a  dry  spring. 

Maggots.     I  have  often  found 


Ins 


INS 


233 


a  white  maggot,  of  the  shape  and 
size  of  those  in  cheese,  preying 
upon  the  roots  of  young  cabbages, 
turnips,  and  radishes.  My  ra- 
dishes, when  sown  early,  seldom 
escape ;  those  that  are  sown  in 
June  mostly  prosper. 

A  person  in  my  neighbourhood, 
who  has  often  been  defeated  by 
these  insects,  in  his  attempts  to 
raise  cabbages,  declares,  that  last 
spring,  as  usual,  the  maggots  at- 
tacked his  cabbages  before  he 
transplanted  them  ;  and  that,  hav- 
ing a  scarcity  of  plants,  he  trans- 
planted, on  the  same  spot  where 
they  used  to  fail,  some  which  had 
magyots  in  their  roots  among  sound 
plants :  That  as  soon  as  he  had 
done  transplanting,  he  watered 
them  plentifully  with  sea-water  : 
That  the  watering  was  not  repeat- 
ed ;  but  the  maggots  did  no  da- 
mage at  ail ;  and  that  his  crop  was 
very  large  and  good.  Some  that 
were  left  without  watering  were 
destroyed,  as  before,  by  the  mag- 
gots. 

I  have  since  tried  this  experi- 
ment, with  a  good  effect.  Very 
few  of  the  cabbages  were  touched 
by  the  maggots.  But  1  find  there 
is  danger  in  applying  the  sea-water 
plentifully,  unless  it  be  in  a  wet 
season.  The  plants  are  in  danger, 
when  the  gromid  is  dry,  of  imbib- 
ing too  much  of  the  salt.  In  this 
case  their  growth  is  greatly  ob- 
structed. 

'ihojigh  I  have  conceived  that 
it  would  kill  all  sorts  of  plants,  to 
pour  seawater  upon  them,  the 
cabbage,  having  an  oily  surface  to 
which  water  does  not  easily  ad- 
here, is  perhaps  an  exception. 
30 


The  farmers  who  are  remote  from 
the  sea  cannot  apply  the  sea-water 
to  their  cabbages,  without  too 
much  expense  of  carriage.  But 
they  can  afford  to  water  their 
plants  with  a  brine  of  equal  salt- 
ness.  I  wish  them  to  make  the 
experiment,  not  only  on  cabbages, 
but  on  radishes,  &c.  It  is  safe 
to  apply  salt-water  in  a  wet  sea- 
son, or  just  after  a  rain. 

The  Hessian  jiy,  so  called,  is  an 
insect  that  is  pernicious  to  wheat, 
while  it  is  growing.  It  made  its 
appearance  in  the  time  of  the  late 
war,  in  the  vicinity  of  New- York, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  im- 
ported with  the  German  troops. 
From  thence  it  has  spread  into 
Connecticut  and  New-Jersey,  lay- 
Hig  waste  whole  fields  in  its  course. 
A  more  formidable  insect  has 
scarcely  ever  appeared  in  the 
country. 

But  against  this  enemy  it  seems 
an  easy  antidote  has  been  already 
discovered.  A  letter,  signed  D, 
Wadsworlh,  which  has  lately  been 
published  in  the  newspapers,  com- 
municates a  method  of  prevent- 
ing its  depredations,  which  the 
writer  says  has  seen  used  with 
effect.  It  is  only  steeping  the  seed 
before  sowing  for  twelve  hours  in 
a  strong  infusion  of  the  leaves  of 
elder. 

In  the  latest  edition  of  Dr. 
Morse's  Geography,  there  is  an  ac- 
count, that  yellow-bearded  wheat, 
sown  late  in  autumn,  escajjed  the 
Hessian  fly. 

The  Hessian  fly,  although  for- 
merly supposed  to  be  of  German 
origin,  is,  we  believe,  not  known 
in  Germany,  nor  any  other  part  of 
Europe. 


234 


INS 


INS 


The  palmer  zvorni,  a  wanderer, 
as  its  name  signifies.  This  is  a 
small  worm,  about  half  an  inch  in 
length,  with  many  legs,  and  ex- 
tremely nimble.  It  appears  at  dif- 
ferent times  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  1  have  seen  them 
only  on  apple  trees  and  oak  trees, 
in  any  great  abundance.  They 
give  trees  the  same  appearance 
that  the  canker  worm  does.  They 
appeared  in  the  county  of  Cum- 
berland in  the  year  1791,  about 
the  middle  of  June,  eating  off'  the 
covering  of  the  leaves  on  both 
sides,  and  leaving  the  membranous 
part  entire.  The  following  year 
there  was  none  to  be  seen  ;  and  I 
have  not  known  them  in  any  place 
two  years  in  succession.  The 
seeds  of  them  may  be  constant, 
wanting  only  a  particular  state  of 
the  weather  to  produce  them. 
The  spring  which  preceded  their 
appearance  had  been  remarkably 
dry,  both  in  April  and  May.  The 
history  of  this  insect  is  so  little 
known,  that  I  will  not  undertake 
to  say  how  they  may  be  success- 
fully opposed.  I  made  smokes 
under  the  fruit  trees,  without  any 
apparent  effect.  As  they  let  them- 
selves down  by  threads,  they  may 
he  thinned  by  shaking  the  trees, 
and  striking  otf  the  threads.  Their 
ravages  had  not  any  lasting  effect : 
For  the  orchards  that  had  been 
visited  by  them  bore  plentifully 
the  following  year. 

Weevil,  an  insect  injurious  to 
corn  in  granaries.  Shutting  up  an 
apartment  and  filling  it  with  the 
smoke  of  burning  sulphur  will  de- 
stroy them.  But  the  smoke  should 
be  continued  as   much  as  twelve 


hours.  Grain  may  be  cleared  of 
them  by  sifting,  in  a  sieve  so  made 
that  the  insects  will  pass  through, 
and  the  grain  stay  behind.  Sprink- 
ling wheat  with  lime  in  the  bin, 
which  may  be  afterwards  winnowed 
out;  making  bins  of  Lombardy 
poplar,  and  sprinkling  salt  among 
the  sheaves  before  threshing,  have 
been  recommended. 

The  timber  worms  should  also 
be  mentioned.  These  are  of  two 
kinds.  The  smaller  kind  eats  only 
the  sappy  parts  of  the  wood,  turn- 
ing it  to  what  is  vulgarly  called 
powder  post.  To  prevent  damage 
from  this  insect,  nothing  more  is 
necessary  than  to  fell  the  timber 
in  December  or  January,  in  which 
month  it  is  sure  to  be  freest  from 
sap.  When  it  is  necessary  to  fell 
trees  that  are  full  of  sap,  some- 
thing should  be  done  to  divest  it 
of  the  sap,  or  alter  the  quality  of 
this  juice.  Soaking  it,  even  in 
fresh  water,  will  be  of  some  ser- 
vice. But  in  salt-water,  soaking 
will  be  quite  effectual,  against  most 
kinds  of  worms. 

The  large  boring  worm  is  far 
more  mischievous  than  the  one  I 
have  mentioned  ;  and  no  season  of 
felling  secures  timber  wholly  from 
this  insect.  They  make  the  great- 
est havock  in  pine.  They  are 
hatched  in  the  cavities  of  the  bark, 
and  being  small  when  they  enter 
the  wood,  they  grow  larger  as  they 
proceed,  till  their  boring  may  be 
heard,  like  the  cutting  of  an  augur, 
to  a  considerable  distance.  They 
proceed  to  eat  the  wood  in  every 
direction,  till  they  become  as  large 
as  one's  finger,  or  till  the  juice  of 
the  wood,  being  altered,  is  unfit  to 
nourish  them  any  longer. 


INS 


INS 


235 


Steeping  the  wood  seasonably 
in  salt-water  destroys  the  worms, 
or  prevents  their  entering  the 
wood.  If  the  trees  be  scorched 
in  a  light  flame,  before  they  have 
entered  too  far,  the  effect  will  be 
the  same. 

To  prevent  and  cure  worms  In 
timber,  Mr.  Evelyn  recommends 
the  following,  as  much  approved. 
"  Put  common  sulphur  into  a  cu- 
curbit, with  as  much  aqualoi'tis  as 
will  cover  it  ihree  fingers  deep  ; 
distil  it  to  a  dryness,  which  is  per- 
formed by  two  or  three  rectifica- 
tions. Lay  the  sulphur  that  re- 
mains at  bottom  on  a  marble,  or 
put  it  in  a  glass,  and  it  will  dissolve 
into  an  oil ;  with  this  oil  anoint  the 
timber  which  is  infected  with 
worms." 

Besides  the  destructive  insects 
which  appear  more  or  less  every 
year,  there  appear  sometimes  for- 
midable swarms,  or  armies  of 
worms,  which  suffer  scarcely  any 
green  thing  to  escape  them.  They 
overran  many  parts  of  the  county 
of  Cumberland,  in  the  year  1770, 
rather  before  the  middle  of  July, 
to  the  extreme  consternation,  as 
well  as  the  great  injury  of  the  in- 
habitants. They  stripped  the  corn 
and  grass  of  the  leaves,  leaving 
only  the  bare  stems,  and  those  de- 
prived of  their  sap.  They  were 
extremely  voracious  ;  and  appear- 
ing to  be  in  the  utmost  haste,  they 
all  moved  in  the  same  direction. 
They  suffered  nothing  that  they 
could  climb  upon  to  stop  their 
course.  They  crawled  over  houses, 
and  all  other  buildings,  unless  when 
they  found  a  door,  window,  or 
chink  in  their  course,  where  they 


could  enter.  Whether  they  pass- 
ed in  this  manner  over  the  plants 
they  destroyed  I  did  not  take  no- 
tice. 

Between  twenty  and  thirty  years 
ago  the  same  dreadful  insect  ap- 
peared in  the  county  of  Essex  ; 
and  between  1770  and  1780,  in 
some  places  in  the  territor)'  of 
Vermont. 

The  only  ways  of  opposing  their 
ravages  that  have  been  used,  are, 
either  to  mow  a  field  of  grass,  whe- 
ther it  were  fully  grown,  and  fit  to 
cut,  or  not;  or,  to  fence,  agains. 
them  with  narrow  trenches,  made, 
perpendicular,  or  rather  hanging 
over,  on  the  side  next  to  the  field. 
Many  fields  of  corn  have  been  thus 
saved  ;  and  bushels  of  the  worms 
being  unable  to  climb  such  crum- 
blitig  walls  died  in  the  trenches. 

If  their  history  were  attended 
to,  perhaps  it  would  be  found  they 
have  stated  periods. 

It  is  not  sufficient  for  the  farmer 
to  defend  his  vegetables  against 
insects.  There  are  insects  also 
that  annoy  and  hurt  his  animals. 

Lice  are  often  found  on  colts, 
and  on  neat  cattle,  especially  on 
yearlings  in  the  spring.  When 
these  animals  become  poor,  they 
most  commonly  grow  lousy,  which 
makes  them  still  poorer.  Possibly 
it  may  be  owing  to  an  obstruction 
of  perspiration.  F^or  there  are 
doubtless  many  oily  particles  in 
the  effluvium  of  health}'  cattle,  and 
oil  is  an  antidote  to  this  insect. 
Oiling  their  skins  will  clear  them 
of  lice  ;  so  will  a  strong  infusion  of 
tobacco.  But  when  ihey  are 
cured,  better  feeding  is  the  best 
preservative  from  the  return  of  the 
insects. 


236 


IN  T 


KAL 


The  tick,  or  tike,  is  the  sheep 
louse.  When  these  insects  become 
muin^^rous,  they  are  very  hurtful 
to  the  sheep.  In  England  the  far- 
mer smears  the  sheep,  after  shear- 
ing, with  a  nnixture  of  butter  and 
tar.  'I'his  fortifies  them  against  be- 
ing injured,  either  by  the  weather, 
or  by  itisects.  But  at  any  time, 
od,  or  tobacco,  will  destroy  the 
ticks.  A  worm  has  of  late  years, 
near  Boston,  proved  fatal  to  the 
apple  tree,  quince  tree,  and  moun- 
tain ash.  It  is  a  borer  wl/ich  sub- 
sists in  the  sap-wood  or  alburnum- 
It  can  only  be  killed,  and  the 
trees  saved,  by  cutting  them  out 
in  the  month  of  May  by  a  gouging 
chi-'Sel.  Thousands  of  trees  have 
been  saved  by  this  expedient. 

IN  FERVAL,  the  space  between 
two  places,  or  things.  The  word  is 
used  in  husbandry  to  denote  the 
space  between  rows  of  corn,  or 
other  vegetables ;  especially  in 
the  horse-hoeing  husbandry. 

By  interval,  also,  and  more 
usually  in  this  country,  is  under- 
stood lai.d  OH  the  border  of  a  river. 
lnt«^rv-tl  laud  is  commonly  so  high 
and  dry  as  to  be  fit  for  tillage  ;  and 
ye  I  liwavs  so  low  as  to  be  fre- 
quent! v  overflowed  by  the  swel- 
ling; of  rivers,  especially  in  the 
spring.  On  some  of  these  lands 
the  water  often  continues  so  late  in 
the  spring  that  they  cannot  be 
seeded  till  June.  But  the  in- 
creased fruitfulness  of  the  soil 
seems  to  more  than  make  up  for 
this  delay.  For  when  the  waters 
subside,  they  leave  a  fat  slime  upon 
the  soil,  most  friendly  to  vegeta- 
tion. 

The  soil  on   these  intervals   is 


most  commonly  sand,  with  a  large 
mixture  of  the  finest  vegetable 
mould  ;  and  much  of  it  is  made, 
from  time  to  time,  by  the  shifting 
of  the  channels  of  rivers. 

This  sort  of  land  has  generally 
been  prized  highly  in  this  country. 
But  in  some  places  it  has  become 
less  fruitful  of  late  than  formerly. 
The  reason  of  this  alteration  most 
probably  is,  that  the  floods  are  not 
so  great  as  formerly,  or  that  they 
subside  quicker ;  owing  to  the  more 
cultivated  state  of  the  country,  and 
a  quicker  evaporation  of  the  wa- 
ters. 

K. 

KALE,  Colewort,  an  excellent 
potherb,  early,  and  of  quick  growth, 
which  ought  to  be  cultivated  in  this 
country. 

Sea  Kale.  A  plant  introduced 
within  forty  years  in  Great  Britain. 
It  istheCrambeMaritima.  ltd  leaves 
blanched  by  having  the  earth  heap- 
ed round  them,  are  as  delicious  and 
much  resemble  the  Cauliflower. 
For  further  description,  see  the 
AJassachusetts  Agricultural  Socie- 
ty's Journal  of  June,   1822. 

KALENDAR,  an  account  of 
time.  That  great  naturalist, 
Linnaeus,  did  not  approve  of  far- 
mers' confining  themselves  to  cer- 
tain set  dajs,  or  weeks,  for  commit- 
ting their  seeds  to  the  earth.  The 
seasons  are  much  forwarder  in  some 
years  than  in  others.  Therefore, 
he,  who  thus  governs  himself,  will 
assuredly  sow  his  annual  seeds 
sometimes  too  early ,and  sometimes 
too  late. 

That  a  better  practice  might  be 
introduced,  he  recommended  it  to 


KAL 


KAL 


237 


his  countrymen  to  take  notice  at 
what  times  the  trees  unfold  their 
leaves.  N;Uure  is  so  uniform  in 
her  operations,  that  the  forward 
ness  of  tr«'es  is  an  unfailing  indica- 
tion of  the  forwardness  of  the  spring. 
And  the  genial  warmth,  which  cau- 
ses trees  and  shrubs  to  [)ut  forth 
their  leaves,  will  be  sufficient  to 
cause  seeds  to  vegetate. 

In  order  to  reduce  to  practice  so 
ingenious  a  hint,  an  account  should 
be  made  out  of  the  first  leafing,and 
I  may  add,  the  blossoming  of  a  va- 
riety of  trees  and  shrubs.  1  suppose 
trees  and  shrubs  to  be  most  suita- 
ble for  this  purpose,  as  they  are 
more  deeply  rooted,  and  therefore 
more  steady  and  uniform  in  their 
appearances,  than  any  plants  which 
are  perennial  only  in  their  roots. 
They  are  especially  much  more  so 
than  annuals. 

It  is  certain  that  such  an  account 
taken  m  one  place  will  not  answer 
alike  for  every  part  of  the  country  ; 
because  the  vegetation  in  every 
part  is  not  equally  forward.  There- 
fore, I  would  earnestly  recommend, 
that  in  each  degree  of  latitude, 
throughout  New-England  at  least, 
some  attentive  naturalist  would 
make  a  list  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  trees  and  shrubs,  which  are 
common,  and  near  at  hand  ;  care- 
fully watch  their  appearances,  and 
minute  the  times  of  the  first  open- 
ing of  their  leaves,  and  also  of  their 
blossoming.  By  comparing  the 
accounts,  the  absurdity  will  imme- 
diately appear,  of  sowing  the  same 
kind  of  seeds  at  the  same  time  of 
the  month  or  year,  in  the  42d,  43d, 
44th,  and  45th  degrees  of  latitude. 
This  is  a  matter  that  farmers  ought 


to  attend  to  ;  that  so  those  who  re- 
move from  one  degree  of  latitude 
to  another,  may  not  be  confounded 
concerning  the  true  times  of  sow- 
ing, on  supposition  that  they  have 
been  once  in  the  risht  practice. 
The  right  in  one  place  will  be 
wrong  ill  another. 

When  these  accounts  are  obtain- 
ed, let  trials  be  made  by  sowing  a 
certain  kind  of  seed  before,  at,  and 
after  the  foliation,  or  the  flowering, 
of  some  particular  plant,  and  the 
produce  compared.  Let  accurate 
experiments  of  this  kind  be  yearly 
repeated,  with  all  the  most  useful 
spring  plants ;  by  this,  in  a  few 
years,  complete  kalendars  may  be 
obtained  for  every  degree  of  lati- 
tude in  this  country.  The  conse- 
quence will  be,  that  the  farmer  will 
be  able  infallibly  to  read  the  true 
times  of  sowing,  b)  casting  his  eye 
upon  the  trees  and  shrubs  that  are 
about  him.  We  have  already  such 
a  rule  as  this,  with  respect  to  Indi- 
an corn  ;  but  it  perhaps  ought  to 
undergo  a  further  examination. 

But  such  rules,  after  all  that  can 
be  done,  must  not  govern  us  inva- 
riably. The  right  times  of  seeding 
admit  of  some  latitude,  on  account 
of  the  degree  of  dryness  of  the  soil, 
and  of  its  exposure  to  the  solar 
warmth.  Land  should  have  the 
right  degree  of  moisture  when 
seeds  are  sown  on  it ;  and  a  south- 
ern exposure  will  afford  an  earlier 
vegetation  than  a  northern. 

That  I  may  set  an  example  of 
what  I  have  been  recommending, 
and  begin  the  needful  work,  here 
follows  an  account  of  the  leafing 
and  blossoming  of  trees  and  shrubs 
in  that  part  of  New-England  which 


238 


KAL 


KIT 


19 


25 


31 
19 
20 
22 


lies  in  the  44th  degree  of  latitude, 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  1789. 

Leafing  Blossoming. 

Gooseberry,  April  16  May  12 

Enghsh  Willow,  28 
Wild  red  Cherry,  29  - 
Lilac,  -  -  -  30 
Currant,  -  -  May  1 
Alder,  -  -  ...  5 
Apple  Tree,  -  .  -  6 
Thorn  Bush,  ...  7 
White  Birch,  -  .  -  8 
White  Maple,  -  -  -  9 
Beech,  -  -  -  -  10 
Plum  Tree,      -     -    -    12 

Hazle, 14 

Elm, 15 

Summer  Pear,     -     -     17 
Wheat  Plum,      -    .-     -     - 
Common  red  Cherry,     19 
Damascene  Plum,      -     - 
Grey  Oak,      -     -     -     20 
White  Oak,     ...    23 

This  plan  of  keeping  a  kalendar 
of  the  flowering  of  plants,  has  been 
followed  up  for  many  years  by  a 
Roxbury  farmer,  and  it  is  much  to 
be  desired  that  in  all  parts  of  our 
country,gentlemen  would  keep  and 
regularly  publish  such  a  record. 

KALI,  Salicornia,  glass  wort,  or 
rock  weed,  a  sea  plant  which  grows 
upon  rocks  near  the  shore.  By 
burning  of  this  weed  a  hard  fixed 
salt  is  obtained,  which  is  a  princi- 
pal ingredient  in  the  composition 
of  glass.  Rock  weed  is  also  an  im- 
portant manure. 

KALMIA,  angustifolia,  a  shrub 
commonly  called  laurel,  or  lamb 
poison.  It  is  an  evergreen,  with 
narrow  leaves  of  a  dirty  green  co- 
lour. The  flowers  are  red,  grow- 
ing round  the  upper  part  of  the 
stem.      It  grows  plentifully  in  low 


flat  land,  which  has  never  been 
ploughed.  It  indicates  a  cold  soil. 
But  I  mention  it  in  a  work  of 
this  kind,  on  account  of  its  poison- 
ous quality.  Sheep  and  goats,  es- 
pecially young  lambs  and  kids,  will 
eat  it,  when  compelled  by  hunger, 
by  which  they  sicken  and  die.  The 
way  to  cure  them  of  this  sickness, 
is  drenching  them  repeatt-dly  with 
milk,  mixed  with  oil,  or  fresh  but- 
ter. Or,  a  tea  of  rue,  given  in  sea- 
son, may  have  the  same  good  ef- 
fect. 

KID,  the  young  of  a  goat.  See 
Goat. 
KILN,  a  fabric  for  admitting  heat, 
to  dry  or  burn  various  things.  Malt 
is  dried  on  a  kiln.  Another  sort  of 
kilns  is  used  for  the  burning  of  lime 
stone.  A  limekiln  should  be  con- 
structed of  a  sort  of  stones  which 
will  endure  the  fire.  But  if  such 
cannot  be  easily  obtained,  hard 
burnt  bricks  will  answer,  and  last  a 
good  while.  The  shape  of  a  lime 
kiln  should  be  like  that  of  a  pitch- 
er, widest  in  the  middle,  and  gra- 
dually narrower  to  the  top  and 
bottom.  The  fire  will  be  the  more 
confined,  and  act  the  more  power- 
fully. In  countries  where  lime- 
stone  is  plenty,  each  considerable 
farmer  is  furnished  with  a  lime  kiln, 
in  which  he  makes  lime  to  manure 
his  soil.  This  practice  might 
doubtless  be  imitated  with  advan- 
tage, in  a  few  places  in  this  conn- 
try,  where  this  sort  of  stone  is  at 
hand. 

KITCHEN  GARDEN.  The 
species  of  manure  for  a  Kitchen 
Garden,  must  depend  upon  the  soil. 
Rotten  dung  is  preferred  by  gar- 
deners, as,  in  the  course  of  fermen- 


KIT 


LAM 


239 


tation  the  seeds  of  weeds,  and  the 
larvas  of  insects  are  destroyed  ; 
and  the  more  putrid  the  dung,  the 
greater  effect  it  has  in  promoting 
the  rapid  growth  of  plants.  But 
too  much  manure,  especially  if  it 
be  of  a  fetid  kind,  gives  vegetables 
a  strong  and  disgusting  fiavour. 
Sea  weed  is  said  by  Sir  John  Sin- 
clair, to  be  an  excellent  manure  for 
garden  crops,  particularly  for 
onions.  "•  Soaper's  waste,  says  the 
same  author,"  used  in  moderation 
by  itself  or  in  a  compost  with  earth, 
is  an  excellent  manure  for  garden 
soils.  This  substance  not  only  de- 
stroys insects  and  their  larvae,  but, 
consisting  principally  of  calcareous 
matter,  every  species  of  vegetable 
is  greatly  improved  in  quality, 
where  it  is  applied.  Cow  dung 
mixed  with  water,  is  a  good  ma- 
nure, when  frequently  applied  in  a 
liquid  state. 

"  Slugs  or  snails  are  very  destruc- 
tive in  a  garden.  Slacked  lime  or 
sifted  coal  ashes,  spread  on  the 
surface,  or  laid  in  rows,  in  various 
places,  are  useful  in  destroying 
them. 

"  Skilful  gardeners  recommend 
attention  to  a  rotation  of  crops,  and 
occasionally  fallow  portions  of  their 
gardens,  or  to  lay  them  down  with 
clover,  which  seldom  fails  to  re- 
store them  to  their  former  fertility. 
The  most  experienced  horticultu- 
rists are  now  agreed,  that  even  the 
currant,  gooseberry  and  raspberry 
quarters  should  be  changed  every 
seven  or  eight  years,  and  the  straw- 
berry ground  every  four  or  five 
years."     Code  uf  ^Agriculture. 


L. 

LAMBS,  the  young  of  sheep. 
The  first  care  of  them  is  to  see  whe- 
ther they  can  come  at  the  teat  ; 
and  if  not,  to  clip  away  the  wool 
of  the  ewes  which  hinders  them,  as 
also  all  tags  of  wool  on  the  udders 
of  the  ewes,  which  the  lambs  are 
liable  to  take  hold  of  instead  of  the 
teats. 

If  a  ewe  refuse  to  let  her  lamb 
suck,  she  and  her  lamb  should  be 
shut  up  together  in  a  close  place, 
till  she  grow  fond  of  him.  For  this 
purpose,  some  say  that  surprising  a 
sheep  with  a  dog  will  be  etTectual. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  feed  the 
ewes  plentifully  after  yeaning,  and 
with  some  juicy  kind  of  food,  that 
so  the  lambs  may  not  fail  of  having 
plenty  of  milk.  The  rams  may  be 
gelded  at  any  time  from  one  to 
three  weeks  old,  if  they  appear  to 
be  vvell  and  strong. 

They  should  not  be  weaned  till 
they  are  six  weeks,  or  two  months 
old.  At  this  age  they  should  beta- 
ken from  the  ewes,  and  have  the 
best  of  pasture  during  the  first  fort- 
night; by  the  end  of  which  time 
they  will  be  so  naturalized  to  living 
wholly  upon  grass,  that  they  may 
be  turned  into  a  poorer  pasture. 

The  worst  wooled  lambs, and  bad 
coloured  ones,  and  those  that  are 
very  small,  should  be  destined  to 
the  knife,  and  not  weaned.  So  great 
is  the  need  of  increasing  the  ma- 
nufacture of  woollen  in  this  coun- 
try, that  I  must  earnestly  recom- 
mend it  to  the  farmers,  not  to  kill, 
or  sell  for  killing,  any  lamb,  till  it 
is  near  half  a  year  old,  or  till  the 
wool    become  to  such  fulness  of 


240 


LAM 


LAR 


growth,  as  to  be  valuable  for  spin- 
ning. To  kill  them  earlier  is  so 
wasteful  a  practice  as  to  be  inex- 
cusable. 

Those  ewe  lambs  which  are  kept 
for  stock,  should  not  come  at  the 
rams  :  For  if  thej  have  lambs  at  a 
year  old,  it  stiots  them  in  iheir 
growth  ;  and  they  have  so  little 
milk,  that  their  lambs  commonly 
die  for  wani  of  nourishment.  Or  if 
they  chance  to  live,  they  will  be 
apt  to  be  always  small.  This  prac- 
tice is  one  reason  why  our  breed  of 
sheep  in  this  country  is  so  poor. 
See  the  article  Sheep. 

The  largest  lambs  should  be 
sheared  at  the  time  of  the  new 
moon  in  July.  Their  fleeces  will 
yield  as  much  the  next  year,  and 
the  wool  will  be  better,  and  as  cold 
storms  rarel}  happen  at  that  time 
of  the  year,  the  lambs  will  do  bet- 
ter without  their  fleeces  than  with 
them. 

LAMPAS,  "  an  excrescence  in 
the  roof  of  the  mouth,  which  hin- 
ders a  horse  from  feeding,and  hap- 
pens usually  to  young  horses.  It 
is  cured  by  applying  a  hot  iron 
made  for  that  purpose.  It  is  suc- 
cessfully performed  in  all  parts  ; 
so  that  there  is  no  need  of  any  cau- 
tion, but  only  that  the  farrier  do  not 
penetrate  too  deep,  so  as  to  scale 
the  thin  bone  that  lies  under  the 
upper  bars;  for  that  would  be  at- 
tended with  very  troublesome  and 
dangerous  symptoms."  Gibson^s 
Farriery. 

Judge  Peters,  of  Pennsylvania 
says,  thatlampas  is  caused  by  fever 
in  the  horse  that  the  swelling  should 
be  allayed  by  reducing  the  fever — 
that  he  would  never  suffer  a  horse 


to  be  burned  in  the  mouth,  as  he 
had  known  them  ruined  by  the  op- 
eration. Sometimes  a  mess  or  two 
of  hard  Indian  corn  he  observes 
will  cure  the  swelling. 

LAND,  a  general  name  applied 
to  the  earth,  or  to  the  ground. 

"  If  land  be  unproductive,  and  a 
system  of  ameliorating  it  is  to  be 
attempted,  the  sure  method  of  ob- 
taining the  object  is  b)  determining 
the  cause  of  its  sterility,  which  must 
necessarily  depend  upon  some  de- 
fect in  the  constitution  of  the  soil, 
which  may  be  easily  discovered  by 
chemical  analysis. 

"  Some  lands  of  good  apparent 
texture  are  yet  sterile  in  a  high  de- 
gree ;  and  common  observation  and 
cojnmon  practice  aiford  no  means 
of  ascertaining  the  cause,  or  of  re- 
movinglhe  effect.  The  applica- 
tion of  chemical  tests  in  such  cases 
is  obvious  ;  for  the  soil  must  con- 
tain some  noxious  principle  which 
may  be  easily  discovered,  and  pro- 
bly  as  easily  destroyed. 

"  Are  any  of  the  salts  of  iron  pre- 
sent ?  They  may  be  decomposed 
by  lime.  Is  there  an  excess  of  si- 
liceous sand  ?  the  system  of  im- 
provement must  depend  on  the  ap- 
plication of  clay  and  calcareous 
matter.  Is  there  a  defect  of  calca- 
reous matter  ?  the  remedy  is  obvi- 
ous. Is  an  excess  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter indicated  ?  it  may  be  removed 
by  liming,  paring,  and  burning.  Is 
there  a  deficiency  of  vegetable 
matter  ?  It  is  to  be  supplied  by  ma- 
nure." Agricultural  Chemistry. 
See  Soil, 

LARCH,  Hackmatack,  Juniper, 
Pinua  larix,  "a  genus  of  trees, 
whose  leaves  are  long  and  narrow. 


LAY 


LEA 


241 


produced  out  of  little  tubercle?,  in 
the  form  of  a  painter's  pencil.  Iht 
cone3  are  produced  at  remote  dis- 
tances from  the  male  tlowers,on  the 
same  tree  :  The  male  flowers  are 
ver)  like  small  cones  at  their  first 
appearance,  but  afterwards  strt  tcli 
out  m  length.  In  autumn  the)  cast 
their  leaves.  From  the  wounded 
bark  of  this  tree  exudes  the  purest 
Venice  turpentine."  Complete 
Farmer. 

A  sort  of  trees  which  grow  nat- 
urally, and  in  great  plenty,  in  the 
northern  paits  of  New-England, 
called  Juniper,  I  take  to  be  the  true 
larch,  as  it  answers  to  the  above 
description,  as  well  as  to  that  given 
by  Mr.  Miller.  They  thrive  best 
in  poor,  wot  and  cold  soils,  and 
should  by  all  means  be  cultivated. 
But  their  peculiar  excellence  is, 
that  they  will  also  thrive  admirably 
in  the  driest  and  poorest  soils. 
This  is  true  of  the  whole  race  of 
pines,  of  which  this  is  one,  though 
it  differs  from  all  the  others  in  be- 
ing deciduous,  or  losing  its  leaves 
in  winter.  We  may  add  that  they 
are  far  superior  to  the  Cedar  for 
posts, or  for  any  use  where  ihey  are 
subjected  to  moisture.  It  is  known 
that  Venice  in  Italy  is  built  on 
poles  of  the  larch,  and  there  is  evi 
dence  that  they  have  endured  a 
thousand  years. 

LAYERS,  tender  twigs  buried 
in  earth,  which  having  stuck  root, 
are  afterwards  cut  off,  and  become 
distinct  plants. 

Potatoes,  and  many  other  herba- 
ceous plants,  may  be  in  this  man- 
ner propagated.  But  there  is  little 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  doing  it. 

As  to  those  trees    and    shrubs 
31 


which  yield  no  seed  in  this  climate, 
neither  can  be  propagaltd  by  cut- 
tings, there  may  be  often  occasion 
for  laying  them.  The  manner  of 
doing  it  is  as  follows  :  Takes-hoots 
of  the  last  year's  growth,  bend  ih^m 
to  the  earth,  and  bury  them  in  good 
mellow  ?oil  haif  a  fool  under  the 
surface,  and  fasten  them  with  hooks 
to  prevent  their  rismg,  bending  the 
tops  so  as  to  bring  them  above  the 
surface.  A  slit  upwards  in  the  twig 
should  be  made  in  that  part  that 
lies  deepest  in  the  soil,  or  a  wire 
drawn  last  round  it,  to  prevent  the 
sap  mounting  too  fast;  and  moss 
should  be  laid  on  the  surface,  to 
prevent  the  sudden  drying  of  the 
mould.  Afterwards  they  should  be 
watered  as  there  may  be  occasion. 
If  they  form  roots,  they  may  be  cut 
oifand  transplaiited  the  next  spring 
into  the  nursery. 

The  time  for  laying  evergreens 
is  July  or  August ;  for  laying  decid- 
uous trees,  October. 

LEAVES,  the  most  extreme 
partsof  the  branchesof  trees, shrubs, 
•fee. — "'Their  ofiice  is  to  subtilize 
the  nourishing  sap,  and  convey  it 
to  the  little  buds,  and  to  cover  and 
defend  the  flfiwers  and  fruit. 

"  Dr.  Grew  observes,  that  the 
fibres  of  leaves  consist  of  two  gen- 
eral kinds  of  vessels,  viz.  for  sap, 
and  for  air  ;  and  are  ramified  out 
of  greater  into  less,  as  veins  and  ar- 
teries are  in  animals. 

"  If  the  surface  of  the  leaves  is 
altered,  by  reversing  the  branches 
of  trees  on  which  they  grow,  the 
plants  are  stopped  in  their  growth, 
until  the  foot  stalks  are  turned,  and 
the  leaves  recover  their  former  po- 
sition.    If  leaves  are  eaten,  or  cut 


242 


LEA 


LEE 


off,  the  enclosed  buds  will  not  grow, 
and  the  plants  will  be  weakened. 
The  winter  feeding  of  wheat, there- 
fore, is  hurtful ;  and  it  has  been 
found  so  by  experience. 

"Another  principal  use  of  the 
leaves,  is  to  throw  otf  by  transpira- 
tion what  is  unnecessary  to  the 
growth  of  plants,  answering  to  the 
discharge  made  by  sweat  ir>  animal 
bodies.  As  plants  receive  and 
transpire  much  more,  in  equal 
times,  than  large  animals,  so  it  ap- 
pears how  necessary  the  leaves  are 
to  preserve  the  plants  in  perfect 
health :  For  it  has  been  found  by 
the  most  exact  calculation,  made 
from  repeated  experiments,  that  a 
plant  of  the  sun-flower  receives  and 
perspires,  in  twenty-four  hours, 
seventeen  times  more  than  a  man." 
Complete  Farmer. 

Mr.  Bonnet  made  many  experi- 
ments, which  proved  that  leaves 
imbibe  the  moisture  of  the  atmo- 
sphere on  their  under  surface  ;  ex- 
cepting such  as  have  the  upper  sur- 
face covered  with  hairs,  or  down. 
The  leaves  undoubtedly  serve  for 
inspiration,  as  well  as  for  transpir 
ation  ;  and  plants  draw  through 
their  leaves, some  considerable  part 
of  their  nourishment. 

Leaves  also  serve  for  ornament, 
and  to  screen  vegetables,  and  their 
fruits,  from  the  too  intense  heat  of 
the  sun  in  summer. 

Leaves  of  trees  are  useful  as  a 
manure,  excepting  those  of  the  re- 
sinous kinds.  They  should  be  col- 
lected into  farm  yards,  trampled  by 
the  cattle,  and  mixed  with  their 
excrements.  Some  recommend 
leaves  of  oak  for  hot  beds,  instead 
of  tanner's  bark,  as,  by  fermenting 


more  slowly,  they  afford  a  more  re- 
gular and  permanent  heal.  Dr. 
Hunter  proved  the  advantage  of 
them  by  his  continued  practice. 
See  Geor^jca/ Essays, by  A. Hunter. 

"  A  correspondent  of  the  Bath 
Society  in  England  warmly  recom- 
mends a  species  of  manure  for  po- 
tatoes, which  1  think  peculiarly  ap- 
plicable to  our  country,  because 
easily  attainable.  It  is  the  employ- 
ment of  mould  and  fallen  leaves 
taken  from  the  woods.  This  the 
writer  observes,  he  has  found  an 
excellent  substitute  for  other  ma- 
nure. He  found  the  potatoes,  rai- 
sed in  this  way,  much  more  mealy 
and  of  a  flavour  much  finer  than 
when  produced  by  the  application 
of  ashes  and  dung;  and  he  consid- 
ers it  of  gro*t  importance  to  poor 
people  who  have  not  the  means  of 
procuring  much  dung.  This  he  ob- 
serves can  always  be  procured  in 
woody  countries, and  in  those  which 
are  not  so,  it  may  be  obtained  un- 
der hedges  and  ditches,  and  in  old 
ponds. 

"  If  this  be  a  fact,  and  we  have 
little  doubt  of  it,  since  it  is  known 
that  few  substances  are  more  fa- 
vourable to  vegetation  than  rotten 
leaves,  and  the  soil  formed  by  their 
decomposition,  there  is  scarcely  a 
farmer  in  Massachusetts,  who  may 
not  by  two  or  three  days  labour 
collect  enough  to  plant  all  his  po- 
tatoes, and  save  his  corn  and  grass 
land. 

Extracts  from  the  Bath  Society 
Papers, with  remarks  by  John  Low- 
ell, Esq.  Agricultural  Repository, 
vol.  IV.  p.  60. 

LEES,  the  gross  sediment  in  fer- 
mented liquors.       Most  kmds   of 


I 


LI  M 


LIM 


243 


lees  contain  much  of  the  food  of 
plants.  But  they  should  not  be  ap- 
phed  to  the  soil  as  a  manure  till 
their  acidity  is  destroyed,  by  mix- 
ing and  fermenting  them  witii  large 
proportions  of  alkaline  substances, 
such  as  marie,  lime,  ashes,  soot, 
&c.  Even  the  pomace  at  cyder 
mills,  which  has  hitherto  been  con- 
sidered by  our  farmers  as  good  for 
nothing,  might  be  thus  changed 
into  a  good  manure.  It  is  nearly 
the  same  substance  as  the  lees  of 
cyder.  Cyder  lees  will  also  pro- 
duce brandy  by  distillation. 

LIME,  a  crumbly  soft  substance, 
made  by  burning  stones,  and  the 
shells  of  shell  fish,  and  slacking 
them  with  water. 

Lime  has  been  proved,  by  the 
long  experience  of  European  far- 
mers, to  be  one  of  the  most  effica- 
cious manures.  This  may  be 
thought  strange  by  those  who  know 
it  to  be  a  mere  alkali,  containing 
neither  oil  nor  salt,  which  are  cer- 
tainly the  principal  ingredients  in 
the  food  of  plants.  Oil  is  an  in- 
dispensably necessary  part  of  this 
food. 

But,  by  experiments  made  of 
late,  it  has  been  clearly  proved 
that  plants  are  greatly  nourished 
by  fixed  air,  of  which  it  is  known 
that  lime  contains  a  large  quantity. 
It  has  been  proved  by  the  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Lavoisier,  that  one 
third  part  of  calcareous  earths,  and 
particularly  of  lime-stone,  consists 
of  fixed  air. 

But  besides  affording  to  plants 
this  nourishment,  which  is  known 
to  be  in  plants,  lime  acts  as  a  ma- 
nure, by  attracting  and  imbibing 
the  oils  and  acids  which  are  con- 


tained in  the  earth  and  atmo- 
sphere. It  not  only  collects  these 
ingredients  of  vegetable  food,  but 
so  alters  them  as  to  ht  them  to 
enter  the  roots  of  plants.  V\ith 
the  acids  it  forms  a  salt,  which,  by 
mixing  with  the  oils,  becomes  a  sa- 
ponaceous mucilage,  wliich  is  the 
true  pabulum  for  the  nourishment 
of  plants. 

These  changes  cannot  be  made 
in  the  ingredients  of  which  vege- 
table food  is  composed,  without  a 
considerable  degree  of^  fermenta- 
tion. This  fermentation  breaks 
and  mellows  the  soil,  and  so  in- 
creases the  pasture  of  plants,  that 
the  roots  can  more  freely  extend 
themselves  in  quest  of  their  food. 
Accordingly  it  is  found  that  liming 
renders  a  soil  very  soft  and 
open. 

And  as  lime,  when  it  is  slacked, 
is  a  very  soft  substance,  I  can  see 
no  reason  to  doubt  of  its  containing 
a  very  considerable  quantity  of 
those  impalpably  small  particles  of 
earth  which  enter  into  plants,  and 
become  part  of  their  substance.  If 
so,  it  must  be  allowed  that  lime  is 
tit  to  answer  every  intention  of 
manure.  It  either  has  all  the  in- 
gredients of  vegetable  food,  or  pro- 
duces and  prepares  them,  though 
not  in  the  same  proportion  as  dung, 
which  is  allowed  to  be  the  most 
valuable  of  all  manures. 

Lime  has  been  complained  of, 
as  impoverishing  the  soil ;  and  it 
has  been  often  remarked,  that 
though  one  dressing  will  produce 
several  good  crops,  the  land  is  less 
fruitful  for  some  time  after,  than 
before  it  has  been  limed  ;  and  that 
a  second  dressing  with  lime,  will 


244 


LIM 


LIM 


not  have  such  an  effect  as  the  first, 
in  increasing  the  fertihty  of  the 
soil.  But  the  farnrier  should  con- 
sider how  far  he  has  been  recom- 
pensed b)  extraordinary  crops, 
for  the  exhausting  of  his  soil  ;  and 
that  if  lime  will  not,  other  manures 
wdl  recruit  it.  So  will  fallowing, 
rest,  or  using  it  as  a  pasture. 

It  is  granted  that  lime  may  have 
an  ill  effect,  when  it  is  injudiciously 
applied,  as  in  too  great  quantities, 
or  to  an  improper  soil.  Thret 
cart  loads,  or  120  bushels,  are  al- 
lowed to  be  a  suthcient  dressing  for 
an  acre.  But  in  Ireland,  where 
they  plough  extremely  deep,  they 
lay  on  twice  as  much.  This  dress- 
ing enriches  cold,  stiff  and  clayey 
soils,  for  many  years  after  ;  and  in 
such  soils  it  may  be  safely  repeat- 
ed. If  it  force  any  soils  too  much, 
it  can  be  only  those  which  are 
weak  and  sandy. 

The  best  time  for  applying  lime 
as  a  manure  is,  when  land  is  newly 
broivt  n  up,  or  after  laying  a  long 
time  in  grass.  Tliis  may  be  as- 
cribed to  the  plenty  of  roots  in  the 
sod,  which  the  lime  soon  dissolves, 
and  changes  into  food  for  plants. 

Mr.  Kvelyn  advised  to  the  mix- 
ing of  hme  with  turf  in  alternate 
layers,  to  lie  in  heaps  for  months  ; 
in  which  time  it  will  become  so 
rich  and  mellow  as  to  run  like 
ashes.  He  thought  it  would  nour- 
ish the  soil  more  than  ff  ust  d  alone 
in  a  greater  quantity,  and  without 
any  danger  of  exhausting  the  vege- 
tative virtue  of  the  earth,  which 
should  be  [)reserved.  If  it  were 
mixed  with  a  large  proportion 
of  clay,  or  wi+h  mud  from  the 
bottom  of  pouds  or  rivers,  it  might 


be  applied  even  to  sandy  and  gra- 
velly soils  without  danger,  and  to 
great  advantage, 

Lime  is  a  very  important  ingre- 
dient in  composts,  as  by  raising  a 
strong  fermentation  it  dissolves 
and  prepares  the  other  materials, 
'inhere  should  be  some  layers  of  it, 
where  it  can  be  easily  obtained, 
in  every  heap  of  compost.  It  will 
be  the  sooner  fit  for  use,  as  well  as 
prove  to  be  a  more  fertilizing  com- 
position. 

When  lin^e  is  laid  on  land  which 
has  a  quick  descent,  it  should  al- 
ways be  mixed  with  dung,  and  laid 
on  the  highest  part ;  because  it  so 
loosens  tlie  soil,  as  to  dispose  it  to 
be  plentifully  washed  downvvards 
by  rains,  soil  and  manure  together. 

Lime  is  an  excellent  manure  for 
soils  that  are  mossy,  as  it  speeddy 
dissolves  the  oil  which  is  contained 
in  moss,  which  is  not  soon  dissolv- 
ed by  other  manures,  and  changes 
it  to  vegetable  food.  It  destroys 
all  aquatic  weeds,  and  dissolves 
the  renuninders  of  decayed  vege- 
tables in  the  soil.  Therefore  it 
does  well  in  moory  and  peaty 
swamps  that  are  drained. 

While  I  am  treating  on  this  ex- 
cellent manure,  I  have  the  disa- 
greeable reflection,  that  it  will  be 
to  little  purpose ;  as  lime  is  so 
scarce  and  dear  in  most  parts  of 
the  country,  that  it  must  not  be 
used  as  manure.  Most  people  can 
scarcely  obtain  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  it  for  building.  But  those 
farmers  who  know  they  have  lime- 
stone or  shells  in  plenty  near  them, 
should  not  neglect  to  make  use  of 
them  as  manures,  after  reducing 
them  to  lime. 


LIM 


LIM 


245 


^^  Advantages  of  Ihne, — Though 
there  are  exceptions  to  the  ru!e. 
yet  in  general,  it  may  be  confident- 
ly as!«ertecl,  that  unles?  where  a 
soil  has  by  nature,  enough  of  cal- 
careous oialter  in  its  composition 
for  the  purposes  of  vegetation,  it 
can  neither  be  brought  into  itf^ 
most  fertile  state,  nor  will  other 
manures  be  so  useful  as  they  ought. 
if  lime  or  some  other  calcareou.x 
earth,  bo  not  previously  applied. 
By  lime  spread  upon  a  moory  soil, 
good  herbage  is  produced,  whert 
nothing  but  heath,  and  unpalatable 
grasses  grew  before.  B}  the  sam< 
means,  grass  lands,  instead  of  yield 
ing  nothing  but  bent,  and  other  in 
ferior  grasses,  have  been  covered 
with  those  of  a  more  valuable  de- 
scription. The  utility  of  hme  to 
turnips  is  so  great,  that  though  in 
the  same  field,  where  no  lime  had 
been  applied,  the  crop  died  away  ; 
yet  in  the  limed  part,  the  turnips 
flourished  with  unabated  vigour. 

''  The  principles  on  which  Lime 
operates  as  a  manure. — Quicklime 
in  powder,  or  dissolved,  is  injurious 
to  plants ;  hence  grass  watered 
with  lime-water  is  destroyed.  But 
lime  freshly  burnt,  or  slacked, 
forms  a  compost  with  vegetable 
matter,  which  is  soluble  in  water, 
and  nutritive  to  plants.  Mild  lime, 
(as  chalk,  or  quicklime  again  im- 
pregnated with  carbonic  acid.) 
chiefly  operates  by  improving  the 
texture  of  the  soil,  and  its  relation 
to  absorption. 

LIME-STONE,    a  stone  of  a 
calcareous  nature,  which,  by  calci 
nation,  or  burning  in  the  fire,  be 
comes    lirne.       There  are    many 
kinds  of  lime-stone ;  the  hardest 


I  kinds  make  the  best  lime,  and  re- 
quire the  most  burning.  Chalk 
>.vill  burn  into  lime,  of  the  nature 
of  stone  hme,  but  a  great  deal 
weaker;  linie  may  be  made  of 
marble  and  alabaster,  &c.  But 
the  stones  used  for  lime  are  mostly 
o{  a  bluish  colour  or  inclining  to 
grey.  They  are  «:ometimes  purely 
calcarious,  hut  often  mixed  with 
tindissolvable  stones,  which  lessen 
their  value. 

Some  countries  are  very  plenti- 
('ully  furnished  with  these  stones, 
(jreat  Britain  and  Ireland  in  par- 
ticular. It  is  strange  they  have 
heen  found  in  so  few  places  in 
New-England.  It  has  probably 
been  owing  to  want  of  attention. 
An  infallible  way  to  distinguish 
them  is,  by  dropping  upon  them  a 
few  drops  of  aqua  fortis,  spirit  of 
sea-salt,  or  oil  of  vitriol.  All  those 
stones,  on  which  these,  or  any 
other  strong  acids,  etTervesce,  or 
rise  into  bubbles,  are  limestones, 
and  will  burn  into  lime. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  wished,  that 
some  persons  in  the  various  parts 
of  this  country,  would  be  furnished 
with  one  or  other  of  these  acids, 
and  make  frequent  trials  with 
them.  They  who  are  not  furnish- 
ed with  the  proper  acids,  may 
prove  stones,  by  burning  them  for 
some  days  in  a  smith's  fire,  and 
then  throwing  them  into  water. 
Possibly  we  may  find  the  benevo- 
lent Author  of  nature  has  not  left 
us  so  unfurnished  with  these  valu- 
able stone,  as  we  have  been  ready 
to  imagine. 

The  various  sorts  of  Limestone, 
— Sometimes  limestone  is  almost 
perfectly  pure,  as  in  the  case  with 


246 


LIM 


LOA 


marble,  which  frequently  contains 
scarcely  any  other  substance  but 
calcareous  matter.  Several  sorts 
of  limestone,  however,  have  mix- 
tures of  clay  and  sand,  in  various 
proportions,  by  which  the  etficacj 
of  the  manure,  in  proportion  to 
the  quantity  of  the  substances  is 
considerably  diminished.  It  is  ne- 
cessary, therefore,  to  analyze  lime- 
stone, to  ascertain  the  proportion 
of  pure  lime,  before  it  is  advisable 
to  use  so  expensive  an  article  in 
great  quantities,  more  especially  if 
it  must  be  conveyed  from  a  dis- 
tance. Bituminous  limestone 
makes  good  manure.  But  the 
magnesian  is  the  species  which  re- 
quires the  greatest  attention. 
Limestone  contains  from  20*3  to 
23'5  of  magnesia,  in  which  case  it 
would  be  injurious  to  weak  soils, 
to  apply  more  than  25  to  30  bush- 
els per  statute  acre,  though  in  rich 
soils,  double  that  quantity  may  be 
used,  and  still  more  with  peat,  on 
which  soil  it  would  have  a  most 
powerful  effect  in  producing  ferti- 
lity."— Code  of  Jis^ricidture. 

Sir  John  Sinclair  recommends 
to  slack  lime,  in  order  to  prepare 
it  for  manure  with  sea-water  or 
tiirine.  The  time  "for  applying 
lime  is  when  the  land  is  under 
summer  fallow,  in  the  months  of 
June  or  July,  that  it  may  be  com- 
pletely mixed  with  the  soil  before 
the  crop  is  sown."  "  For  a  tur- 
nip crop  it  should  be  laid  on  earl) 
in  the  spring,  before  the  turnips 
are  drilled,  in  order  that  the  lime 
may  be  thoroughly  incorporated 
with  the  soil,  by  the  ploughings 
and  harrowings  it  will  receive. 
For  potatoes  lime  is  not  to  be  re- 


commended, as  it  is  apt  to  burn 
and  blister  their  skins.  'J'he  quan- 
tity of  240  to  300  bushels  of  uu- 
slacked  lime,  may  be  applied  on 
strong  lands  with  advantage.  Even 
600  bushels  have  been  laid  on  at 
once  on  strong  cla}s  with  great 
success.  On  light  soils  a  much 
smaller  quantity  will  answer,  say 
l>om  1 50  to  200  bushels  ;  but  these 
small  doses  ought  to  be  frequently 
repeated.  When  applied  on  the  sur- 
face of  bogs  or  moors,  the  quantity 
used  is  considerable."  Upon  land 
ill  a  proper  state  forcalcarious  ap- 
plication, lime  is  much  superior  to 
dung.  Its  effects  continue  for  a 
longer  period,  while  the  crops 
produced  are  of  superior  quality, 
and  less  susceptible  of  injury  from 
excesses  of  drought  and  moisture. 
The  ground,  likewise,  if  it  be  of  a 
strong  nature  is  more  easily 
wrought,  and  in  some  instances 
the  saving  of  labour  alone  would  be 
an  inducement  to  a  farmer  to  lime 
his  l;ind.  Lime  having  a  tendency 
to  sink  in  the  soil,  cannot  be  kept 
loo  near  the  surfiice.  The  drier 
and  finer  lime  is  powdered  when 
applied  to  the  soil,  the  better. 

LOAM,  one  of  the  principal 
kinds  of  earth.  Some  suppose  it 
to  be  not  one  of  the  natural  soils  ; 
but  graduall)^  made  since  the  crea- 
tion, by  the  putrefied  vegetables 
which  have  fallen  upon  the  earth. 
This  does  not  appear  probable; 
for,  if  so,  why  do  we  meet  with 
any  other  kind  of  soil  ?  This  soil 
consists  of  very  tine  particles,  with- 
out grit,  almost  as  fine  as  those  of 
clay,  but  do  not  cohere  like  them. 
If  it  lie  long  under  water,  it  is  apt 
to  have  the  appearance  of  clay. 


LOG 


LOG 


247 


It  receives  water  readily,  and  re- 
tains it  long;  oil  wliich  accounts  it 
is  preferable  to  clay  or  sand.  It 
h  better  adapted  by  nature  to 
nourish  vegetables  than  either  the 
one  or  tlie  other.  But  its  needs 
manure,  and  will  connmonly  pay 
well  for  it  by  the  increase  of  its 
crops. 

Loams  are  of  various  kinds. 
Some  is  stiff,  approaching  to  the 
nature  of  clay,  and  is  apt  to  be  ad- 
hesive in  wet  weather.  This  is 
not  tit  for  the  nourishing  of  thoae 
vegetables  which  require  mu<h 
heat.  It  needs  to  be  dressed  «ith 
hot  and  opening  manures  for  any 
kind  of  crop.  OUier  loam  is  more 
light,  soft  and  mellow,  and  does 
not  so  much  need  (he  most  heal 
ing  ina!iuie>.  Some  loam  is  of  a 
dark  red,  hazely,  or  brown  colour. 
Tins  is  commonly  a  most  excel- 
lent soil.  Other  loam  is  of  a  light 
yellow,  or  whitish  colour,  and  re- 
quires abundance  of  manuring  to 
render  it  fruitful. 

Ail  kinds  of  loam  are  apt  to  be 
too  wet,  and  to  be  covered  with  a 
short  green  moss,  if  they  lie  flat. 
In  this  case,  ridge  ploughing  is 
best,  and  hollow  drains  often  ne- 
cessary. Loam  that  has  a  mixture 
of  gravel,  or  sand,  is  warmer,  and 
titter  for  tillage ;  but  all  loams  are 
good  for  the  growing  of  grasses. 

LOCUST  TREE,  Robinia,  a 
well  known  tree,  which  grows  in 
great  plenty  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton, and  is  a  native  of  this  country,* 
but  does  not  flourish  so  well  in  the 
state  of  Maine,  as  the  frost  of 
winter  is  apt  to  kill  the  extremities 
of  the  limbs.  There  are  particu- 
lar placas,  however,  in  this  state, 


where  the  growth  of  this  tree  is 
considerably  rapid. 

This  tiee  would  be  more  prized 
for  its  beauty,  were  not  its  limbs 
often  broken  by  high  winds.  Its 
leaves  put  out  late  in  the  spring, 
and  fall  otf  early  in  the  autumn. 
It  blossoms  about  the  beginning  of 
Juiie^  at  which  time  it  makes  a 
beautiful  appearance,  and  per- 
fumes the  circumambient  air  with 
an  agreeable  odour.  The  branch- 
es are  armed  with  hooked  spines  ; 
and  the  leaves  composed  of  ten 
pair  of  oval  lobes,  terminated  with 
an  odd  one. 

The  wood  is  not  only  good  fuel, 
but  excellent  timber,  very  durable 
in  any  situation,  and  particularly 
when  used  as  posts  in  fences. 

This  tree  grows  best  in  a  sandy 
soil,  and  will  propagate  itself  in 
the  most  barren  places,  where  the 
soil  is  so  light  as  to  be  blown  away 
by  winds.  By  sheltering  such 
places,  and  dropping  its  leaves  on 
them,  it  causes  a  sward  to  grow 
over  them,  and  grass  to  grow  upon 
them.  It  is  not  advisable  to  plant 
groves  of  the  locust  tree  on  the 
borders  of  fields,  on  account  of 
Iheir  spreading  too  much  by  scat- 
tering their  seeds,  unless  on  those 
which  are  most  barren.  But  those' 
who  possess  hills  of  barren  sand, 
and  in  a  climate  that  suits  them, 
should  not  delay  to  make  forests 
of  these  trees  on  such  spots.  It 
may  be  easily  done  by  sowing  the 
seeds  in  a  nursery,  and  transplant- 
ing them.  A  plenty  of  wood  may 
be  thus  speedily  produced,  without 
the  least  injury  to  the  land,  yea, 
with  advantage  to  it. 

For   "some   notice  of  the  In- 


348 


MAD 


MAD 


sect  which  destroys  the  Loru?t 
Tree,*'  we  would  refer  our  read- 
ers to  the  Massachusetts  Agricultu- 
ral Repository,  vol.  V.  p.  67.  The 
insect  is  there  called  Cossus  Rohi- 
nioB  ;  and  drawings  are  given  de- 
scriptive of  its  different  appear- 
ances, in  ditferent  stages  of  its  ex- 
istence. The  writer  suggests  no 
remedy  against  its  ravages. 

The  Massachusetts  Agiicultural 
Repository,  vol.  V  L  page  272, 
contains  a  paper  detailing  a  num- 
ber of  experiments  by  H.  A.  S. 
Dearborn,  instituted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preserving  locust  trees 
from  the  depredations  of  insects. 
For  this  purpose  Mr.  Dearborn 
stopped  up  the  holes,  which  they 
had  bored  into  the  trees,  with  lime 
mortar,  and  by  white  washing,  &c. 
He  succeeded,  however,  but  par- 
tially, and  proposed  to  persevere 
in  the  spring  of  1822.  Should  his 
experiment  fail,  he  proposes  to 
head  down  all  his  locust  trees  in  the 
latter  part  of  April,  and  burn  the 
wood  to  destroy  the  larvae.  "  The 
trees,"  he  observes,  ''  are  of  rapid 
growth,  and  the  stools  throw  up 
luxuriant  suckers,  and  1  shall  soon 
have  young  thrifty  trees,  which 
can  be  more  certainly  preserved 
from  the  attacks  of  the  insect, 
should  they  again  visit  them  ;  for 
trees  which  are  so  large  as  to  have 
very  rough  bark,  supply  so  many 
fastnesses  for  the  deposition  of  the 
eggs,  and  to  cover  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  worm  that  it  is  is  very 
difHcult  to  extirpate  them." 

M. 

MADDER,    Rubia    Tinctoria, 
The  followiug  directions  for  raising 


this  plant,  are  copied  from  "  Tht 
K/nporiuni  of  jirts.^^ 

''  This  plant  ma  be  propagated 
either  by  ottsetts  or  seeds.  If  the 
latter  method  is  preferred,  the  seed 
should  be  of  the  true  Turkish  kind, 
which  is  called  Lizari  in  the  Le- 
vant. On  a  light  thin  soil  the  cuU 
ture  cannot  be  carried  on  to  any 
great  profit.  The  soil  in  which 
the  plant  delights  is  a  rich  sandy 
loam,  being  three  feet  in  depth  or 
more. 

"  The  ground  being  first  made 
smooth,  is  divided  into  beds  four 
feet  wide,  with  alternate  alleys  half 
as  wide  again  at  the  beds.  The 
reason  of  this  extraordinary  breadth 
of  the  alleys  will  presently  appear. 
In  each  alley  is  to  be  a  shallow 
channel  for  ihe  convenience  of  ir- 
rigating the  whole  lields,  <Sic.  That 
part  ot  the  alley  which  is  not  oc- 
cupied may  be  sown  with  legtimes. 
"  The  madder  seed  is  sown  broad 
cast, in  the  proportion  of  from  tweii- 
ty-tive  to  thirty  pounds  per  acre, 
about  the  end  of  April.  In  a  fort- 
night or  three  wetdis,  the  young 
plants  begin  to  appear  ;  and  from 
this  time  to  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber, care  must  be  taken  to  keep 
the  ground  well  watered,  and  free 
from  weeds. 

"•  If  the  plants  are  examined  in 
autumn,  they  will  be  found  sur- 
rounded with  small  yellow  otTsetts, 
at  the  depth  of  two  inches  ;  and 
early  in  September,  ihe  earth  from 
ihe  alleys  is  to  be  dug  out,  and  laid 
)ver  the  plants  of  madder  to  the 
Height  of  two  or  three  inches.  With 
this  the  tirst  year's  operation  ceases. 

"  The  second  year's  work  begins 
in  May,    with  giving  the   beds  a 


M  AL 


M  AL 


249 


thorough  weeding ;  and  care  must 
be  taken  to  supply  them  with  plen- 
ty of  water  during  the  summer.  In 
September  the  first  crop  of  seed 
will  be  ripe  ;  at  which  time  the 
stems  of  the  plants  may  be  mown 
down,  and  the  roots  covered  a  few 
inches  with  earth,  taken  as  before 
out  of  the  alleys. 

"  The  weeding  should  take  place 
as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring  of 
the  third  \ear;  and  the  crop,  in- 
stead of  being  left  for  seed,  may  be 
cut  three  times,  during  summer.for 
green  fodder;  all  kinds  of  cattle 
being  remarkably  fond  of  it. 

"  In  October  the  roots  are  taken 
up,  the  offsetts  carefully  separated, 
and  immediately  used  to  form  a 
new  plantation  5  and  the  roots,  af- 
ter being  dried,are  sold, either  with- 
out further  preparation,  or  ground 
to  a  coarse  powder,  and  sprinkled 
with  an  alkaline  lye. 

"  The  roots  lose  four-fifths  of 
their  weight  in  drying  ;  and  the 
produce  of  an  acre  is  about  two 
thousand  pounds  weight  of  dry 
saleable  madder." 

Madder  usually  sells  for  about 
thirty  two  dollars  per  hundred  ;  so 
that  the  produce  of  an  acre  as 
above  stated,  would  amount  to  six 
hundred  and  forty  dollars.  Farm- 
er's Assistant. 

MA  LANDERS,  a  horse  disease, 
caused  by  corrupt  blood,  or  over 
hard  labour,  &c.  It  consists  of 
chops,  or  cracks,  on  the  inside  of 
the  fore  legs  against  the  knee,  dis- 
charging a  red  sharp  humour. 

To   cure  this  disease,   wash  tlie 

cracks  with  warm  soap  suds  or  old 

urine  ;  then  rub  them  twice  a  day 

with  an  ointment  of  hog's  lard  mix- 

32 


ed  with  two  drachms  of  sublimate 
of  mercuiy.  Or  appi)  a  poultice  of 
the  roots  of  marsh  mallows  and  flax 
seed,  softened  with  linseed  oil,  ty- 
ing it  on  with  a  roller.  Continue 
that  till  the  seeds  fall  off  and  the 
sores  become  clean.  Afterwards  a 
mixture  of  turpentine  and  quicksil- 
ver will  be  a  proper  application. 

MALT,  barley,  or  other  corn, 
prepared  for  making  beer  or  ale* 
As  it  is  of  great  importance  that  the 
people  of  this  country  should  make 
a  greater  use  of  malt  than  they  do 
at  present,  I  will  here  give  the  pro- 
cess of  making  it,  from  the  Diction- 
ary of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

""  In  making  malt  from  barley,  the 
usual  method  is  to  steep  the  grain 
in  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water,for 
two  or  three  days,  till  it  swells,  be- 
comes plump,  somewhat  tender, 
and  tinges  the  water  of  a  bright 
brown,  or  reddish  colour.  Then, 
this  water  being  drained  away,  the 
barley  is  removed  from  the  steep- 
ing cistern  to  the  floor,  where  it  is 
thrown  into  what  is  called  the  wet 
couch  ;  that  is,  an  even  heap, rising 
to  the  height  of  about  two  feet.  In 
this  wet  couch,  the  capital  part  of 
the  operation  is  performed  ;  for 
here  the  barley  spontaneously 
heats,  and  begins  to  grow,  shooting 
out  first  the  radicle,  then  the  plume, 
spire  or  blade.  But  the  process  is 
to  be  stopped  short  at  tlie  irruption 
of  the  radicle,  otherwise  the  malt 
would  be  spoiled.  In  order  to  stop 
it,  they  spread  the  wet  couch  thin 
over  a  large  floor,  and  keep  turn- 
ing itotice  in  four  or  five  hours,  for 
the  space  of  two  days,  laying  it 
somewhat  thicker  each  time.  After 
this  it  is  again  thrown  into  a  large 


250 


M  AL 


MAN 


heap,  and  there  suffered  to  grow 
sensibly  hot  to  the  hand,  as  it  usu- 
ally will  in  twenty  or  thirty  hours  : 
Then  being  spread  again,  and  cool- 
ed, it  IS  thrown  upon  the  kiln,  to  be 
dned  crisp  without  scorching.  If 
these  diiections  be  followed,  the 
malt  will  aUvays  be  good. 

"  Toe  method  of  malting  Indian 
corn,  or  Virginia  wheat,  is  much 
less  laborious.  For,  ifthis  corn  be 
huried  iwo  or  three  inches  deep  in 
the  earth,  and  covered  with  the 
loose  mould,  in  ten  or  twelve  days 
time  the  corn  will  sprout,  and  ap- 
pear like  a  green  held  ;  at  which 
time  being  taken  up,  and  washed 
or  fanned  from  the  dirt,  it  is  imme- 
diately committed  to  the  kiln,  and 
by  this  means  becomes  good  malt." 

MALT  DUST,  the  dust  which 
falls  from  the  kiln,  while  malt  is 
drying.  Repeated  experiments 
made  by  Europeans,  have  estab- 
lished the  credit  of  this  dust  as  a 
manure  for  stiff  loams  and  clays.  A 
good  dressing  of  it  has  been  found 
to  increase  a  crop  of  barley  as 
much  as  hfty  per  cent,  and  wheat 
still  more.  I'he  quantity  used  is 
from  thirty  to  sixty  bushels  peracre, 
according  to  circumstances.  It  is 
used  mostly,  or  only,  as  a  top  dres- 
sing. It  exerts  its  strength  so  sud- 
denly as  to  be  nearly  exhausted  with 
one  crop.  It  should  not  be  sown 
together  with  winter  wheat,but  up- 
on it  in  December  or  January  fol- 
lowing :  For  if  it  be  sown  early,  it 
will  exert  its  strength  too  soon,  and 
bring  the  wheat  forward  too  tast,as 
has  been  proved  by  experiments. 
For  barley,  this  dressing  should  be 
sown  with  the  seed  and  harrowed 
in.  A  small  dressing  of  this  manure 


on  grass  land, mightily  increases  the 
vegetation,  and  the  sweetness  of 
the  grass. 

Maltsters  should  carefully  preserve 
this  precious  manure  In  someplace 
where  it  will  not  contract  dampness. 
It  may  be  of  use  to  farmers  in  their 
neighbourhood:  But  it  cannot  be- 
come a  manure  of  general  use,  the 
wliole  quantity  that  is  made  being 
so  small. 
MANGEL  WURTZELL.   See 

Beet. 

MANURE,  any  kind  of  substance 
suitable  to  be  laid  on  land  to  in- 
crease its  fertility. 

Manures  contribute  several  ways 
to  the  producing  of  this  effect :  Ei- 
ther by  increasing  the  quantity  of 
vegetable  food  in  the  soil — or  by 
preparing  the  nourishment  already 
coiitaiiied  in  the  soil  to  enter  the 
roots  of  plants — or  by  enlarging  the 
vegetable  pasture  in  which  roots 
spread  and  seek  their  food — or  by 
attracting  the  food  of  vegetables 
from  the  air.  Some  of  the  manures 
increase  fruitfulness  in  all  these 
ways,  particularly  the  dung  of  ani- 
mals, rotted  vegetabh'S,  6ic.  Other 
manures  perform  each  office,  ex- 
cepting the  hrst :  And  some  have 
no  other  immediate  effect  besides 
opening  and  loosening  the  soil :  But 
even  these  last  kinds  may  some- 
times be  used  to  great  advantage. 
Inhere  are  different  ways  of  or- 
dering and  managing  manures,  ac- 
cording to  their  different  natures. 
Some  are  to  be  applied  to  land 
without  alteration,  or  mixing  ;  the 
rest  to  be  prepared  by  compound- 
ing and  fermentation  :  Some  are 
suitable  for  stiff  and  some  for  light 
soils  ;  Some  to  be  mixed  in  the  soil 


MAN 


MAN 


251 


by  the  plough  and  harrow  ;  other 
kinds  to  be  used  only  as  top  dres- 
sings. 

F'armers  and  gardeners  should 
not  be  so  inattentive  tc)  their  own 
interest,  or  tliat  of  their  ennployers, 
as  to  suffer  a  variety  of  valuable 
manures  to  Wv.  useless,  while  they 
are  suffering  for  want  of  then).  I 
have  drawn  up  the  following  list  for 
their  benefit,  hoping  that  such  a 
variety,  all  of  which  can  be  had  by 
one  or  other,  in  this  country,  and 
by  most  farmers  in  plenty,  might 
excite  the  ambition  of  some  to 
make  use  of  their  advantages,  and 
suffer  no  manures  to  escape  their 
attention. 

The  substances  fit  to  be  used  as 
manures,  are  either  animal,  vege- 
table, fossil,  or  mixed. 

Animal  manures  are  such  as  these 
that  follow  : 

Putrefied  flesh,  such  as  the  car- 
cases of  animals,  or  meat  not  well 
saved.  This  may  be  an  ingredient 
in  compost,  or  buried  at  the  foot  of 
fruit  trees  to  increase  their  fruit- 
fulness.  Dead  horses,  dogs,  cats, 
rats,  and  uneatable  birds,  should, 
instead  of  putrefying  the  air  by  rot- 
ting above  ground,  be  thus  convert- 
ed to  an  economical  purpose. 
When  the  carcases  of  animals  are 
buried  in  dung-hills,  it  may  be  pro- 
per to  lay  over  them  some  bushes 
of  thorn,  to  prevent  ravenous  dogs 
from  taking  them  away. 

Blood,  m'wed  with  saw  dust,  and 
used  as  a  top  dressing,  &c.  See 
the  article  Blood. 

Hair,  a  top  dressing  for  grass 
land;  under  the  surface  of  a  dry 
soil  in  tillage;  or  used  in  compost. 
In  either  way  it  is  an  excellent  fer- 
tilizer. 


Feathers,  such  as  have  been 
worn  out  in  beds,  or  are  unfit  to 
go  into  them — in  compost. 

Refuse  7vool,  such  coarse  dag 
locks  as  are  not  tit  for  carding — 
covered  with  the  plough  in  a  dry 
soil.  They  will  serve  as  spunges 
to  retain  moisture,  and  be  a  rich 
food  for  plants  when  they  are  dis- 
solved.    So  will 

Woollen  rags,  chopped  to  pieces, 
for  a  light  soil.  1  hey  should  be 
cut  as  small  as  an  inch  square. 
Twer)ty-four  bushels  are  said  to  be 
a  sufHrient  quantity  for  the  dress- 
ing of  an  acre.  These  should  be 
under  the  surface. 

Hoofs  of  cattie,  sheep,  &c.  If 
large  hoofs  were  set  in  holes  with 
the  points  downwards  in  a  dry 
soil,  so  low  as  not  to  be  disturbed 
by  the  plough,  they  would  cause 
the  land  to  retain  moisture,  and 
hold  the  manure,  not  only  by  the 
spiinginess  of  their  substance,  but 
also  more  especially  by  their  hol- 
lowness. 

Bones,  of  all  kinds,  pounded  or 
broken  into  small  pieces,  with 
hammers  or  mallets.  This  is  an 
incomparable  manure,  if  they  have 
not  been  burnt,  nor  boiled  in  soap. 
But  in  either  way  they  should  be 
saved  for  manure.  Sixty  bushels 
are  a  sufficient  dressing  for  an 
acre. 

Raw  skins  of  all  kinds  of  ani- 
mals. These  should  be  cut  into 
small  pieces,  and  used  for  light 
soils,  ploughed  in. 

Leather,  new  or  old,  in  small 
bits,  for  dry  soils,  ploughed  in. 

Curriers''    shavings,    cut  small, 
for  a  soil  of  sand  or  gravel,  plough' 
I  ed  in. 


252 


MAN 


MA  N 


for    the    nourishing  of 


Oil,  of  all  sorts,  used  in  corn 
posts,  not  applied  to  the  soil  till  a 
year  after  it  is  mixed,  that  it  may 
be  dissolved  and  altered. 

Fish,  of  all  kinds,  from  the  whale 
to  the  muscle;  they  are  best  used 
in  co'iiposts ;  and  should  lie  a  year, 
that  their  oil  may  be  dissolved, 
and  fitted 
plants. 

Offal  of  fish,  in  composts,  fit  for 
one  soil  or  another,  according  to 
the  predominant  ingredients  of  the 
mixture. 

.  The  vegetable  manures  are  good, 
though  not  so  strong  as  animal 
ones.  They  can  be  had  in  greater 
plenty  in  most  places  ;  and  ought 
to  be  laid  on  in  larger  quantities. 
Green  vegetables,  such  as  all  use- 
less weeds  in  fields  and  gardens. 
These  should  be  collected  and  rot- 
ted in  heaps  They  are  a  good 
manure  for  all  soils,  and  to  nourish 
all  sorts  of  plants. 

Aquatic  zveeds,  such  as  grow  in 
the  borders  of  ponds  and  rivers. 
These  should  be  collected  in  large 
heaps  on  the  higher  ground,  and 
covered  with  turfs,  the  grass  side 
outwards.  These  heaps  will  be 
easily  made  in  some  places,  and 
will  be  a  valuable  manure.  Some 
say,  care  should  be  taken  to  pre- 
vent their  taking  fire  by  ferment- 
ing, as  their  heat  will  be  very 
great. 

Straw,  and  other  offal  of  corn  of 
all  kinds,  rotted  in  farm  yards,  or 
dung  pits. 

Refuse  hay,  both  fresh  and  salt, 
rotted  in  yards,  and  tram|)led  on 
by  cattle,  and  mixed  with  their  ex- 
crements. 

Thatch,  that  grows  by  the  sides 


of  salt  creeks,  or  the  parts  of  it 
which  cattle  will  not  eat,  should 
be  thrown  into  the  farm  >ard.  to 
putrefy.  Thus  a  great  increase  of 
good  manure  may  be  made. 

The  hauhn  of  all  dry  vegetables, 
such  as  the  stalks  of  potatoes, 
beans,  peas,  &LC.  Even  the  offal 
of  flax,  if  it  have  suflicient  time  to 
rot,  will  be  a  good  manure. 

Ferji,  a  vegetable  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  purpose  of  making 
manure.     See  Fern. 

Lees  of  fermented  liquors,  rot- 
ten fruit,  and  pomace,  in  compost. 
Oil  calces,  which  may  be  got  at  the 
mills  where  hnseed  oil  is  expressed 
for  top-dressing,  being  first  pulver- 
ized. 

Tanners''  bark, irom~\  Fermented 

the  oak  tree,  !  with   other 

Leaves  of  decidu-  I  manures, to 

ous  trees,  .'be  laid  on 

Rotten  wood,  \  clayey  and 

Sav}  dust,  J  stiff  soils. 

Wood  ashes,  a  good  top-dressing 

for  almost  any  kind   of  soils,  but 

best  for  a  moist  one. 

Coal  ashes,  top-dressing  for  cold 
damp  soils. 

Coal  dust,  top-dressing  for  low 
meadows. 

Malt  dust.     See  that  article. 
Sea  plants,  rock-weed,  eel-grass, 
&c.  are  the  most  valuable  of  green 
vegetables    for    manure.       They 
should  be  either  ploughed  into  the 
soil,  or  mellowed  in  compost  dung- 
hills,    it   is  a   wrong  practice  to 
use  them  as  top-dressings.     Much 
of  (heir  virtue  in  this  way  is  lost. 
Moss,  mixed  with  dung  in  holes 
for  a  dry  soil.     Good  for  potatoes. 
Linen  rags  ;  these  will  be  a  ma- 
nure worth  saving,  but  they  take  a 


MAN 


MAN 


253 


long    time   to    putrefy — in    corn- 
post. 

The  fossil  or  earthy  manures 
are  these  : 

Lime,  mixed  with  the  soil,  or  in 
composts,  for  stitf  soils.  See  the 
article  Lime, 

.Marie,  most  suitable  in. general 
for  light  soil.  See  the  article 
Marie. 

Sand,  in  roads,  washed  down 
from  hills,  to  open  a  stitf  clayey 
soil.     See  the  article  Sand. 

Plaister  of  "^  Absorbent  ma- 
Paris,  and         I  nures      for     cold 

Dust  of  [wet  soils,  for  top- 
he7on  stones,    J  diejsinj:. 

Gravel,  for  a  wet  puffy  swamp. 

Clay,  to  mix  with  the  plough 
and  harrow  in  a  sandy  or  gravelly 
soil.  It  should  be  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  frost  one  winter  be- 
fore it  is  ploughed  in.  Otherwise 
it  will  remain  a  long  time  undis- 
solved. 

^  To      be     mixed 

Swamp  mud,  j  with  a  sandy  or 

River  mud,     I  gravelly  soil  ;  but 

Pond  mud,     f  best  in  composts, 

Sea  mud,        \  with  dung.     See 
J  the  article  Mud. 

Ashes  of  sea-coal — for  cold  stitf 
land. 

Peat,  when  reduced  to  ashes, 
top  dressing  for  all  soils,  best  for  a 
cold  one.     See  Peal, 

Turfs,  either  in  composts,  or 
dried  and  burnt.  They  may  be 
taken  from  the  sides  of  highways 
without  damage.  These  places 
are  the  walks  of  cattle  and  swine, 
where  much  dung  is  dropped  ;  the 
turf  is  therefore  a  rich  ingredient 
in  manure. 

Shells  of  shell  fish,  ploughed  in 
whole,  are  a  good  manure  for  dry 


soils ;  and  ground  or  pounded 
small  for  stiff  land. 

Brick  dust,  ^  To  open  a  clayey, 

Burnt  clay,  ^  or  warm  acold^oil. 

Beach  sand,  to  open  a  stiff,  and 
warm  a  cold  soil.  That  vvhich 
has  a  fine  grain  is  the  best. 

Pit  sand,  of  any  colour,  to  melio- 
rate a  soil  of  stiff  clay.  It  should 
be  laid  on  plentifully. 

The  aiisced  solid  manures  are 
these. 

Dung  of  all  kinds.  Though  it 
chietly  consists  of  rotten  vegeta- 
bles, there  is  a  mixture  of  animal 
juices  in  it,  and  some  of  the  finest 
particles  of  the  earth.  Most  dungs 
should  be  mixed  with  the  soil,  by 
the  plough  or  harrow.  See  the 
article  Dung. 

Composts  of  every  kind,  fit  for 
light  or  stiff  soils,  according  to  the 
difference  of  their  predommant  in- 
gredients ;  or  a  general  manure 
for  all  soils. 

The  scrapings  of  back  yards,  for 
all  kinds  of  soil,  but  when  contain- 
ing chips,  shavings  of  wood,  or 
much  saw  dust,  for  ^.tiff  soils. 

Rubbish  of  old  houses,  for  cold 
and  stiff  soils.  This  contains  much 
nitre — in  composts  it  is  of  most 
advantage. 

Earth  that  has  been  long  under 
cover.  This  commonly  collects 
much  nitre.     Best  in  composts. 

Scrapings  of  streets,  a  general 
manure,  fit  for  all  soils.  Farmers 
who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  cities, 
and  great  towns,  should  always 
avail  themselves  of  this  kuid  of 
manure. 

Mixed  liquid  manures. 

Old  brine  of  salted  meat  or  fish, 
which  contains,  besides  salt,  some 
blood,  oil,  &;c. — in  composts. 


254 


M  A  N 


MAN 


Sea  water,  which  contains  other 
things  besides  water  and  sail,  fit  to 
nourish    vet,etal)les.      It    may     be 
sprinkled  on  land,  or  used  in  com 
posts. 

Soap  suds — replete  with  a  pre- 
pared food  for  plants  ;  excellent 
£ov  watering  gardens  in  dry  wea- 
ther. None  of  this  should  be  lo-^t. 
If  the  garden  be  distant,  or  wet, 
it  may  enrich  the  dmighill. 

Urine  of  h\\  animals.  This  con- 
tains earth  and  animal  juices,  salts 
and  oil  ;  and  is,  next  to  dung,  per- 
haps the  most  valuable  and  impor- 
tant of  all  manures.  See  the  arti- 
cle Urine. 

Water  in  the  hollows  of  farm 
yards.  Instead  of  sntfering  this 
rich  liquor  to  soak  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  it  should  be  taken  up 
by  mulch,  or  some  absorbent  sub- 
stance thrown  into  it,  or  else  car- 
ried out  in  a  water  cart,  and  sprink- 
led over  a  soil  that  needs  it. 

Water  that  runs  from  compost 
dunghills.  ^  his  should  be  thrown 
back  upon  dunghills,  or  else  used 
as  the  preceding  article. 

Liquors  from  dye-houses.  This 
should  be  used  in  composts. 

After  all,  I  may  add  Salt,  being 
distinct  from  all  other  manures,  an 
important  ingredient  in  the  food  of 
plants,  and  adapted  to  prepare 
other  ingredients.  Some  apply  it 
as  it  is,  but  it  has  a  better  effect 
when  used  in  composts.* 

If  our  farmers  in  general  would 
be  persuaded  to  avail  themselves 
of  so  many  of  these  manures  as 
fall  in  their  way,  or  can  be  easily 

*  See  the  article  "  Salf  in  this  work  for 
further  notice  ol  it. 


obtained,  we  should  no  longer  hear 
of  so  many  dismal  complaints  as 
we  do,  of  short  crops,  and  worn 
out  lands.  The  face  of  the  coun- 
try would  soon  be  surprisingly  im- 
proved. 

But  that  manures  may  fully  an- 
swer their  intention,  they  must  be 
judiciously  applied.  We  should 
not  only  apply  each  matiure  to  the 
soil  for  which  it  is  most  suitable, 
but  at  seasons  when  it  will  produce 
the  most  valuable  effect.  For  a 
general  rule,  it  is  best  to  apply 
those  rich  fermenting  manures, 
which  are  to  be  mixed  in  the  soil, 
as  near  as  may  be  to  the  tin>e  when 
the  ground  is  seeded.  Dung  should 
be  ploughed  in  with  the  seed  fur- 
row, as  it  is  called.  Composts 
may  be  harrowed  in  with  the  seed. 
IMie  reason  for  appl}ing  these  ma- 
nures at  this  time  is  obvious.  They 
will  begin  to  raise  a  fermentation 
in  the  soil,  almost  as  soon  as  they 
are  applied  ;  so  that  if  there  be  no 
seed,  nor  plants  to  be  nourished  by 
them,  some  part  of  the  good  effects 
of  the  manure  will  be  lost.  As 
part  of  the  fermentation  will  be 
past,  before  the  plants  begin  to 
grow  ;  so  there  may  be  danger  of 
its  being  over,  before  they  liave 
attained  to  their  full  growth.  If 
so,  the  soil  will  harden,  and  the 
plants  will  receive  the  least  quan- 
tity of  nourishment  at  the  (ime 
when  they  need  the  greatest. 

As  to  those  matters  which  raise 
little  or  no  fermentation,  they  may 
be  laid  on  at  any  time  when  the 
farmer  has  leisure  for  it,  as  sand 
on  a  clayey,  gravel  on  a  boggy 
and  pi'ffy  soil ;  or  clay,  marie,  or 
mud,  on  a  light  soil. 


««Gb-^ 


MAN 


MAN 


255 


It  has  been  too  much  practised 
in  this  countr}',  to  apply  scanty 
dressings  to  lands  in  tillage,  hardly 
siirticient  to  have  a  perceptible 
effect,  and  to  repeat  it  year  after 
year.  But  this.  1  think,  is  a  wrong 
practice.  A  sufficient  dressing 
once  in  two  years,  1  have  always 
found  to  do  better  than  a  half 
dressing  each  year.  This  last  me- 
thod does  not  so  well  agree  with  a 
succession  of  crops  ;  because  some 
crops  require  a  much  greatef 
degree  of  strength  in  the  soil, 
than  others  do.  Let  us  then  ra- 
ther follow  tlie  example,  of  the 
European  farmers,  whorommonl^ 
manure  very  plentifully  once  in  a 
course  of  crops,  and  no  more  ;  and 
the  year  the  manure  is  laid  on, 
take  a  crop  that  requires  the  great- 
est assistance  from  manure,  or 
that  bears  high  manuring  best,  or 
Hiakes  the  best  returns  tor  manure  : 
Afterwards,  crops  that  need  less 
manure,  till  the  end  of  the  course. 
Perhaps  the  year  of  manuring  in 
this  country  should  be  chit  fly  for 
Indian  corn.  This  crop  is  not 
easily  overdone  with  manure,  and 
it  pays  well  for  high  manuring. 
And  this  happens  well  for  us,  as  a 
hoed  crop,  when  the  dung  is  used, 
will  prevent  the  increase  of  weeds, 
which  a  plentiful  dunging  will 
greatly  promote  in  every  kind  of 
soil. 

The  following  observations  on 
this  important  subject  are  extracted 
from  Sir  H.  Davy's  "  Elements  of 
Agricultural  Chemistry." 

"All  green  succulent  plants  con- 
tain sacchaiine  or  mucilaginous  mat- 
ter, with  woody  fibre,  and  rpadiiy 
ferments.     They  caimot  therefore 


if  intended  for  manure,  be  used  too 
soon  after  their  death. 

"  V\  hen  green  crops  are  to  be  em- 
plo}ed  for  enrichitig  a  soil,  they 
should  be  ploughed  in,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, when  in  flower,  or  at  the  time 
the  flower  is  bcginnirg  to  appear  ; 
for  it  is  at  this  period  lliat  the)  con- 
tain the  largest  quantity  of  easily 
soluble  ntatter.and  that  their  leaves 
are  most  acli\e  in  forming  nutritive 
iiiatter.  Green  crops,  pond  weeds, 
the  paring  of  hedges  or  ditches,  or 
an}  kind  of  fres-h  vegetable  matter, 
require  no  preparation  to  fit  them 
for  manure.  The  decomposition 
slowly  proceeds  beneath  the  soil ; 
the  soluble  matters  are  gradually 
dissolved,  and  the  slight  fermenta- 
tion that  goes  on,  checked  by  the 
want  of  a  free  communication  of 
air,  tends  to  render  the  woody  fibre 
soluble,  without  occasioning  the  ra- 
pid dissipation  of  elastic  matters. 

"•  When  old  pastures  are  broken 
up  and  made  arable,  not  only  has 
the  soil  been  enriched  by  the  death 
and  slow  decay  of  the  plants  which 
have  left  soluble  matters  in  the 
soil  ;  but  the  leaves  and  roots  of 
the  grasses  living  at  the  time  and 
occupying  so  large  a  part  of  the 
surface,  afford  saccharine,  mucila- 
ginous and  extractive  matters, which 
become  the  food  of  the  crop,  and 
the  gradual  decomposition  affords  a 
supply  for  successive  years. 

"  Sea  weeds^  consisting  of  differ- 
ent species  of  fuci,  aigae  and  confer- 
vie  are  much  used  as  manure  on 
the  coasts  of  Britain  and  lieland. 
By  digesting  the  common  foci, 
which  is  tfie  sea  weed  usually  most 
abundant  on  the  sea  coast,  in  boil- 
ins;  water,  i  obtained  from  it  one 


256 


MAN 


MAN 


eighth  of  a  gelatinous  substance,  [ 
which  had  characters  simiiar  to  mu- 
cilage. A  quantity  distilled  gave 
nearly  fourhfths  of  its  weight  of 
water,  but  no  ammonia  ;  the  water 
had  an  etnpyreumatic  and  slightly  ; 
sour  taste  ;  the  ashes  contained  sea  i 
salt,  carbonate  of  soda,  and  carbo- 
naceous matter.  The  gaseous  mat- 
ter at^jrded  was  small  in  quantity, 
principally  carbonic  acid  and  gas- 
eous oxid  of  carbon,  with  a  little 
hydro- carbonate.  This  manure  is 
transient  in  its  etFects,  and  does  not 
last  for  more  than  a  single  crop, 
which  is  easily  accounted  for  from 
the  large  quantity  or  the  elements 
of  water  it  contains.  It  decays 
without  producing  hnat,  when  ex- 
posed to  the  atmosphere, and  seems 
as  it  were  to  melt  down  and  dissolve 
away.  I  have  seen  a  large  heap 
entirely  destroyed  in  less  than  two 
years,  notliing  remaining  but  a  lit- 
tle black  fibrous  matter. 

"  Sea  weed  is  sotnetimes  suffered 
to  ferment  before  it  is  used  ;  but 
this  process  seems  wholly  unneces- 
ry,  for  there  is  no  fibrous  matter 
rendered  soluble  in  the  process, and 
a  part  of  the  manure  is  lost. 

"  Dry  strazo  of  wheat,  oats,  bar- 
ley, beans  and  peas,  and  spoiled 
hay,  or  any  other  similar  kind  of 
dry  vegetable  matter  is  in  all  cases, 
useful  manure.  In  general  such 
substances  are  made  to  ferment  be- 
fore they  are  employed,  though  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  the  prac- 
tice should  indiscriminately  be 
adopted. 

"  When  straw  is  made  to  ferment 
it  becomes  a  more  manageable  ma- 
nure ;  but  there  is  likewise  on  the 
whole  a  great  loss  of  nutritive  mat- 


ter. More  manure  is  perhaps  sup- 
phed  for  a  single  crop;  but  the 
land  is  less  improved  than  it  would 
be,  supposing  the  whole  of  the  ve- 
getable matter  could  be  finely  di- 
vided and  mixed  w?th  the  soil. 

"  It  is  usual  to  carry  straw  that 
can  be  employed  for  no  other  pur- 
pose to  the  dung-hill,  to  ferment 
and  decompose  ;  but  it  is  worth 
experiment,  whether  it  may  not  be 
more  economically  applied  when 
chopped  small  by  a  proper  machine 
and  kept  djy  till  it  is  ploughed  in 
for  the  use  of  a  crop.  In  this  case, 
(hough  it  would  decompose  much 
more  slowly  and  produce  less  ef- 
fect at  first,  yet  its  influence  would 
be  much  more  lasting.* 

"  Wood  askes  imperfectly  form- 
ed, that  is  wood  ashes  containing 
much  charcoal,  are  said  to  have 
been  used  with  success  as  a  ma- 
nure. A  part  of  their  effect  may 
be  owing  to  the  slow  and  gradual 
consumption  of  the  charcoal,which 
seems  capable,  under  other  circum- 
stances than  those  of  actual  com- 
bustion, of  absorbing  oxygene  so  as 
to  become  carbonic  acid. 

"  Manures  from  animal  substan- 
ces in  general  require  no  chemical 
preparations  to  fit  them  for  the  soil. 
The  great  object  of  the  farmer  is  to 
blend  them  with  earthy  constitu- 
ents in  a  proper  state  of  division, 
and  to  prevent  their  too  rapid  de- 
composition. 

"  The  entire  parts  of  the  muscles 
of  land  animals  are  not  commonly 
used  as  a  manure,  though  ihere  are 

*  Some  agriculturists  are  of  a  different 
opinion.  See  Dung.  Probably  the  ques- 
tion of  lo7ig  and  «/ior/ manure  depends  oa  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  and  of  the  crop. 


MAN 


MAN 


257 


many  rases  in  which  such  an 
applicalion  might  be  eajJil}  made. 
Horses,  dogs,  slieep,  deer,  and 
other  quadrupeds  that  have  died 
accidf^iitally,  or  of  disease,  after 
tht  ir  skins  are  separated,  are  often 
suffered  to  remain  exj)osed  to  the 
air  or  immersed  in  water  till  they 
are  destroyed  by  i)irds  or  beasts  of 
prey,  or  entirely  decomposed  ;  and 
in  this  case  most  of  their  organized 
matter  is  lost  for  the  land  on  which 
they  lie,  and  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  it  employed  in  giving  off 
noxious  gasses  to  the   atmosphere. 

"By  covering  dead  animals  with 
five  or  six  times  their  bulk  of  soil, 
mixed  with  one  part  of  lime,  and 
suffering  them  to  remain  for  a  few 
months,  their  decomposition  would 
impregnate  the  soil  with  soluble 
matters,so  as  to  render  it  an  excel- 
lent manure  ;  and  by  mixing  a  lit- 
tle fresh  quick  lime  with  it  at  the 
time  of  its  removal,  the  disagreea 
ble  effluvia  would  be  in  a  great 
measure  destroyed  ;  and  it  might 
be  applied  in  the  same  way  as  any 
other  manure  to  crops. 

"  Fish  forms  a  powerful  manure 
in  whatever  state  it  is  applied  ;  but 
it  cannot  be  ploughed  in  too  fresh, 
though  the  quantity  be  limited. 
Mr.  Young  records  an  experiment, 
in  which  lierrings  spread  over  a 
field  and  ploughed  in  for  wheat  pro- 
duced so  rank  a  crop,  that  it  was 
entirely  laid  before  harvest. 

"  It  is  easy  to  explain  the  opera- 
tions offish  as  a  manure.  The  skin 
is  principally  gelatine  ;  which  from 
its  slight  state  of  cohesion  is  readi- 
ly soluble  in  water,  fat  or  oil  ;  is 
aliva^s  found  ii:  fishes  either  under 
the  skin  or  in  some  of  the  viscera ; 
33 


and  their  fibrous  matter  contains 
ail  the  essential  elements  of  vege- 
table substances. 

"  Among  oily  substances,  ^rares 
and  blubber  are  employed  as  ma- 
nure, i'hey  are  both  most  useful 
when  mixed  with  soil,  so  as  to  ex- 
pose a  large  surface  to  the  air,  the 
oxygene  of  which  produces  soluble 
matter  from  them.  Lord  Somer- 
ville  used  blubber  with  great  suc- 
cess at  his  farm  in  Surrey,  It  was 
made  into  a  heap  with  soil,  and  re- 
tained its  powers  of  fertilizing  for 
several  successive  years. 

"  The  carbon  and  hydrogene 
abounding  in  oily  substances  fully 
account  for  their  effects  ;  and  their 
durability  is  easily  explained  from 
the  gradual  manner  in  which  they 
change  by  the  action  of  air  and 
water. 

''^  Bones  are  much  used  as  a  ma- 
nure in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lon- 
don. After  being  broken  and  boil- 
ed for  grease  they  are  sold  to  the 
fanner.  The  more  divided  they 
are  the  more  powerful  are  their  ef- 
fects. 'J  he  expense  of  grinding 
them  in  a  mill  would  probably  be 
repaid  by  the  increase  of  their  fer- 
tilizing powers  ;  and  in  the  state  of 
powder  they  might  be  used  in  the 
drill  husbandry. 

"  Bone  dusl,  and  bone  shavings, 
the  refuse  of  the  turning  mamfac- 
tare,  may  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed in  the  same  way. 

"  The  basis  of  bone  is  constitu- 
ted by  earthy  sails,  principally 
phosphate  of  Jime,  with  some  car- 
bonate of  lirne,  and  phosphate  of 
magnesia  ;  the  easily  decomposa- 
ble substances  in  bone  are  fat,  gela- 
tine, and  cartilage,  which  seem  of 


258 


MAN 


MAN 


the  same  nature  as  coagulated  al- 
bumen, 

"  Hair,  woollen  rags,  and  feathers, 
are  all  analogous  in  composition, 
and  piincipali}'  consist  of  a  sub- 
stance similar  to  albumen,  united 
to  gelatine.  This  is  shewn  by  the 
in^enions  researches  of  Mr.  Hatch- 
el.  The  theory  of  their  operation 
is  similar  to  that  of  bone  and  horn 
shavings. 

"  The  refuse  of  the  different  ma- 
nufactures of  skin  and  leather  form 
very  useful  manure ;  such  as  the 
shavings  of  the  currier,  furrier's 
clippings,  and  the  ofTals  of  the  tan- 
yard  and  of  the  glue  maker.  The 
gelatine  contained  in  every  kind  of 
skin  is  in  a  state  for  its  gradual  so- 
lution or  decomposition  ;  and  when 
buried  in  the  soil  it  lasts  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  constantly  af- 
fords a  supply  of  nutritive  matter  to 
the  plants  in  its  neighbourhood. 

"  B/oor/ contains  certain  quanti- 
ties of  all  the  principles  found  in 
other  animal  substances,  and  is 
consequently  very  good  manure. 

'•  Among  the  excrementitious  ani- 
mal substances  used  as  manure, 
urine  is  th--  one  upon  which  the 
greatest  number  of  chemical  ex- 
periments have  been  made,and  the 
nature  of  which  is  best  understood. 

"  Urine  is  very  liable  to  change 
and  to  undergo  the  putrefactive 
process ;  and  that  of  carniverous 
auim.als,  more  rapidly  than  that  of 
graminiverous  animals.  In  propor- 
tion as  there  is  more  gelatine  and 
albumen  in  urine.,  so  in  proportion 
does  it  putrefy  more  quickly. 

'"  The  species  of  urine  that  con- 
tain most  albumen  gelatine  and 
uria  are  the  best  manures ;  and  all 


urine  contains  the  essential  ele- 
m'^nts  of  vegetables  in  a  state  of 
solution. 

"  During  the  putrefaction  of 
urine  the  greatest  part  of  the  solu- 
ble animal  matter  that  it  contains 
is  destroyed  ;  it  should  consequent- 
ly be  used  as  fresh  as  possible  ;  but 
if  not  mixed  with  solid  matter  it 
should  be  diluted  with  water,  as 
when  pure  it  contains  too  large  a 
quantity  of  animal  matter  to  form  a 
proper  fluid  nourishment  for  ab- 
sorption by  the  roots  of  plants. 

"  Amongst  the  excrementitious 
solid  substances  used  as  manures, 
one  of  the  most  powerful  is  the 
dung  of  birds  that  feed  on  animal 
food,  particularly  the  dung  of  sea 
birds.  It  is  easy  to  explain  its  fer- 
tilizing properties ;  from  its  com- 
position it  might  be  supposed  to  be 
a  very  powerful  manure.  It  re- 
quires water  for  the  solution  of  its 
soluble  matter  to  enable  it  to  pro- 
duce its  full  beneficial  effect  on  the 
crops. 

"Night  soil,  it  is  well  known,  is 
a  very  powerful  manure,  and  very 
liable  to  decompose.  It  difTers  in 
its  composition,  but  always  abounds 
in  substances  composed  of  carbon, 
h}drogene,  azote,  and  oxygene. 
From  the  analysis  of  Berzelius,  it 
appears  that  a  part  of  it  is  always 
soluble  in  water;  and  in  whatever 
state  it  is  used,  whether  recent  or 
fermented,  it  supplies  abundance  of 
food  to  plants. 

"  The  disagreeable  smell  of  night 
soil  may  be  destroyed  by  mixing  it 
with  quick  lime  ;  and  if  exposed  to 
the  atmosphere  in  thin  layers 
strewed  over  with  quick  lime,  in 
fine  weather  it  speedily  dries,  is 


MAN 


MAN 


259 


easily  pulverised,  and  in  this  state 
may  be  used. 

"  The  Chinese,  who  have  more 
practical  knowledge  of  the  use  and 
application  of  manures  than  any 
other  people  existing,  mix  their 
night  soil  with  one  third  of  its 
weight  of  a  fat  marie,  make  it  into 
thin  cakes,  and  dry  it  in  the  sun. 
These  cakes,  we  are  informed  by 
the  French  missionaries,  have  no 
disagreeable  smell,  and  form  a  com- 
mon article  of  commerce  of  the  em- 
pire. 

"  The  earth  by  its  absorbent  pow- 
ers probably  prevents  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  action  of  moisture  upon 
the  dung,  and  likewise  defends  it 
from  the  effects  of  air. 

"After  night  soil  pigeon  dung 
comes  next  in  order,  as  to  fertiliz- 
ing power.  It  is  evident  that  this 
manure  should  be  applied  as  new 
as  po>-sible,  and  when  dry  it  may  be 
employed  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  other  manures  capable  of  being 
pulverized. 

"  ThedungofcZomes/ic/ow/^  ap- 
proaches very  nearly  in  its  nature 
to  pigeons'  dung. 

"  The  dung  of  cattle,  oxen  and 
cows  has  been  chemically  examined 
by  M.  M.  Einhotr  aiid  Thaer. 
They  found  that  it  contained  mat- 
ter soluble  in  water,  and  that  it 
gave  in  fermentation  nearly  the 
same  products  as  vegetable  sub- 
stances, absorbing  oxygene  and 
producing  carbonic  acid  gas. 

"  If  the  pure  dung  of  cattle  is  to 
be  used  as  manure  like  the  other  I 
species  of  dung   which  have  been 
mentioned,  there  seems  no  reason,  j 
why  it  should  be  made  to  ferment 
except  in  the  soil ;  or  if  suffered  to  i 


ferment  it  should  be  only  in  a  very 
slight  degree.  The  grass  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  recently  voided 
dung  is  always  coarse  and  daik 
green.  Some  persons  have  attri- 
buted this  to  a  noxious  quality  in 
unfermented  durg;  but  it  seems  to 
be  rather  the  result  of  an  excess  of 
food  furnished  to  the  plarits. 

"  The  question  of  the  proper 
mode  of  application  of  the  dung  of 
horses  and  cattle,  however,  proper- 
ly belongs  to  the  subject  oi  compo- 
site manures,  for  it  is  usually  mix- 
ed in  the  farm  yard  wifh  straw, 
olFdl,  chaff,  and  various  kinds  of 
litter;  and  itself  confaii\s  d  large 
proportion  of  fibrous  vegetable 
matter. 

"  A  slight  incipient  fermentation 
is  undoiibtedly  of  use  in  the  dimg- 
hi!l  ;  for  b)  means  of  it  a  disposi- 
tiotj  is  brought  on  in  the  woody  fi- 
bre to  decay  and  dissolve  when  it 
is  carried  to  the  land,  or  ploughed 
into  the  soil;  and  woody  fibre  is 
always  in  great  excess  in  the  refuse 
of  the  farm. 

"■  Too  great  a  degree  of  fermen- 
tation is  however,  very  prejudicial 
to  the  composite  manure  in  the 
dung-hill ;  it  is  better  that  there 
should  be  no  fermention  at  all  be- 
fore the  manure  is  used,  than  that 
t  should  be  carried  too  far.  The 
■xcess  offermentation  tends  to  the 
destruction  and  dissipation  of  the 
most  useful  part  of  the  manure ; 
and  the  ultimate  results  of  this  pro- 
cess are  like  those  of  combustion. 
It  is  a  common  practice  among  far- 
mers to  suffer  the  farm  yard  dung 
to  ferment  till  the  fibrous  texture  of 
the  vegetable  matter  is  completely 
broken  down ;  and  till  the  manure 


260 


MAN 


MAN 


becomes  perfectly  cold,  and  so  soft 
as  to  be  easily  handled  or  managed 
■w)th  the  spade.  Independent  of  the 
g<-!»(  ral  theoretical  views  unfavoiir- 
ahie  to  this  practice,  founded  npon 
til'-  ;!alure  and  coiiiposition  of  ve- 
getal>'c  substances,  thrre  are  many 
ar^o  lents  and  facts  which  shew  it  is 
pii-jii.licial  to  the  interests  of  the 
fanner. 

"  Dnrine  the  violent  fermenta- 
tion which  is  necessary  for  redu- 
ciiifj  (arm  \ard  mannre  to  the  state 
in  which  it  \?  ciWfd  short  niuck^not 
oiiiy  a  large  quantity  of  fluid  but  al- 
so of  a  gaseous  matter  is  lost,  so 
much  so  that  the  dung  is  reduced 
one  half  or  two  thirds  in  weight  ; 
and  the  principal  t-iastic  matterdis- 
engriged  is  carbonic  acid  with  some 
ammonia;  and  both  these  if  retain- 
ed by  the  moisture  in  the  soil  are 
capable  of  becoming  an  useful  nou- 
rishment of  plants.  Besides  the 
dissipation  of  gaseous  matier,when 
fer'nentation  is  pushed  to  the  ex- 
treme, there  is  another  disadvan- 
tage in  the  loss  of  heat,  which  if 
ex  'tpd  in  the  soil  is  useful  in  pro- 
Ui  (  '!g  the  germination  of  the 
se  and  in  a*sisti)ii>  tlie  plan!  in 
the  list  stage  oi  its  growth,  when  it 
is  most  feeble  and  liable  to  disease  ; 
and  the  fermeniation  of  manure  in 
the  soil  must  bo  particularly  fa- 
vourable to  the  wheat  crop  in  pre 
serving  a  genial  temperature  be- 
neath the  surface  late  in  autumn, 
and  during  winter. 

''Again  it  is  a  general  principle 
in  chemistry,  that  in  all  cases  of 
decomposition,  substances  combine 
much  more  readily  at  the  momt^nt 
oftheir  disengagement,  than  after 
they  have  been  perfectly  formed. 
And  in  fermentation   beneath  the 


soil  the  fluid  matter  produced  is  ap- 
[died  instantly  even  while  it  is 
warm  to  the  organs  of  the  plant, 
and  consequently  is  more  likely  to 
be  efficient  than  in  manure  that  has 
gone  through  the  process,  and  of 
which  all  the  principles  have  en- 
tered into  new  combinations. 

"  A  great  objection  against  slight- 
ly fermented  dung  is,  that  weeds 
spring  up  too  luxuriantly  where  it 
is  applied,  if  there  are  seeds  ear- 
ned out  in  the  dung  they  will  cer- 
tainly germinate;  but  it  is  seldom 
that  this  can  be  the  case  to  any  ex- 
tent:  if  the  land  is  not  cleansed  of 
weeds, an)  kind  of  manure  ferment- 
ed or  unfermented  will  occasion 
their  rapid  growth.  Ifsligh(l\  fer- 
mented farm  }ard  dung  is  used  as  a 
top  dressing  for  pastures,  the  long 
straws  and  nnfermeiited  vegetable 
matter  remaining  on  the  surface, 
should  be  removed  as  soon  as  the 
grass  begins  to  rise  vigorously,  by 
raking,  and  carried  back  to  the 
dung  hill  ;  in  this  case  no  mannre 
will  be  lost,  and  the  husbandry  will 
be  at  once  clean  and  economical. 

It  is  the  language  of  a  lazy  farm- 
er, to  say,  that  any  species  of  ma- 
nure is  objectionable  because  it  pro- 
duces weeds.  It  is  his  business  to 
extirpate  them,  and  the  oftener  he 
is  obliged  to  do  it,  the  better  for 
him.  and  for  the  crop.  Some  par- 
ticular weeds  may  be  excepted, 
such  as  the  couch  grass  and  other 
perennial  ones. 

''  In  cases  when  farm-yard  dung 
cannot  be  immediately  applied  to 
crops,  the  destructive  fermentation 
of  it  should  be  prevented  as  much 
as  possible.  The  principles  on 
which  this  may  be  eifected  have 
been  alluded  to. 


]\I  AN 


MAN 


261 


"  Watering  dung-hills  is  some- 
times recommended  lor  checking 
the  progress  of  fermentation  ;  but 
this  practice  is  inconsistent  with 
just  chemical  views.  It  may  cool 
the  dung  for  a  short  time,  but  mois- 
ture is  a  principal  agent  in  all  pro- 
cesses of  decomposition.  Dr)  fi- 
brous matter  will  never  ferment. 
Water  is  as  necessary  as  air  to  the 
process;  and  to  supply  it  to  fer- 
menting dung,  is  to  supply  an  agent 
which  will  hasten  its  decay. 

"  In  all  cases  where  dung  is  fer- 
menting, there  are  simple  tests  by 
which  the  rapidity  of  the  process 
and  consequently  the  injury  done 
may  be  discovered. 

"  If  a  thermometer  plunged  into 
the  dung  does  not  rise  to  above  100 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  there  is  lit- 
tle danger  of  much  aeriform  matter 
flying  ofT.  If  the  temperature  is 
higher  the  dungshoidd  immediate- 
ly be  spread  abroad. 

"  When  dung  is  to  be  preserved 
for  any  time,  the  situation  in  which 
it  is  kept  is  of  importance.  It 
should  if  possible  be  defended  from 
the  sun.  To  preserve  it  ur»der 
sheds  would  be  of  great  use  ;  or  to 
make  the  site  of  a  dung  hill  on  the 
north  side  of  a  wall.  The  floor  on 
which  the  dung  is  heaped,  should 
if  possible  be  paved  with  flat 
stones  ;  and  there  should  be  a  lit- 
tle inclination  from  each  side  to- 
wards the  centre,  in  which  there 
should  be  drains,  connected  with  a 
small  well,  furnished  with  a  pump, 
by  which  any  fluid  may  be  collect- 
ed for  the  use  of  the  land.  It  too 
often  happens  that  a  dense  mucila- 
ginous and  extractive  fluid  is  suflfer- 
ed  to  drain  away  from  the  dung-hill, 
50  as  to  be  entirel/  lost  to  the  farm. 


"  Street  and  road  diinfr  and  the 
sweepings  of  houses  may  be  all  re- 
garded as  composite  manures  ;  the 
constitution  of  them  is  necessarily 
various,  as  they  are  derived  from  a 
number  of  different  substances. 
These  manures  are  usually  applied 
in  a  proper  manner,  without  being 
fermented. 

'•  ^'oo<,  principallv  formed  from 
the  combustion  of  pit  coals,  gener- 
ally contains  substances  derived 
from  animal  matters.  This  is  a  very 
powerful  manure.  It  affords  am- 
moniacal  salts  by  distillation,  and 
yields  a  brown  extract  to  hot  wa- 
ter of  a  bitter  taste.  It  likewise 
contains  an  empjreumatic  oil.  Its 
great  basis  is  charcoal  in  a  state  in 
which  it  is  capable  of  being  render- 
ed soluble  by  the  action  of  oxygene 
and  water. 

"  This  manure  is  well  fitted  to 
be  used  in  the  dry  state,  thrown  in- 
to the  ground  with  the  seed,  and 
requires  no  preparation. 

"  The  doctrine  of  the  proper  ap- 
plication of  manures  from  organiz- 
ed substances  offers  an  illustration 
of  an  important  part  of  the  econo- 
my of  nature,  and  of  the  happ^  or- 
der in  which  it  is  arranged. 

"  The  death  and  decay  of  animal 
substances  tend  to  resolve  organiz- 
ed forms  into  chemical  constitu- 
ents ;  and  the  pernicious  effluvia 
disengaged  in  the  process  seems  to 
point  out  the  propriety  of  burying 
them  in  the  soil,  where  they  are 
fitted  to  become  the  food  of  vege- 
tables. The  fermentation  and  pu- 
trefaction of  organized  substances 
in  the  free  atmosphere  are  noxious 
processes  ;  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  ground  they  are  salutary  oper- 
ations.    In  this  case  the  food  of 


262 


MAP 


MAP 


plants  is  prepared  where  it  can  be 
used  ;  and  that  which  would  offend 
the  senses  and  injure  the  heaUh,  if 
exposed,  is  converted  by  gradual 
processes  into  forms  of  beauty  and 
usefuUiess  ;  the  foetid  gas  is  ren- 
dered a  constituent  of  ihe  aroma 
of  the  flower,  and  what  might  be 
poi?on  becomes  nourishment  to 
animals  and  to  men. 

MAPLE,  acer.  Though  Mr. 
Miller  reckons  nine  distinct  kinds 
of  maple,  I  know  of  but  two  that 
are  usually  to  be  found  in  this 
part  of  the  country. 

One  of  these  kinds  is  vulgarly 
called  red  maple,  Jlcer  rubrum. 
It  is  a  very  quick  growing  tree, 
and  therefore  ought  to  be  encour- 
aged in  forests,  especially  where  a 
quick  profit  is  desired.  But  the 
wood  is  soft  and  white,  not  inclin- 
ed to  burn  well  till  it  is  dried.  As 
timber,  it  is  valued  chiefly  by  tur- 
ners, by  farmers  for  ox  yokes,  and 
for  cabinet-work. 

The  other  sort,  called  rock-ma- 
ple, Acer  saccharinum,  is  much 
harder  and  heavier,  and  an  excel- 
lent wood  for  fuel,  being  inflamma- 
ble in  its  green  state,  and  durable 
in  the  tire.  Both  sorts  will  quick- 
ly decay,  when  exposed  to  the 
weather  ;  the  latter  is  less  durable 
than  the  former.  The  sap  of  tfie 
white  maple  is  drawn  by  many  for 
sugar.  But  it  yields  little  in  com- 
parison with  the  other. 

It  is  of  the  sap  of  the  rock-maple 
that  an  excellent  sugar  is  made, 
which  is  no  small  advantage  to  the 
planters  in  the  wilderness,  where 
the  trees  are  plenty,  and  the 
wounding  and  injuring  them  is  not 
considered  as  any  loss.  But  a 
farmer  that  wishes  his  trees  to  live 


and  grow  should  not  tap  them  for 
tlieir  sap;  because  it  stints  them 
in  their  growth,  and  often  causes 
them  to  decay  and  rot.     The  best 
method  of  tapping  has  been  late- 
ly  found   to     be     by    boring    the 
trees  :  So  that  the  discharge  of  the 
sap  may    be  stopped    at   pleasure 
with  a  peg,  as  there  may  he  occa- 
sion.    "  When  a  plenty  of  sap  is 
collected,  )ou  should  have  three 
kettles  of  different  sizes.     Fill  the 
largest    kettle    with  sap.     To  six 
gallons  of  sap  put  in  one  heaped 
table-spoonful    of    slacked    lime, 
which  will  cause  the  sugar  to  gra- 
nulate.    Boil  the  sap  in  the  large 
kettle,  taking  off  the   scum  as  it 
rises,  till  the  quantity  is  so  dimin- 
ished that  the  second  kettle  will 
hold  it.     Shift  it  into  the  second 
kettle,  and  fill  the  large  kettle  with 
fresh  sap.     Let  both  boil  till  the 
third  or  smallest  kettle  will  hold 
the  sap  contained  in    the  second 
kettle.     Shift  it  into  that,  and  the 
sap  in  the  first  into  the  second,  and 
fill  the  first  with  fresh  sap.     Boil 
the  sap  in  the  smallest  kettle,  till 
it  becomes  ropy,   which  you  will 
know  by  taking  out  a  little  with  a 
stick,  and  trying  it  between  your 
thumb  and  finger.     Put  it  into  the 
cooler,  and  keep  it  stirring  till  the 
next  parcel  is  done,  and  put  that 
into  the  cooler,  and  contiiuie  the 
stirring.     When  the  third   parcel 
is    ready,    put   that   also  into  the 
cooler,  with  the  other,  and  stir  the 
whole   smartly  till    it   granulates. 
Put  it  into  moulds.     Earthen  ones 
are  best.    Wooden  ones  are  made 
by  nailing  or  pinning  four  boards 
together,  so  shaped  as  to  make  the 
mould  one  inch  diameter  at  the 
bottom,  and  ten  or  twelve  inches 


MAP 


MAR 


263 


at  the  top.  The  length  may  be 
two  feel,  or  two  and  a  half.  The 
moulds  must  be  sto[)ptd  at  the 
small  ends.  The  sugar  must  then 
be  put  into  the  moulds.  Next 
morning  the  stoppers  must  be ! 
takeh  out,  and  the  moulds  put  on 
troughs  to  drain  their  molasses,  hi 
the  evening  the  loaves  must  be 
pierced  at  the  small  ends,  to  make 
them  run  their  sirrup  freely.  This 
maj  be  done  by  driving  in  a  wood- 
en pin,  shaped  like  a  marling-spike, 
three  or  four  inches  up  the  loaf: 
After  which  they  must  be  left  to 
drain  their  molasses,  which  will  be 
done  in  a  shorter  or  longer  time, 
according  as  the  sugar  has  been 
boiled." — American  Museum. 

It  is  practised  in  England,  to 
plant  a  large  sort  of  maple  on  the 
margins  of  plantations  against  the 
sea,  as  they  thrive  well  in  such 
situations,  and  serve  to  screen  the 
plantations  of  other  kinds. 

Mr.  Miller  says,  "  All  sorts  of 
maple  may  be  propagated  by  cut- 
tings. And  that  if  they  be  cut 
from  the  trees  before  the  buds  be- 
gin to  swell,  and  before  the  ground 
be  fit  to  receive  them,  they  may 
be  wrapped  in  moss,  and  put  in  a 
cool  place,  where  they  may  be 
kept  a  month  or  five  weeks  with- 
out injury."  The  trees  may  also 
be  propagated  by  sowing  the  seeds, 
commonly  called  keys. 

MARE.  Breeding  mares  should 
be  free  from  diseases  ;  and  have 
good  eyes;  because  the  colts  are 
apt  to  inherit  their  distempers. 
They  should  be  the  strongest, 
best  spirited,  and  well  shaped  ; 
not  of  any  bad  colour.  If  any 
defects  are  dispensed  with,  the 
mare    and     the    stallion    should 


by  no  means  have  the  same 
defects.  In  such  case  there  can 
he  but  little  prospect  that  the  issue 
will  be  good.  Some  say  they 
should  not  breed  with  stallions 
of  the  same  blood.  Crossing  the 
breed  is  said  to  be  of  great  conse- 
quence. Mares  should  not  be  suf- 
fered to  breed  till  after  four  years 
old  ;  and  the  best  time  for  them 
to  take  horse  is  about  the  lat- 
ter end  of  June,  then  they  will 
not  foal  till  the  same  part  of  the 
month  of  the  following  May,  when 
the  grass  will  be  grown,  which  is 
better  to  make  mares  give  milk 
than  dry  food  is. 

Mares  with  foal  should  be  housed 
the  earlier  in  the  fall,  and  fed  well 
till  foaling.  For  the  last  month  or 
two  before  foaling,  they  should  not 
be  ridden  swiftly,  nor  be  put  to 
draw  at  all  nor  to  carry  heavy  bur- 
dens on  their  backs. 

MARKING  of  cattle.  As  one 
man's  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep, 
have  very  often  such  a  resem- 
blance to  those  of  another,  that 
they  cannot  easily  be  distinguish- 
ed ;  and  as  they  often  graze  to- 
gether on  commons,  or  in  common 
pastures,  marks  for  these  ditierent 
animals  have  been  found  neces- 
sary. 

I  have  known  no  other  marking 
used  for  horses  than  branding  with 
a  hot  iron,  on  the  shoulder  or 
thigh.  As  these  marks  are  not 
ornamental,  most  persons  choose 
that  their  horses  should  have  no 
marks,  but  natural  ones,  as  they 
are  called,  such  as  particular  spots 
on  them  of  different  colours,  izc. 
In  this  case,  these  natural  discrimi- 
nations should  be  registered  ;  be- 
cause, in  cases  of  dispute  in  law, 


264 


MAR 


MAR 


no  owner's  word,  who  is  a  party. 
will  (>e  taken  as  evidence. 

The  marking  oC  neat  cattle  on 
the  horn,  with  the  branding  iron, 
is  so  easily  done,  and  without  giv- 
ing them  pan».  and  is  so  perrnaiient, 
that  it  should  never  be  neglected. 
The  brand  should  be  made  nearer 
the  pouit  than  the  root  of  the  horn, 
on  the  outside  vvhicii  is  most  ex 
posed  to  view,  and  not  very  deep, 
especialiy  on  young  cattle,  which 
have  thinner  horns  tnan  the  older 
ones.  Burning  a  horn  through  to 
the  pith  will  hurt  a  creature,  and 
will  spoil  the  horn  lor  certain  uses 
afterwards. 

Tlie  same  kind  of  mark  wouid 
be  preferable  for  sheep,  if  the)  aii 
had  horns  ;  as  they  have  not,  some 
other  mark,  alike  suitable  for  all, 
should  be  used.  Marking  them  on 
the  wool  is  a  bad  practice.  Some 
of  the  wool  is  spoiled  and  lost  b) 
it ;  and,  at  longest,  it  can  last  only 
to  the  next  shearing ;  oftentimes 
not  so  long ;  and  an  uncertain  mark 
is  worse  than  none.  The  ear  mark 
must  be  used,  though  the  opera- 
tion gives  some  pain  to  the  ani- 
mals. I'hese  marks  may  be  dis- 
tinct for  a  great  lunnber  of  flocks. 
And  these  marks  should  be  matter 
of  record. 

MARLE.  Although  we  do  not 
know  that  marie  has  been  disco- 
vered, or  at  any  rate  ever  applied  in 
New-England,  yet  we  reel  it  a  duty 
in  a  work  like  the  present  to  in- 
troduce a  manure,  which  has  had 
so  groat  a  reputation,  and  produced 
so  great  etf'  cts  in  Europe. 

Marie  effervesces  with  acids  ; 
but  this  etierve^cfure  does  not  dis- 
tinguish it  Irom  other  calcanous 
fossils. 


It  has  been  said  that  a  most  in- 
fallible Way  to  distinguish  marie 
from  other  earths,  is,  to  drop  a 
piece  of  dry  marie,  as  big  as  a 
nutmeg,  into  a  glass  of  clear  wa- 
ter, where  it  will  send  up  many 
sparkles  to  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter, and  soon  dissolve  into  a  soft 
pap.  But  I  have  found  that  some 
clays  exhibit  nearly  the  same  ap- 
pearances. 

Soinetiaics  the  beds  of  marie  arc 
near  the  surface,  but  they  are  of- 
tener  found  deep  in  the  earth. 

It  is  sometimes  found  on  the 
banks  of  ditches,  by  means  of  the 
rank  growth  of  weeds  and  grass  on 
it.  Borirg  with  a  long  auger,  or 
the  screw  borer,  may  di'^cover 
where  it  is.  Two  kinds  of  ntarle 
were  lately  found  at  Penobscot  in 
digging  a  well.  Sometimes  it  is 
very  dry  and  compact  in  the  earth, 
but  in  some  places  almost  liquid. 
Earths,  thrown  out  of  wells,  if  they 
have  a  clayey  appearance,  should 
always  be  examined. 

Maries  have  been  known  to  fer- 
tilize all  kinds  of  soil,  but  light 
sandy  ones  more  than  any  other. 
But  as  Dr.  A.  Hunter,  by  decom- 
pounding, has  proved  that  marie 
consists  of  particles  of  lime-stone, 
mixed  with  clay  or  sand,  or  both; 
according  as  either  of  these  ingre- 
dients is  more  predominant  in  it, 
the  soil  will  be  indicated  for  which 
it  is  most  suitable.  That  which 
contains  the  least  proportion  of 
clav  will  be  proper  manure  for  a 
stiff  soil,  being  of  the  most  absor- 
bent kind  ;  that  which  has  the 
largest  proportion  of  clay  should 
be  applied  to  a  sandy  soil.  To 
disrover  the  proportion  of  these 
substances  in  marles,  the  same  in- 


MAR 


MAR 


265 


genious    writer     advises    as    fol- 
lows : 

''  Having  dried  and  powdered 
the  nfiarle  to  be  examined,  pour 
upon  Huy  e;ivcn  weight  ot  it  a  smaii 
quantity  of  water.  To  this  mix- 
ture, well  shaken,  add  a  little  of 
the  acid  of  sea  salt,  and  when  the 
consequent  effervescence  is  over, 
add  a  little  more.  Repeat  this 
addition  at  proper  intervals,  till  no 
more  effervescence  ensues.  Then 
throw  the  whole,  with  an  equal  or 
greater  proportion  of  water,  into  a 
filter  of  grey  paper,  whose  weight 
is  known.  When  all  the  fluid 
parts  have  passed  through,  fill  up 
the  filter  again  and  again,  witli 
warm  wattir.  By  this  means  the 
dissolved  particles  of  calcareous^ 
earth,  adhering  to  the  residue,  or 
entangled  in  the  pores  of  the  paper, 
will  be  washed  away,  and  nothing 
but  what  is  really  unsohible  will 
remain  in  the  filter.  This  residu- 
um, with  the  filter,  must  be  com- 
pletely dried  and  weighed.  Then 
the  difference  betwixt  it  weight 
and  the  original  weight  of  the  filter, 
gives  you  the  weight  of  unsoluble 
parts  contained  in  the  marie  under 
examination.  Th  s  being  known, 
the  proportion  of  calcareous  earth 
in  the  same  marie  is  evident.  The 
proportions  of  clay  and  sand  in  it 
are  discovered  by  subjecting  the 
residuum  to  a  proper  elutriation. 
This  operation  is  very  simple,  and 
performed  thus-  Having  weighed 
the  dry  residue,  mix  and  shake  it 
well  with  a  suflicient  quantity  of 
water.  After  allowing  a  little  time 
for  the  subsidence  of  the  grosser 
parts,  let  the  water,  with  the  finest 
particles  of  clay  suspended  in  it, 
34 


be  gently  poured  off.  When  this 
is  done,  add  more  water  to  the 
remainder,  and  after  sufficient  mix- 
ture and  subsidence,  pour  off  that 
likewise.  In  the  same  mariner 
repeat  the  operation,  again  and 
again,  till  the  water  comes  over 
perfectly  pure.  The  substance 
which  then  remains  is  sand,  mixed 
perhaps  with  some  flakes  of  talc  5 
and  whatever  this  substance  wants 
of  the  weight  of  the  residue  em- 
ployed, is  the  weight  of  pure  clay 
carried  away  by  tlie  water  in  the 
process  of  elutriation.'* — Georgi' 
cal  Essays. 

If  five  parts  in  six  prove  to  be 
calcareous  in  a  piece  of  marie,  the 
lime  is  predominant,  and  it  is  fit 
for  the  stiffer  soils;  if  two-thirds 
only  be  calcareous,  and  the  rest 
clay,  it  is  fit  for  a  sandy  soil,  (SiC. 

The  calcareous  part  of  marie 
does  not  produce  so  quick  an  effect 
as  lime,  when  used  as  manure ; 
becaase  the  latter  is  burnt,  and 
flakes  suddenly.  This  seems  to 
be  the  true  difference,  which  is 
not  essential ;  because  the  calca- 
reous part  of  marie  gradually  flakes 
in  the  eaith  without  burning.  Like 
lime,  it  attracts  and  imbibes  the 
acids  of  the  earth  and  air,  forming 
a  salt,  which  dissolves  the  oils,  in- 
creases the  pasture  of  plants,  and 
prepares  the  food  of  plants  to  enter 
their  roots. 

The  quantity  of  marie  to  be 
applied  to  an  acre  is  about  sixty 
loads.  Some  sandy  soils  may  bear 
more  of  the  clay  marie  ;  rich  soils 
need  not  near  so  much,  of  the  kind 
of  marie  which  suits  them. 

Marie  should  be  mellowed  by 
the  frost  of  one  winter  before  it  is 


266 


MAR 


MAR 


buried  in  the  soil ;  even  in  this 
case,  it  will  not  fertilize  the  soil  so 
much  the  first  year  as  afterwards. 
Some  marles  do  not  produce  their 
full  tflfect  till  the  third  year,  as 
they  dissolve  slowly.  Some  say 
the  good  eflftct  of  one  full  dressing 
with  marie  will   last   thirty  years. 

As  good  soils  may  be  overdone 
with  this  manure,  it  is  better  to 
err  at  first  in  laying  on  too  little 
than  too  much.  More  may  be 
added  at  any  time.  As  the  princi- 
pal elTects  <jf  marie  are  like  those 
of  lime,  it  is  nol  to  be  expected 
that  marling  a  second  time  will 
have  so  good  an  eflfect  as  the  first. 
This  observation  is  said  to  be  con- 
firmed by  experience. 

There  is  another  sort  of  marie 
no  less  valuable  than  the  former 
kind  ;  and  much  used  in  old  coun- 
tries. It  is  composed  chiefly  of 
broken  shells,  which  were  undoubt- 
edly once  the  shells  of  marine 
animals,  mixed  with  a  proportion 
of  sand.  It  sometimes  also  con- 
tains a  mixture  of  moss  and  decay- 
ed wood. 

This  marie  is  usually  found  un- 
der moss,  or  peat,  in  low  sunken 
parts  of  the  earth  ;  and  especially 
those  which  are  nigh  to  the  sea, 
or  considerable  rivers.  Mr.  Mills 
says,  "Whoever  finds  this  marie 
finds  a  mine  of  great  value.  It  is 
one  of  the  best  and  most  general 
manures  in  nature  ;  proper  for  all 
soils,  and  particularly  so  for  clay." 
This  sort  of  marie,  as  well  as  the 
other,  may  be  easily  found  by  bor- 
ing. It  has  been  son)etimes  dis- 
covered by  ant  hills,  as  these  in- 
sects bring  up  some  small  pieces 
of  shells  from  their  holes.     One 


would  think  that  this  country 
must  be  furnished  as  plentifully 
as  any  other  with  this  kind  of 
marie ;  whether  we  suppose  the 
beds  to  have  been  formed  by  the 
general  deluge,  by  the  raging  of 
the  sea  and  inundations  since  that 
great  event,  or  by  the  shifting  of 
the  beds  of  rivers. 

The  goodness  of  this  marie  de- 
pends upon  the  shells,  which  are 
the  principal,  and  sometimes  al- 
most the  whole  that  it  contains. 
It  is  much  of  the  nature  of  lime, 
and  will  go  further  than  other 
marie.  It  efi'ervesces  strongly  with 
all  acids. 

MARSH,  according  to  Dr.  John- 
son, a  fen,  bog,  or  swamp.  In  this 
country  the  word  is  used  only  to 
signify  flat  land,  bordering  on  the 
sea,  and  lying  so  low  as  to  be  often 
overflowed  by  the  tides,  when 
they  are  fullest. 

Marshes  are  distinguished  into 
high  marsh  and  low  marsh.  The 
former  bears  a  very  short  grass, 
but  in  many  places  very  thick ;  the 
latter  produces  a  tall  rank  grass, 
called  thatch.  Both  these  sorts  of 
grass  are  too  highly  impregnated 
with  salt  to  be  a  constant  food  for 
cattle  ;  but  the  long  grass  is  salter 
than  the  short,  as  it  is  oftener  wet- 
ted with  sea-water  during  its 
growth. 

It  is  esteemed  healthy  for  horses, 
cattle,  and  sheep,  to  have  some 
of  this  sort  of  Sand  in  their  pasture  ; 
or  to  be  turned,  now  and  then  for 
a  few  days,  into  a  marsh.  At  least 
it  saves  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  giving  them  salt.  In  England, 
it  is  thought  to  save  sheep  from 
that  fatal  distemper,  the  rot. 


ME  A 


ME  A 


267 


Marshes  are  certainly  the  rich- 
est of  our  lands,  as  appears  by  the 
astonishing  degree  of  fruitfulness, 
apparent  in  those  pieces  froni 
which  the  sea  has  been  excluded 
by  dikes.  Marsh  may  be  so  far 
improved  by  diking  and  tillage, 
without  manuring,  that  instead  of 
producing  less  than  one  ton  of  salt 
hay  per  acre,  it  shall  produce  three 
tons  of  the  best  kinds  of  hay.  The 
value  of  this  soil  must  needs  be 
great,  as  it  is  not  exhausted  by 
cropping,  and  needs  no  manure, 
unless  it  be  sand,  or  some  other 
cheap  substance,  to  dry  and  harden 
it. 

Some  marshes  require  a  dike 
to  exclude  the  sea,  long  in  propor- 
tion to  the  land  it  contains  ;  others 
a  short  one,  as  where  the  marsh  is 
narrowest  towards  the  sea.  He 
that  possesses  a  marsh  of  the  latter 
kind,  can  undertake  no  business 
that  will  be  more  profitable  than 
diking  it.  Two  men  can  easily 
build  a  rod  of  dike  upon  high  marsh 
in  a  day.  Through  the  hollows 
and  creeks,  more  work  will  be  re- 
quired. 

If  a  marsh,  after  it  is  diked, 
should  be  rather  too  wet  for  til- 
lage, a  ditch  should  be  made  round 
by  the  upland  to  cut  off  the  fresh 
water,  both  above  and  below  the 
surface,  and  lead  it  to  the  outlet 
or  sluice.     See  Dike,  and  Sluice. 

MATTOCK,  a  pickaxe.  This 
is  a  useful  instrument  in  sinking 
wells,  digging  trenches,  ditches, 
&c. 

MEADOW,  grass  land  for  mow- 
ing. In  this  country  the  word  is 
seldom  used  to  signify  upland 
mowing  ground,  but  that  which  is 


low  and  moist,  and  seldom  or  never 
ploughed.  In  other  countries  it  is 
the  name  of  all  mowing  grounds. 

Too  much  or  too  httle  moisture 
is  hurtful  to  these  meadows,  'i'hose 
that  are  apt  to  be  too  wet  should 
be  made  drier  by  ditching  or  by 
draining,  if  it  be  practicable.  They 
may  be  made  drier  also  by  spread- 
ing sand,  gravel,  or  coal  dust,  upon 
them  :  At  the  same  time,  their 
fruitfulness  will  be  increased,  and 
better  kinds  of  grass  may  be  intro- 
duced. 

When  they  are  become  dry, 
they  should  be  ploughed  and  till- 
ed, if  the  soil  be  not  a  tough  clay 
with  only  an  inch  or  two  of  black 
mould  above  it.  In  this  case,  I 
think  a  low  meadow  should  not  be 
ploughed  at  all.  Instead  of  plough- 
ing, perhaps,  it  would  be  better  to 
cut  away  the  hillocks  and  uneven- 
nesses  ;  which  by  rotting  in  heaps, 
or  burning,  may  be  converted  into 
good  manure  for  the  soil.  And  to 
increase  the  thickness  of  good  soil, 
let  sand  and  other  earths,  with 
dung,  be  spread  over  it. 

When  the  soil  is  a  loose  crum- 
bly clay,  such  as  is  found  under 
some  meadows,  such  a  meadow 
may  be  converted  to  tillage  land 
with  great  advantage. 

Flooding  in  the  spring  not  only 
enriches  the  soil  of  meadows,  but 
makes  them  bear  a  sharp  drought 
better.  It  causes  the  grass  to 
grow  so  rapidly  that  the  soil  is 
sooner  screened  from  the  scorch- 
ing heat  of  the  sun. 

Particular  care  should  be  always 
taken  to  keep  cattle  out  of  mea- 
dows in  the  spring  and  fall,  when 
they  are  very  wet  and  soft.     For 


268 


ME  A 


ME  A 


they  will  so  break  and  spoil  the 
s"'i;d  wall  their  feet,  that  it  will 
noi  be  tit  for  mowing,  nor  bear 
more  ?han  half  a  crop.  All  the 
fall  [ei-dm^y  of  such  land  should  be 
over,  before  the  heaviest  rains  o' 
aiitiitnn.  hi  the  spring,  no  hoof 
should,  by  au>  means,  be  suffered 
to  ijo  upon  a  soft  meadow.  It  oc- 
ca^^ioMS  so  much  loss  and  damage, 
th^it  a  farmer  had  better  give  treble 
price  for  hay  to  feed  his  cattle,  or 
buy  corn  for  them,  than  to  turn 
th^m  in.  as  some  do,  to  eat  the 
gra^s  that  first  springs,  and  which 
h^"^  hut  little  more  nourishment  in 
it  than  water.  No  hushnndry  can 
be  worse,  if  husbandry  it  may  be 
called. 

Vleadows  that  bear  poor  water- 
grasi-es  should  be  mown  rather  be- 
ftire  i!ie  grass  is  grcnn  to  its  full 
si/ ^  The  hay  will  be  so  mucli 
sweeter  and  better,  that  what  it 
wants  in  quantity  will  be  more 
than  made  up  in  its  qut^lity.  And 
the  lo>ss  of  quantity  ma\  peihaps  ; 
made  up  in  fall  feeding  ;  or  else  a 
second  crop  may  be  taken. 

I  have  long  observed  that  heav) 
rains  commonly  fall  before  the  end 
Of  August,  by  which  low  meadows 
are  often  flooded.  Th^^efore, 
there  is  danger  in  delaying  to  mow 
them  till  it  is  so  late.  The  crop 
may  be  either  totally  lost,  or  men 
must  work  in  the  water  to  save  it 
in  a  damaged  condition. 

MEASLES,  a  disease  in  swine. 
The  eyes  are  red  and  inflamed, 
and  the  skin  rises  in  pimples,  and 
runs  into  scabs.  To  cure  a  swine 
of  this  disease,  takehalf  a  spoonf(j| 
of  spirit  of  hartshorn,  and  two 
ounces  of  bole  armoniac,  mix  it 


wifh  meal  and  water,  and  ?ive  it 
him  ;n  the  morning  when  he  is 
hungry.  Repeat  the  dose  every 
da),  nil  he  is  cured,  which  will  be 
in  four  or  five  days. 

MEAT.  Preservation  of.  Meat 
may  be  preserved  fresh  many 
months,  by  keeping  it  immersed  in 
molasses.  A  joint  of  meat,  or  any 
provision,  suspended  in  a  flannel 
l>ag  will  keep  sweet  much  longer 
than  by  most  of  the  modes  com- 
monly practised.  The  cooler  and 
dryer  the  meat  is,  when  the  flainiel 
IS  put  round  it,  the  better,  and  the 
flannel  should  be  perfectly  clean. 
Fri'sh  meat  put  in  a  close  vessel, 
containing  vinegar  will  be  preser- 
ved a  considerable  time.  Tainted 
meat  may  be  rendered  good,  by 
pickling  it  in  pearl-ash  water  some 
lime.  Before  it  is  cooked,  how.jV- 
ever,  it  should  be  dipped  in  vine- 
gar a  short  time,  and  then  salted  in 
brine.  When  meat  has  become  in 
some  degree  putrid  it  may  be  cur- 
ad  by  putting  it  into  a  vessel  and 
boiling  it,  aud  skimming  off  the 
>cum.  'i'hen  throw  into  the-  sauce- 
pan a  burning  coal,  viry  compact 
and  destitute  of  smoke  ;  leave  it 
there  for  two  nsinuti-y,  and  it  will 
have  contracted  all  the  smel!  of  the 
meat. 

When  meat  has  become  f;iinfed, 
after  having  been  pickled  or  salted 
down,  the  following  process,  it  is 
said,  will  cure  it :  Take  a  suflicient 
quantity  of  charcoal,  and  after  ta- 
king out  the  meat,  and  throwing 
away  the  otfensive  pickle,  repack 
it  in  the  barrel,  lay  pieces  of  char- 
coal between  the  pieces  of  meat, 
and  make  a  new  pickle,  adding  a 
little  salt  petre.       In  about  five  or 


MET 


MIC 


269 


six  days  the  meat  will  become  as 
sweet  as  when  it  was  first  packed 
See  Sallinsr  of  Meat. 

MELON, a  pleasant  tasted,cool- 
ing  fruit.  It  grows  best  in  a  warm 
climate  ;  and  is  large  and  excel- 
lent in  the  southern  States.  But 
they  will  ripen  in  New-England, in 
the  common  way  of  planting  ;  but 
are  not  so  large,  nor  so  early  in  the 
most  northern  parts.  Some  im- 
provement has  lately  been  made  in 
this  fruit,  by  bringing  seeds  from 
the  southward.  Whether  this  will 
be  a  lasting  advantage  time  will 
shew. 

Melons  grow  best  on  a  sand\ 
loam,  which  has  a  warm  exposure 
to  the  south  or  south-east.  I  h*- 
vines  should  be  sheltered  against 
cold  winds  which  stop  theirgrowth  : 
and  against  boisterous  winds  from 
any  quarter  which  will  hurt  thein, 
by  disturbing  and  displacing  their 
viries. 

A  good  manure  to  be  put  under 
melons,  is  an  old  compost  of  good 
loam,  with  the  dung  of  neat  cattle 
or  swine.  The  ends  of  the  runner?, 
and  the  fruit  latest  formed,  should 
be  taken  oflf,  that  the  fruit  first  for- 
med may  have  more  nourishment, 
grow  larger,  and  arrive  to  the 
greater  perfection.  To  raise  me- 
lons on  hot  beds,  under  frames,  or 
under  hand  glasses,  see  Gardener's 
Dictionary. 

METHEGLIN,  a  pleasant  fer- 
mented liquor,  made  of  honey  and 
water.  It  is  made  thus  :  Put  so 
much  new  honey  into  spring  wa- 
ter, that  when  the  honey  is  dissol 
ved,  an  egg  will  not  sink  to  the 
bottom.  Boil  the  liquor  for  an 
hour.     When  cool,  barrel  it   up. 


adding  a  spoonful  of  yeast  to  fer- 
ment it.  Some  add  ginger  lialf  an 
ounce  to  a  barrel,  and  as  much 
cloves  ai»d  mace  ;  but  I  have  it  very 
good  without  any  spices.  One 
luiiidred  weight  of  honey  will  make 
a  barrel  of  metheuhn,  as  strong  as 
good  wine.  I  once  had  a  barrel 
made  with  90  pounds  of  honey.  Af- 
ter fermenting  and  fining,  it  was  an 
excellent  liquor;  some  part  of 
which  !  kept  bottled  several  years; 
it  loses  the  honey  taste  by  age,  and 
.jrows  lighter  coloured  :  But  on  the 
whole  it  does  not  improve  by  age, 
like  some  liquors. 

MICE,  a  well  known  genus  of 
quadrupeds,  troublesome  to  all 
iiousekeepers,  but  more  especially 
to  farmers,  and  those  who  keep 
juantities  uf  grain  in  their  houses, 
or  in  granaries.  Farmers  should 
know  the  best  ways  of  opposing 
their  depredations,  and  of  destroy- 
ing them.  The  field  mouse  eats 
the  bark  of  trees  in  nurseries  and 
young  orchards,  when  snow  is  on 
the  ground,  and  mostly  when  it  is 
deep.  A  good  way  to  prevent  this 
mischief  is  to  tread  down  the  snow, 
and  make  it  very  compact,  about 
the  stems  of  the  trees.  And  though 
laying  mulch  about  the  roots  of 
trees  be  good  for  the  trees,  it  occa- 
sions the  mice  to  increase  ;  there- 
fore I  do  not  go  into  that  practice, 
while  the  trees  are  small,  and  have 
a  smooth  bark.  It  is  only  while  the 
trees  are  young  that  mice  eat  the 
bark. 

It  has  been  said  of  late  that  the 
application  of  tanner's  spent  bark 
is  an  admirable  substitute  for  the 
mulch  so  much  recommended  by 
early  writers,  to  be  laid  about  the 


270 


MIC 


MIL 


roots  of  trees  to  keep  the  ground 
open.  The  evidence  in  favour  of 
it  i?  very  strons^,  and  it  is  certain 
th^t  it  will  atford  a  much  less  fa- 
vourable shelter  to  tield  mice. 
From  its  structure,  it  is  impossible 
for  them  to  burrow  into  it,  and  to 
form  nests,  and  it  is  probable  that 
it  will  produce  all  the  desired  ad- 
vantages of  keeping  the  roots  free 
from  plants  which  will  exhaust  the 
soil ;  at  the  same  time  that  it  will 
serure  our  trees  from  the  effects  of 
our  severe  droughts.  We  think 
that  sufficient  attention  has  not  been 
paid  to  the  differetjce  between  our 
summers,  and  those  of  any  of  the 
northern  parts  of  Europe.  Our  sky 
is  -nore  unclouded — our  droughts 
of  longer  continuance,  and  there- 
fore the  rule  applicable  in  Europe, 
will  uot  answer  for  this  country.  In 
winter  the  same  distinction  ought 
to  be  kept  in  mind.  Our  frosts  are 
so  penetrating,  and  so  deep,  that 
animals,  accustomed  to  live  on  ve- 
getable matter,  are  driven  from  the 
roots  of  grassjto  subsist  on  the  barks 
of  trees,  and  the  injuries  thus  in- 
flicted are  more  lasting,  and  more 
severe  than  any,  which  the  Euro- 
pean farmer  encounters.  If  the 
application  of  tanner's  bark  should 
prove  a  successful  remedy  against 
the  attacks  of  field  mice,  and  of 
drought,  we  shall  owe  much  to  the 
intelligent  farmer  of  Massachusetts, 
who  first  introduced  it  into  notice. 
There  is  scarcely  any  town  without 
a  tan-yard,  but  in  defect  of  tan- 
ner's bark,  it  has  been  suggested, 
that  the  breakings  of  flax, or  hemp, 
would  answer  the  same  purpose. 
We  have  not  so  much  confidence 
in  this,  except  against  insects,which 


make  a  lodgment  in  the  earth. 
Against  them  it  would  seem  to  be 
an  effectual  preservative,  if  it  were 
possible  to  procure  it  in  sufficient 
quantities.     See  Orchard. 

Take  a  spoonful  of  flour,  mixed 
with  some  scrapings  of  old  cheese, 
and  seeds  of  hemlock,  made  as  fine 
as  possible.  Set  it  where  the  mice 
haunt.  If  it  be  set  in  a  house,  let 
it  not  be  in  thesame  apartment  with 
any  thing  that  is  to  be  used  as  the 
food  of  man.  This  mixture  will 
destroy  all  the  mice  that  eat  it. 

But  since  many  fear  to  use  poi- 
son, they  may  take  them  alive  in 
wire  cages.  However,  instead  of 
the  round  ones  which  are  common- 
ly used,  I  would  recommend  square 
ones,  enclosed  in  thin  wooden  box- 
es, with  a  hole  in  the  box  against 
the  entrance  of  the  cage  ;  because 
a  mouse  will  not  so  readily  enter 
into  a  place  where  he  sees  another 
confined.  The  bait  may  be  a  rind 
of  cheese  scorched,  made  fast  to 
the  centre  of  the  bottom  of  the 
cage,  and  so  far  from  the  hole  that 
a  mouse  cannot  reach  it  till  he  has 
got  quite  into  the  cage.  For 
if  he  should  stick  in  the  passage, 
he  will  prevent  the  entrance  of 
others. 

MILDEW.  It  has  been  ascer- 
tained by  discoveries  since  the  date 
of  Dr.  Deane's  writings  on  agricul- 
ture, that  this  disease  is  occasioned 
by  a  minute  parasitic  fungus  or 
mushroom  called  by  botanists  Ure- 
do,  and  Puccinca,  on  the  leaves, 
stems,  and  glumes  or  chaff'  of  the 
living  plant.  The  roots  of  the  fun- 
gus, intercepting  the  sap,  intended 
by  nature  for  the  nutriment  of  the 
grain,  render  it  lean  and  shrivelled, 


MI  L 


MIL 


271 


and  in  some  cases  rob  it  complete- 
ly of  its  flour ;  and  the  straw  be- 
comes black  and  rotten,  unfit  for 
fodder. 

The  same  fungus  is  generated  on 
many  other  vegetable  substances 
besides  wheat.  Those  receiving 
the  infection  at  diflferent  seasons  of 
the  year,  form,  as  it  were,  conduc- 
tors from  one  to  the  other,in  which 
fungi  germinate,  effloresce, dissemi- 
nate and  die,  during  the  revolutions 
of  the  seasons.  The  fungus  having 
arrived  at  maturity  in  the  spring  on 
a  few  shrubs,  bushes  or  plants,  its 
seeds  are  taken  up  the  next  humid 
atmosphere,  (hence  the  erroneous 
idea  that  the  rust  or  mildew  is  cau- 
sed by  fog  alone)  wafted  into  the 
adjoining  fields,  and  the  nearest 
wheat  is  sure  to  sufTer  the  most 
from  it.  In  damp  weather  also,  its 
seed  is  more  immediately  received 
into  the  leaves  of  trees  and  shrubs, 
or  into  the  barks  and  fruits,  or  the 
stems  of  plants,  through  the  medi- 
um of  those  valves  or  mouths,  \vith 
which  nature  has  supplied  them, for 
the  admission  of  moisture. 

The  remedies  against  Rust  or 
Mildew  are,  1.  Cultivating  hardy 
sorts  of  wheat ;  2.  Early  sowing; 
3.  Raisingearly varieties;  4.  Thick 
sowing  ;  5.  Changes  of  seed  ;  6. 
Consolidating  the  soil  after  sowing ; 
7.  Using  saline  manures  ;  8.  Im- 
proving the  course  of  crops  ;  9.  Ex- 
tirpating all  plants  that  are  recep- 
tacles of  rust ;  and  10.  Protecting 
the  ears  and  roots  of  wheat  by  rye, 
tares  and  other  crops.  The  above 
remedies  are  enlarged  wpon  by  Sir 
John  Sinclair  in  "  The  Code  of  Ag- 
riculture,^'^ but  his  observations  are 
too  voluminous  to    quote  in  this 


place.  We  will  give,  however,his 
lOth  remedy,  as  follows  : 

"A  curious  and  most  important 
circumstance,  cotniected  with  the 
rust  in  wheat  remains  to  be  stated. 
In  the  northern  counties  of  Eng- 
land, where  it  is  the  practice  to  sow 
what  they  call  meslin  (blind  corn) 
or  a  mixture  of  rye  and  wheat,  it 
has  been  there  remarked,  that 
wheat,  thus  raised  is  rarely  infected 
by  the  rust.  It  is  singular  that  the 
same  circumstance  has  been  ob- 
served in  Italy.  In  an  account 
drawn  up  by  Professor  Symonds, on 
the  climate  of  that  country,  it  is  re- 
corded that  "  wheat  mixed  with  rye 
or  tares  escapes  unhurt."  It  would 
appear  from  tares  being  so  useful 
that  the  seed  of  the  fungus  must  be 
taken  up  by  the  root,  and  that  if  the 
root  be  protected  it  is  sufficient. 
This  seems  to  be  so  countenanced 
by  other  circumstances,  as  that  by 
treading  the  ground,  and  thick 
sowing  of  crops  of  wheat,  the  crop 
is  less  liable  to  be  affected  by  this 
disease  ;  the  access  of  the  seeds  of 
the  fungi  to  the  root  being  render- 
ed more  difficult.  Mr.  Knight  is 
decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  dis- 
ease is  taken  up  by  the  root,  and 
indeed  if  it  were  introduced  at  the 
ear  of  the  plant,  how  could  it  de- 
scend, and  infect  solely  the  stem, 
which  is  the  case  unless  when  the 
disease  is  inveterate. 

"  If  a  field  be  evidently  affected, 
and  the  progress  of  vegetation  stop- 
ped, the  only  way  to  preserve  the 
straw  and  the  grain,  if  any  has  been 
formed  from  being  entirely  lost,  is 
to  cut  it  down  immediately,  even 
though  the  crop  should  not  be  ripe. 
The  straw  is  thus  preserved  either 


272 


MIL 


MIL 


for  foo(1  or  litter;  and  it  is  main- 
taiiied  that  any  nourishment  in  the 
stem,  will  pass  into  and  feed  the 
grain,  and  make  a  greater  return 
than  could  well  be  expected. 

It  has  been  recommended  to 
sprinkle  wheat  while  growing. which 
appears  to  b.»  in  any  degree  atfect- 
ed  with  this  disease, with  a  solution 
of  salt  and  water,  which  may  be 
applied  by  means  of  a  mop.  The 
spnnkling  should  be  several  times 
repeated,  so  that  every  part  of  the 
plants  may  be  wetted,  and  it  is  said 
that  wherever  the  brine  touches 
the  rust  disappears.  Sir  John  Sin- 
clair observes  that  "'  In  the  course 
of  a  most  extensive  inquiry  into  the 
Causes  of  mildew  in  wheat,  and  the 
means  of  its  preve^ition,  it  appear- 
ed, that  a  farmer  in  Cornwall  was 
accustomed  to  manure  his  turnip 
land  with  the  refuse  salt  from  the 
pilchard  fishery;  and  that  ground, 
thus  treated  was  never  hahle  to  the 
mildew,  though  it  infested  the 
neighbourhood. 

A  gentleman,  who  is  at  once  a 
scientitic  and  practical  farmer,  and 
who  nas  had  great  experience  on 
this  as  well  as  most  other  subjects 
connected  with  the  agriculture  of 
New-England,  observes  that  "Mil- 
dew is  the  principal  obstacle  to  the 
growth  of  wh^at  and  rye  in  New- 
England,  and  it  is  probable  that  it 
is  connected  with  an  exposure  to 
the  desolating  winds,  which  blow 
from  the  ocean.  It  is  probable  that 
nature  has  pointed  out  to  us  the 
true  limits,  within  which  cereal  or 
graminiferous  plants  can  be  advan- 
tageously raised,  and  that  those  to 
whom  this  blessing  is  denied,should 
seek  to  obtain  an  equality,  by  con- 


fining their  attention  to  those 
oots,  and  plants,  which  are  not  so 
frequently  subject  to  such  evils. 
We  can  say  with  confidence  that 
•to  project  or  system  has  yet  been 
discovered  to  correct,  or  even  miti- 
gate the  evil." 

Perhaps,  however,  some  of  the 
remedies  ofSir  John  Sinclair,above 
mentioned  may  be  worth  the  trial, 
particularly  that  of  early  cutting. 

MiLK,a  nutritious  liquor,  which 
nature  prepares  in  the  breasts  of 
female  animals,  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  their  young.  The  milk 
of  cows  is  that  with  which  the  far- 
mer is  mostly  concerned. 

That  the  greatest  quantity  of  milk 
may  be  obtained  from  cows,  they 
should  not  calve  out  of  the  right 
season.  April  is  a  good  time  of  the 
year,  if  the  calves  are  to  be  r<'ar- 
ed  ;  if  not,  perhaps  May  is  better, 
being  rather  more  favourable  to 
the  diary.  But  that  cows  may 
give  plenty  of  milk  to  nourish  their 
calves  at  this  season,  they  should 
not  be  wholly  confined  to  hay,  or 
any  other  dry  meat  :  But  be  daily 
fed  with  some  kind  of  juicy  food, 
such  as  potatoes,  turnips,  cairots, 
&LC.  until  they  have  plenty  of  grass. 

In  feeding  milch  cows,  the  fla- 
vour of  the  milk  should  be  attend- 
ed to,  unless  it  be  when  their 
calves  suck  all  their  milk.  Feed- 
ing them  with  turnips  is  said  to 
give  an  ill  taste  to  the  butter  made 
of  the  milk.  The  decayed  leaves 
of  cabbages  will  undoubtedly  give 
a  bad  taste  to  the  milk,  though  the 
sound  heads  will  not.  There  is 
no  fear  of  potatoes  and  carrots 
having  any  bad  etfect  upon  the 
milk  in  this  way.     The  quantity  of 


MIL 


MIL 


273 


milk  is  greatly  increased  by  pota- 
toes, but  it  becomes  thinner.  Some 
think  carrots  have  a  tendency  to 
dry  up  the  milk  in  cows;  but  1 
have  assured  myself  of  the  contra- 
ry by  much  experience. 

The  milk  of  cows  in  summer  is 
sometimes  made  very  bitter  by 
their  feeding  on  ragweed,  which 
they  will  do,  when  they  are  very 
hungry.  To  prevent  this  evil  it  is 
only  necessary  that  they  should 
not  be  forced  to  eat  it  by  the  want 
of  other  food. 

"  Milk  consists  of  three  parts, 
namely  caseous,  butyrous,  and  se- 
rous. The  tirst  comprehends  the 
grosser  earthy  particles,  which 
serve  to  suspend  the  butyrous  part ; 
and  which,  when  coagulated  by  art, 
are  formed  into  Cheese.  The  se- 
cond ingredient  comprises  the  bu- 
tyraceous  or  oily  particles,or  cream, 
which  float  on  the  surface  of  milk, 
and  are  by  agitation  converted  into 
Butter.  The  serous  are  the  more 
watery  parts,  constituting  what  is 
called  whey,  and  serving  as  a  vehi- 
cle for  the  two  before  stated.  The 
most  wholesome  milk  is  that  which 
contains  a  due  proportion  of  the 
three  constituent  parts. 

"  To  preserve  milk,  add  five 
grains  of  magnesia  to  a  quart.  To 
ascertain  the  quantity  of  cream, 
which  will  be  afforded  by  various 
specimens  of  milk,  procure  half  a 
dozen  glass  tubes,  closed  at  one 
end,  9  inches  long,  and  half  an  inch 
in  diameter;  fix  them  in  a  wooden 
frame;  mark  on  each  4  several  in 
ches  from  the  top  as  a  scale.  'I'he 
cream  settling  at  the  top, after  (hey 
have  been  filled  with  milk,  will 
shew  the  quantity."  Domestic  En- 
cyclopedia. 35 


MILLET,  Panicum,  a  round  yel- 
lowish white  grain,  which  grows  in 
panicles  at  the  top  of  the  stalk. 
The  stalks  and  leaves  are  like  those 
of  Indian  corn,  but  smaller.  It 
grows  to  the  height  of  three  or  four 
feet.  A  sandy  warm  soils  suits  it 
best.  It  should  be  sown  about  the 
middle  of  May,  in  drills  three  feet 
apart.  The  plants  should  be  so 
thinned  at  the  first  hoeing  as  to  be 
about  six  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 
It  will  produce  as  large  crops  as  In- 
dian corn,  and  bears  drought  ad- 
mirably well.  Cattle  are  fond  of 
eating  it  green,  preferring  it  to  clo- 
ver. A  crop  of  it  sown  thick,  and 
mowed  green,  would  be  excellent 
fodder. 

Some  say  a  crop  may  be  obtain- 
ed by  sowing  it  at  about  midsum- 
mer.  Perhaps  it  may  be  so  in  hot- 
ter climates.  I  tried  the  experi- 
ment in  the  44th  degree  of  latitude, 
and  the  crop  was  little  better  than 
mere  chaff,  for  want  of  continuance 
of  heat  to  fill  the  grain. 

This  grain  appears  to  be  subject 
to  no  distemper;  but  when  it  is 
nearly  ripe,  the  birds  are  apt  to  get 
a  great  deal  of  it,  if  it  be  not  watch- 
ed carefully. 

The  way  to  harvest  it  is,  to  cut 
off  the  panicles  with  a  knife,  near 
the  uppermost  joint  of  the  stalk, 
put  them  into  sacks  or  sheets, carry 
them  to  the  barn  floor,  and  empty 
them  into  heaps,  covering  them 
wiih  cloths.  Af^ter  lying  five  or  six 
days,  it  mu^t  be  thrashed  and  clean- 
ed. It  should  be  dried  well  in  the 
sun,  before  it  is  stowed  away  in  the 
granary  ;  for  it  will  not  keep  well 
with  any  moisture  in  it. 

{Millet  is  an  excellent  food  for 


274 


MOS 


MOS 


fowls  and  swine;  for  the  latter  it 
should  be  ground  into  meal.  Some 
mix  it  with  flour  in  bread  ;  but  it  is 
better  for  puddings.  There  is  also 
a  red  sort  of  millet ;  but  this  I  have 
never  seen. 

MOLES.  The  Hon.  Jacob  Rush 
of  Philadelphia,  from  some  experi- 
ments was  of  opinion,  that  dri- 
ed cod-fish,  cut  into  small  pieces, 
and  put  into  the  earth,  will  drive 
away  moles  from  gardens.  Take  a 
small  round  stick  of  about  an  inch 
in  diameter,  sharpened  at  the  point, 
and  perforate  the  ground  in  the 
roads  of  the  moles  ;  drop  in  a  small 
piece  of  tish,  and  cover  the  hole 
with  a  lump  of  dirt,  and  your  gar- 
den will  be  rid  of  these  mischievous 
animals. 

MOSS,  Lichen,  a  sort  of  plant 
that  is  injurious  to  the  growth  of 
other  plants  in  general.  It  was  for- 
merly thought  to  be  an  excrescence ; 
but  even  the  minutest  kinds  are 
now  known  to  be  propagated  by 
seeds. 

Low  meadows  are  often  infested 
with  moss,  which  prevents  the  flou- 
rishing of  the  grass,  and  indicates 
the  coldness  and  sourness  of  the 
soil.  To  cure  meadows  of  moss 
they  should  be  top  dressed  with 
lime,  ashes,  and  other  absorbent 
manures  ;  as  well  as  laid  drier  by 
ditching  or  draining.  After  which 
lire  should  be  put  to  it  at  a  time 
when  it  will  burn  freely. 

Tillage  lands,when  they  are  laid 
down  to  grass,  often  become  mossy, 
especially  when  they  are  too  long 
in  ^*ras9.  Cold  loamy  soils  are  most 
subject  to  this  evil.  The  moss  on 
such  land  is  often  so  small,  as  to 
appear  only  as  a  green  mouldiness 


of  the  surface.  But  this  mould 
consists  of  distinct  minute  plants,as 
well  as  all  other  mouldiness,as  may 
be  seen  by  the  help  of  microscopes. 
It  dressings  of  warm  manures  do 
not  prove  sufficient  to  clear  the 
ground  of  this  moss,  it  should  be 
scarified,  or  harrowed,  or  else  bro- 
ken up  and  tilled.  For  if  it  be  per- 
mitted to  continue,  it  will  rob  the 
grass  of  most  of  its  food, 

A  very  long  white  or  yellowish 
moss  grows  in  wet  swamps.  Drain- 
ing the  swamps,  and  setting  fire  to 
the  moss  in  a  dry  season,  will 
commonly  be  sufficient  to  subdue  it. 

Moss  on  fruit  trees  is  detrimen- 
tal to  their  fruitfulness.  "  The  re- 
medy is  scraping  it  off  from  the  bo- 
dy and  large  branches,  with  a  kind 
of  wooden  knife,  that  will  not  hurt 
the  branches;  or  with  a  rough  hair 
cloth,  which  does  very  well  after  a 
soaking  rain.  But  the  most  effec- 
tual cure,  is  taking  away  the  cause. 
This  is  to  be  done  by  draining 
off  all  superfluous  moisture  from 
about  the  roots  of  the  trees.  And 
it  may  be  guarded  against  in  plant- 
ing the  trees,  by  not  setting  them 
too  deep  in  the  soil. 

"  If  trees  stand  too  thick  in 
a  cool  ground,  they  will  always 
be  covered  with  moss  ;  and  the 
best  way  to  remedy  the  fault  is 
to  thin  them.  When  the  young 
branches  of  trees  are  covered 
with  a  long  and  shaggy  moss,  it 
will  utterly  ruin  them  ;  and  there 
is  no  way  to  prevent  it,  but  to  cut 
off  the  branches  near  the  trunk,and 
even  to  take  off  the  head  of  the 
tree,  if  necessary,  for  it  will  sprout 
again.  And  if  the  cause  be  in  the 
mean  time  removed   by    thinning 


MOS 


MOW 


275 


the    plantation,   or    draining    the 
land,  (he  young  shoots  will  conti 
nue  clear  after  this. 

"  If  the  trees  are  covered  with 
moss  in  consequence  of  the  ground'.* 
being  too  dry  (as  this  will  happen 
from  either  extreme  in  the  soil) 
then  the  proper  remedy  is, the  lay- 
ing mud  from  the  bottom  of  a  pond, 
or  river,  pretty  thick  about  the 
roots,  opening  the  ground  to  some 
distance  and  depth  to  let  it  in. 
This  will  not  only  cool  it,  and  pre- 
vent its  giving  growth  to  any  quan- 
tity of  moss ;  but  it  will  prevent  the 
other  great  mischief  which  fruit 
trees  are  liable  to  in  dry  grounds, 
which  is  the  falling  of  the  fruit  too 
early."     Morlirner''s  Husbandry. 

"One  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
in  the  management  of  old  pasture 
lands,  is  to  prevent  that  immense 
growth  of  mosses,  by  which  the 
finer  species  of  grasses  are  apt  to 
be  overwhelmed.  Drainage,  and 
the  use  of  rich  composts,  are  in 
this  case  necessary,  and  tillage  it- 
self must  be  sometimes  resorted  to. 
Harrowing,  and  cross-harrowing, 
with  a  common  harrow  loaded  with 
a  weight,  so  as  to  go  from  one  to 
two  inches  deep,  with  a  sprinkling 
of  grass  seeds  afterwards,  and  some 
lime,  or  well  prepared  compost, are 
the  most  likely  means  of  destroy- 
ing the  moss,  and  improving  the 
pasture.  Feeding  sheep  with  oil 
cake,  and  allowing  them  to  pasture 
on  the  land,  has  also  been  found  ef- 
fectual for  the  destruction  of  moss, 
and  bringing  up  abundance  of  grass. 
But  the  radical  remedy  is  to  plough 
up  such  grass  lands,  upon  tlie  first 
appearance  of  moss,  or  before  it 
has  n»ade  any  considerable  pro- 
gress."    Code  of  .Agriculture. 


MOULD.  "Mould,  which  con- 
tains a  mixture  of  animal  and  vege- 
table remains,  particularly  from 
putrefaction,  is  an  essential  ingre- 
dient in  all  fertile  soils.  It  arises 
from  the  decomposition  of  the  roots 
and  leaves  and  vegetables  on  grass 
land,  and  the  stubble  and  roots  of 
grain  crops,  on  arable.  This  pio- 
cess  on  grass  lands  is  very  slow  ; 
tor  it  is  calculated  that  it  proceeds 
at  the  rate  of  only  one  inch  in  a 
century.  Considerable  accumula- 
lations  of  this  mould,  are  likewise 
produced  from  the  leaves  of  trees, 
amassed  for  a  number  of  years, and 
rotted  on  the  surface.  When  in 
addition  to  vegetable,  there  are  ani- 
mal remains,  in  a  state  of  decom- 
position, the  soil  is  distinguished 
for  its  fertility."  Code  of  Agricul- 
ture. 

MOULDBOARD,  that  part  of 
a  plough  which  turns  over  the  fur- 
row. For  ploughing  green  sward, 
an  iron  mouldboard  is  best :  ]( 
it  be  wood  it  ought  to  be  plated 
with  iron  to  prevent  its  being  soon 
worn  through.       See  Plough. 

MOW,  a  quantity  of  hay  ,or  grain 
in  the  straw,  piled  in  a  barn  for 
keeping.  Ground  mows  are  more 
liable  to  take  damage  by  moisture, 
than  mows  upon  scaffolds.  Mows 
of  grain  should  be  laid  upon  the 
latter.  The  larger  the  mow,  the 
drier  the  hay  or  sheaves  should  be 
of  which  it  consists.     See  Fodder. 

The  following  modes  of  prevent- 
ing hay  from  heating  in  the  bay  or 
mow  are  recommended  in  the 
"  Farmer's  Manual"  by  Frederick 
Butler. 

"  Let  your  bays  be  open  under 
the  bottom  for  a  free  circulation  of 


276 


MOW 


MOW 


air ;  fill  several  large  bags  with  hay, 
set  them  erect  upon  the  floor  of 
your  bays,  mow  the  clover  around 
them  with  as  little  treading  as  pos- 
sible ;  raise  up  your  bags  with  the 
rise  of  your  mow,  and  when  your 
mow  is  finished,  remove  the  bags  ; 
these  openings  will  serve  as  venti- 
lators, and  secure  your  mows  from 
healing.  If  you  reserve  your  wheat 
or  rye  straw  for  this  purpose,  and 
cover  your  clover  occasionally  as 
you  mow  it  with  straw  ;  your  straw 
■will  not  only  prevent  your  mow 
from  heating,  but  imbibe  the  mois- 
ture of  your  clover,  and  become 
valuable  feed  for  your  horses  and 
cattle,  and  thus  become  a  double 
saving.  One  bushel  of  salt  sprink- 
led on  your  clover,  as  you  mow  it, 
will  preserve  it  against  heating,and 
doubly  pay  }ou  in  the  value  it  will 
give  to  your  hay." 

MOWING,  the  operation,  or  art 
of  cutting  down  grass,  corn,  &c. 
with  a  scythe. 

They  who  have  not  been  in  their 
youth  accustomed  to  do  this  work, 
are  seldom  found  to  be  able  to  do 
it  with  ease  or  expeditiun.  But 
when  the  art  is  once  learnt,  it  will 
not  be  lost. 

As  this  is  one  of  the  most  labori- 
ous parts  of  the  husbandman's  cal- 
ling, and  the  more  fatiguing  as  it 
must  be  performed  in  the  hottest 
season  of  the  year,  every  precau- 
tion ought  to  be  used  which  tends 
to  lighten  the  labour.  To  this  it 
will  conduce  not  a  little,  for  the 
mower  to  rise  very  early,  and  be  at 
his  work  before  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  He  may  easily  perform  half 
the  usual  day's  work  before  nine  in 
the  morning.  His  work  will  not  on- 


ly be  made  easier  by  the  coolness 
of  the  morning  air,  but  also  by  the 
dew  on  the  grass,  which  is  cut  the 
more  easily  for  being  wet.  By  this 
means  he  may  lie  still  and  rest  him- 
self during  all  the  hottest  of  the 
day,  while  others  who  begun  late 
afe  sweating  themselves  excessive^ 
ly  ;  and  hurting  their  health,  pro- 
bably, by  taking  down  large 
draughts  of  cold  drink  to  slake  their 
raging  thirst.  The  other  half  of 
his  work  may  be  performed  after 
three  or  four  o'clock  ;  and  at  night 
he  will  find  himself  free  from  l"a- 
tigue. 

If  the  mower  would  husband  his 
strength  to  advantage,  he  should 
take  care  to  have  his  scythe,  and 
all  the  apparatus  for  mowing,  in 
the  best  order.  His  scythe  ought 
to  be  adapted  to  the  surface  on 
which  he  mows.  If  the  surface 
be  level  and  free  from  obstacles, the 
scythe  may  be  long  and  almost 
straight;  and  he  will  perform  his 
work  with  less  labour,  and  greater 
expedition.  But  if  the  surface  be 
uneven,  cradley,  or  chequered  with 
stones,  or  stumps  of  trees, his  scythe 
must  be  short  and  crooked.  Other- 
wise he  will  be  obliged  to  leave 
much  of  the  grass  uncut,  or  use 
more  labour  in  cutting  it.  A  long 
and  straight  scythe  will  only  cutoff 
the  tops  of  the  grass  in  hollows. 

A  mower  should  not  have  asnead 
that  is  too  slender;  for   this    will 
keep  the  scythe  in  a  continual  tre- 
mor, and  do  much  to  hinder  its  cut- 
j  ting.     He  must  see  that  it  keeps 
I  perfectly  fast  on  the  snead  ;  for  the 
>  leastdegreeof  looseness  will  oblige 
him  to  use  the  more  violence  at 
I  every  stroke.     Many  worry  them- 


MOW 


MOW 


277 


selves  needlessly  by  not  attending 
to  this  circumstance. 

Mowinf^  with  a  company  ought 
to  be  avoided  by  those  who  are  not 
yery  strong,  or  who  are  little  used 
to  the  busmess,  or  who  have  not 
their  tools  in  the  best  order.  Young 
lads,  who  are  ambitious  (o  be 
thought  good  mowers,  often  find 
themselves  much  hurt  by  mowing 
in  company. 

Mowers  should  not  follow  too 
closely  after  each  other :  For  this 
has  been  the  occasion  of  fatal 
wounds.  And  when  the  dangerous 
tool  IS  carried  from  place  to  place, 
it  should  be  bound  up  with  a  rope  of 
grass,or  otherwise  equally  secured- 

"  Mr.  de  Lisle  introduced  in  Eng- 
land, the  mowing  of  wheat.  The 
method  is  this :  The  scythe  he  uses 
is  at  least  six  inches  shorter  in  the 
blade  than  the  common  scythe  ;  and 
instead  of  a  cradle,  has  two  twigs 
of  osier  put  semi-circular  wise  into 
holes  made  in  the  handle  of  the 
scythe,  near  the  blade,  in  such  a 
manner  that  one  semi-circle  inter- 
sects the  other, 

"By  this  method  of  mowingwheat, 
the  standing  corn  is  always  at  the 
left  hand.  The  mower  mows  it  in- 
ward, bearing  the  corn  he  cuts  on 
his  scythe,  till  it  come  to  that  which 
is  standing,  against  which  it  gently 
leans.  After  every  mower  follows 
a  gatherer,  who,  being  provided 
with  a  hook  or  stick,  about  two  feet 
long,  gathers  up  the  corn,  makes  it 
into  a  gavel,  and  lays  it  gently  on 
the  ground.  This  must  be  done 
with  spirit,as  another  mower  imme- 
diately follows."  Complete  Farmer. 
As  reaping  is  slow  and  laborious 
work,  it  would   be  right  for  our 


countrymen  to  learn  this  method 
of  mowing  their  wheat;  which  will 
undoubtedly  answer  also  for  other 
sorts  of  grain. 

MOWING  GROUND,  a  name 
commonly  given  in  this  country  to 
land  that  is  mowed  for  hay  ;  wl.ich 
being  fit  for  either  mowing  or  til- 
lage, is  occasionally  used  for  the 
latter. 

The  generality  of  farmers,  in 
this  country,  lamentably  mistake 
their  intei est,  by  having  too  laige 
a  proportion  of  their  lands  in  grass 
tor  mowii'g.  Half  the  usual  quan- 
tity with  the  best  managemint, 
would  produce  as  much  hay  as 
th«>y  need,  a  great  deal  more  than 
they  commonly  get ;  besides  sav- 
ing them  expense  and  niuch  hard 
labour  ;  and  allow  them  to  convert 
half  their  mowing  land  to  tillage 
or  pasture  ;  especially  to  the  latter, 
which  is  m I'St  wanted. 

A  New  England  farmer  is  not 
contented,  unless  he  yearly  mows 
over  the  greater  part  of  his  clear- 
ed land  ;  because  he  supposes  that 
if  he  does  not,  he  shall  be  able  to 
winter  but  a  small  stock.  His 
grass  on  the  most  of  his  acres  must 
needs  be  very  thin,  even  when 
the  seasons  are  most  favourable ; 
therefore,  if  a  summer  happen  to 
be  dry,  the  soil,  which  is  so  poorly 
covered  as  to  retain  neither  dews 
nor  lains,  is  unavoidabi)  parched 
and  bound.  The  grass,  thus,  de- 
prived of  its  nouriiliment.  does  not 
get  half  its  usual  growth  in  a  dry 
season  ;  and  the  crop  turns  out  to 
be  almost  nothing.  The  di>trcss- 
ed  farmer,  not  knowing  how  lo  get 
fodder  for  bis  cattle  in  the  ensuing 
winter,  with  severe  labour  or  cost. 


278 


MOW 


MOW 


mows  his  dead  grass,  and  gets  per- 
haps four  or  five  cocks  iVom  an 
acre.  He  cannot  sell  otf  many  of 
his  stock,  because  of  the  general 
scarcity  of  hay  ;  nor  fatten  them 
to  kill,  for  want  of  grass  ;  there- 
fore he  keeps  them  along  poorly 
and  pinchingly,  till  the  ground  is 
bare  in  the  following  spring ;  then, 
to  save  their  lives,  he  turns  them 
into  the  mowing  ground,  as  soon 
as  there  is  the  least  appearance  of 
green  grass.  They  potch  the  soil 
to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  inches, 
which  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the 
growth  of  a  good  crop  that  year  ; 
as  it  sinks  a  great  part  of  the  sur- 
face to  such  a  depth  that  it  can 
produce  nothing  ;  tears  and  maims 
the  roots  which  remain  in  their 
places;  and  leaves  the  surface  so 
uneven,  that  if  a  crop  of  grass 
should  grow,  it  could  not  be  mown 
closely,  if  at  all.  Theiefore, 
through  want  of  hay,  the  soil  and 
sward  must  be  mangled  in  the 
same  way  the  spring  following ; 
and  so  on  from  year  to  year  per- 
petunJly.  How  absurd  and  ruin- 
ous this  practice  ! 

If  our  farmers  would  resolve 
they  will  mow  but  half  the  quan- 
tity of  ground  which  they  have 
mowed  liilherto,  1  should  think 
they  might  soon  tind  their  account 
in  it.  But  it  will  be  necessary 
that  they  should  adopt  a  new  kind 
of  ujanagement,  with  respect  to 
their  mowing  grounds. 

In  the  first  place,  let  them  not 
lay  down  to  grass  for  mowing,  any 
lands  that  are  quite  exhausted  by 
severe  cropping  ;  nor  without  ma- 
nuring them  well.     Good  crops  of 


grass  are  not  to  be  expected  when 
there  is  no  strength,  or  next  to 
none,  in  the  soil.  Therefore  the 
lands  should  be  dunged  when  the 
grass  is  sown,  unless  we  except 
clover  and  other  biennial  grasses. 
And  even  for  these  it  is  often  quite 
necessary,  always  advantageous. 

Also,  the  surface  should  be  rol- 
led after  the  seed  is  sown,  to  close 
the  mould  about  the  seeds,  to  pre- 
vent their  being  removed  by  strong 
winds,  to  prevent  the  surface  from 
being  irregularly  torn  by  the  frost 
of  winter,  and  to  make  the  soil 
smoother  for  mowing. 

Grass  land,  by  lying,  is  apt  to 
become  uweven,  and  knobby.  For 
this  reason  the  good  farmers  in 
England  pass  a  roller  over  their 
grass- land  every  spring  and  fall. 
It  gives  the  roots  of  grass  a  more 
equal  advantage  for  nourishment 
and  growth,  and  facilitates  the 
mowing  of  the  grass,  and  the  rak- 
ing of  the  hay. 

When  land  becomes  bound,  or 
mossy,  so  as  to  diminish  the  growth 
of  the  grass,  if  it  be  not  convenient 
for  the  farmer  to  break  it  up,  it 
should  be  cut,  or  scarified  by  a 
spiked  roller,  or  if  the  farmer  does 
not  possess  this,  by  a  heavy  load- 
ed harrow,  when  the  ground  is 
softened  by  rains,  or  by  the  com- 
ing out  of  the  frosts.  Then  dress- 
ed with  some  short  rotten  manure 
suited  to  the  soil  ;  bushed,  and  a 
roller  passed  over  it.  There  is 
no  danger  of  destroying  the  roots 
of  the  grass  by  this  operation. 
Though  they  are  broken  they  will 
be  speedily  renewed  ;  new  offsets 
will    be  more  plentifully   formed. 


MOW 


MOW 


279 


and  the  crops  will  rise  with  renew- 1 
ed  vigour.  | 

Let  farnfiers  keep  their  nnowing  ' 
land  so  completely  fenced,  that  | 
cattle  and  swine  may  be  effectually  : 
prevented  from  breaking  in  at  any  j 
time  of  the  year.  I  think  every  | 
one  must  be  sensible  of  the  neces-  j 
sity  of  this. 

It  is  ridiculous  to  think  of  tak- 
ing many  crops  of  hay  from  any  I 
piece  of  upland,  in  uninterrupted  j 
succession,  without  affording  it  any 
manure.     For  it  does  not  imbibe  j 
the  richness  of  the  atmosphere  so  ' 
plentifully  as  land  in  tillage.    Grass  j 
land  should,  therefore,  once  in  two  j 
or  three  years    at    least,    have   a  ! 
dressing  of  good  rotten  dung,  or  of 
a  compost  suitable    for    the  soil. 
But  the  best  way  is  to  do  it  every 
year.     Autumn  is  the  time  for  ap- 
plying the   manure,  according  to 
long   approved    practice.     But   a 
writer  in  the  Georgical  Essays  re- 
commends   doing   it    immediately 
after  the  first  mowing,  when  a  se- 
cond crop  is  expected,  which  will 
undoubtedly  be  the  larger.    When- 
ever it   is  done,   a    bush   harrow 
should  be  drawn  over  the  surface, 
which  will  break  the  small  lumps 
remaining  in  the  manure,  and  bring 
it  closer  to  the  roots  of  the  grass. 
By  this  management,   four  or  five 
tons  of  hay  may  be  the  annual  pro- 
duce of  an  acre.     Or  if  the  sur- 
face be  not  dunged,  the  crop  should 
be  fed  off  once  in  three   years; 
that  the  excrements  of  the  cattle 
may  recruit  the  soil. 

No  cattle  should,  on  any  ac- 
count, be  turned  into  a  mowing 
ground  in  the  spring.  The  mis- 
thief  they  will  do,  will  be  ten  times 


more  than  the  advantage  they 
can  get.  In  the  fall,  neat  cattle 
may  get  the  aftermath  :  But  sheep 
and  horses  may  be  apt  to  bite  sa 
close  as  to  injure  some  of  the  roots. 
Therefore  I  think  they  should  be 
kept  out,  especially  after  the  grass 
comes  to  be  short.  Whatever 
dung  is  dropped  by  the  cattle, 
should  be  carefully  beat  to  pieces, 
and  spread,  before  winter,  or  early 
in  the  spring. 

These  lands  should  never  be  fed 
so  bare,  but  that  some  quantity  of 
fog  may  remain  on  them  through 
the  winter.  The  snow  presses  it 
down  to  the  surface,  where  it  rots ; 
it  holds  the  rain  water  from  pass- 
ing off  suddenly  ;  and  the  virtue  of 
the  rotten  grass  is  carried  into  the 
soil,  where  it  nourishes  the  roots. 

Grass  lands,  with  such  a  manage- 
ment as  is  here  recommended, 
would  produce  crops  surprisingly 
large;  especially  in  the  northern 
parts  of  New-England,  which  are 
extremely  natural  to  grass.  The  sur- 
face would  be  covered  early  in  the 
spring  with  a  fine  verdure.  The 
crops  would  cover  the  ground  so 
soon  as  to  prevent  most  of  the  ill 
effect  of  drought  in  summer.  It 
would,  by  forming  a  close  cover  to 
the  soil,  retain  most  of  the  mois- 
ture that  falls  in  dews  and  rains. 
So  that  a  dry  summer  would  make 
but  little  difference  in  the  crop  ; 
and  the  rich  lands  would  often 
produce  two  crops  in  a  year. 

On  this  plan  of  management, 
much  labour  might  be  saved  in  hay 
making  ;  and  the  grass  might  all 
be  cut  in  due  season  ;  not  only  be- 
cause the  fanner  has  more  leisure, 
by  having  so  much  less  mowing  to 


280 


MUD 


MUD 


do;  but  also  because  a  good  crop 
is  not  apt  to  dry  up  so  suddenly, 
as  a  poor  and  ttiin  one.  The  grass 
in  our  mowing  grounds  is  often 
said  to  be  winter  killed.  It  is  ob- 
servable that  this  happens  only  in 
the  little  hollow  places,  where  the 
melting  snow  towards  spring  fornns 
little  ponds  of  water.  A  cold  night 
or  two  turns  these  ponds  to  cakes 
of  ice,  which  lying  long  upon  the 
roots  chills  them  so  much  that  they 
cannot  soon  recover.  Or  the 
ponds  made  by  the  thawing  of  the 
ice  destroy  the  roots  by  drowning 
*  them  ;  so  winter  flooding  destroys 
all  the  best  grasses.  The  grass, 
however,  only  of  one  crop  is  de- 
stroyed in  the  hollows;  for  it  rises 
again  by  the  midsummer,  or  au- 
tumn following. 

Laying  lands  very  smooth  and 
level,  according  to  the  above  di- 
rection, will  do  much  towards  pre- 
venting this  evil.  But  if  a  field 
be  perfectly  flat,  and  apt  to  retain 
too  much  wet  when  it  is  in  tillage, 
it  should  be  laid  down  to  grass  in 
broad  ridges  or  beds.  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  some  farmers  who 
have  found  advantage  from  this 
method.  The  trenches,  or  fur- 
rows between  the  beds,  should  be 
the  breadth  of  two  or  three  swarths 
asunder,  that  the  grass  may  be 
mowed  with  the  less  inconve- 
nience. It  is  near  as  much  work 
to  mow  a  half  swarth  as  a  whole 
one ;  which  is  a  good  reason  why 
the  beds  should  not  be  very  nar- 
row. Ten  or  twelve  feet  is  a 
good  breadth,  as  it  is  equal  to  two 
swarths. 

MUD,  a  black  or  dark-coloured 
sediment,  found  at  the  bottom  of 


ponds,  rivers,  creeks,  ditches,  and 
wel  sunken  places.  It  is  mostly 
composed  of  a  fine  vegetable 
mouivi,  mixed  with  the  substance 
of  peiislnid  vegetables,  &c.  and 
thert'fore  it  contains  much  of  the 
natural  food  of  plants. 

In  ponds  and  rivf.rs,  this  sedi- 
ment is  made  up  of  fine  dust,  to- 
gether with  a  rich  variety  of  other 
substances,  which  have  been  waft- 
ed in  the  air,  and  have  fallen  into 
the  water;  together  with  the  sub- 
tilest  particles  of  the  neighbouring 
soils  washed  down  into  them  by 
rains.  That  is  supposed  to  be  the 
richest  mud,  which  is  near  to  the 
borders,  and  which  has  been  alter- 
nately flooded  and  fermented  ;  as 
it  will  ferment  when  it  lies  bare, 
in  some  degree. 

In  rivers,  and  in  long  ditches 
that  have  currents,  there  is  a 
greater  proportion  of  soil  in  the 
mud.  It  has  been  brought  down 
from  soft,  mellow  lands,  through 
which  the  rivers  pass ;  and  some 
of  it  doubtless  from  beds  of  marie, 
which  are  often  found  in  the  banks 
of  rivers,  and  which  readily  dis- 
solve in  the  water. 

Some  ponds  are  totally  dried  up 
in  a  hot  and  dry  summer;  and  all 
ponds  and  rivers  are  so  diminished 
by  a  copious  evaporation,  as  to 
leave  part,  and  the  richest  part,  of 
their  beds  uncovered.  And  these 
beds,  wh(?re  there  has  been  no  ra- 
pid current,  are  always  found  to 
contam  a  rich  mud.  In  some 
places  it  reaches  to  a  considerable 
depth.  This  mud,  though  taken 
from  fresh  waters,  has  been  found 
to  be  a  valuable  manure  ;  more 
especially  for  dry,  sandy  and  gra- 


MUD 


MUD 


28i 


vellj  soils.  I  have  known  it  to 
have  as  good  an  effect  as  barn 
dung,  in  the  culture  of  Indian  corn, 
upon  such  soils.  The  advantage 
of  it  is  not  found  to  be  onlj  for 
one  season  ;  it  mehorates  the  land 
for  several  years.  It  restores  to  a 
high  piece  of  ground  what  vegeta- 
ble mould  the  rains,  in  a  long 
course  of  years,  have  been  washing 
away  from  it. 

It  is  happy  for  the  farmer  that 
Providence  has  prepared  for  him 
these  magazines  of  manure  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  None  but 
the  stupid  will  let  them  lie  unno- 
ticed, or  unremoved.  When  a 
dry  autumn  happens,  the  prudent 
farmers  will  be  very  industrious  in 
carting  mud  up  from  evaporated 
ponds,  and  other  sunken  places  in 
their  farms,  and  laying  it  upon 
their  light  soils,  especially  upon 
high  gravelly  knolls  ;  or  into  their 
barn  yards,  if  the  distance  be  not 
too  great. 

But  with  respect  to  using  mud 
as  a  manure,  tiie  maritime  farmers 
have  the  advantage  of  all  others. 
For  the  sea  oose,  which  appears  on 
theflats,andincreeks  and  harbours, 
along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  has  all 
the  virtues  of  fresh  water  mud,  with 
that  of  sea  salt  superadded,  which 
is  one  of  the  most  important 
ingredients  in  (he  composition  of 
the  best  manures.  I  might  add, 
that  it  abounds,  more  than  any 
other  mud,  with  putrefied  animal 
substances.  Much  of  these  are 
contained  in  the  sea  itself:  And 
innumerable  are  the  fowls  and  fish 
that  have  perished  upon  flats  since 
time  began ;  and  the  component 
parts  of  their  bodies  have  been 
36 


inclosed      by     the     supervenient 
slime. 

Mud  taken  from  flats  where 
there  are  shell  fish,  or  even  where 
they  have  formerly  lived,  is  bet- 
ter for  manure,  than  that  which 
appears  to  be  more  unmixed. 
The  shells  among  it  are  a  valua- 
ble part  of  its  composition.  If  it 
abound  much  with  shells,  it  be- 
comes a  general  manure,  fit  to  be 
laid  upon  almost  every  kind  of 
soil. 

That  mud,  however,  which  is  a 
richer  manure  than  any  other,  is 
taken  from  docks,  and  from  the 
sides  of  wharves  in  populous 
towns.  For  it  has  been  greatly 
enriched  by  the  scouring  of  foul 
streets,  and  from  common  sewers  ; 
as  well  as  from  an  unknown  quan- 
tity of  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances, accidentally  fallen,  or  de- 
signedly thrown  into  such  places. 

Sea  mud  may  be  taken  up  at 
any  season,  whenever  the  farmer 
has  most  leisure.  It  is  a  good 
method  to  draw  it  up  on  sleds  from 
the  flats  in  March,  when  the  bor- 
der is  covered  with  firm  ice.  I 
have  thus  obtained  mud  from  flats, 
with  great  expedition  and  little 
expense. 

Mud  that  is  newly  taken  up,  may 
be  laid  upon  grass  land.  But  if  it 
is  to  be  ploughed  into  the  soil,  it 
should  first  lie  exposed  to  the  frost 
of  oiie  winter.  The  frost  will  de- 
stroy its  tenacity,  and  reduce  it  to 
a  fine  powder  ;  after  which  it  may 
be  spread  like  ashes.  But  if  it  be 
ploughed  into  the  soil,  betore  it 
has  been  mellowed,  it  will  remain 
in  lumps  for  several  years,  and  be 
of  less  advantaije. 


282 


MUL 


MUR 


A  layer  of  mud  will  be  no  bad 
ingredient  in  a  heap  of  compost. 
But  it  should  be  contiguous  to  a 
stratum  of  lime,  if  that  can  be  ob- 
tained. But  where  this  is  want- 
ing, new  horse  dung  isi-the  best 
substitute,  to  excite  a  strong  fer- 
mentation. 

The  best  method  of  rrianaging 
all  sorts  of  mud,  were  it  not  for  in- 
creasing the  labour,  would  be  to 
lay  it  in  farm  yards,  and  let  it  be 
thoroughly  mixed  with  the  dung 
and  stale  of  animals.  When  it  is 
so  managed,  the  compost  is  excel- 
lent, and  fit  for  almost  any  soil, 
though  best  for  light  ones.  Per- 
haps the  advantage  of  it  is  so  great 
as  to  pay  for  the  increased  expense 
of  twice  carting.  For  it  will  ab- 
sorb the  stale  of  cattle,  and  retain 
it  better  than  straw,  and  other  light 
suDst^nccs 

MULBERRY,  Moms,  a  well 
known  tree,  the  leaves  of  which 
are  the  proper  food  of  silk  worms. 
The  only  mulberry,  in  any  degree 
proper  for  the  food,  or  successful 
culture  of  silk  worms,  is  the  white 
mulberry.  All  attempts  to  raise 
them  on  the  leaves  of  the  common 
black  mulberry  will  be  unsuccess- 
ful. 

It  would  be  right  for  us  to  pro- 
pagate these  trees,  as  it  might  be 
done  with  the  greatest  ease.  We 
may  do  it  by  their  seeds,  or  by 
layers,  cuttings  or  slips.  If  we 
are  not  disposed  to  make  use  of 
them  for  the  feeding  of  silk  worms, 
they  would  pay  for  the  trouble  of 
rearing  them,  by  their  fruit  and 
their  timber.  They  suit  our  cli- 
mate, and  grow  rapidly,  at  least  in 


Connecticut,  and  in  the  western^ 
part  of  Massachusetts. 

Possibly  the  time  may  come 
when  we  may  be  glad  to  make  silk 
for  our  own  use  in  this  country. 
If  this  should  happen,  it  will  be  re- 
gretted if  there  be  no  trees  in  the 
country  from  which  the  worms  can 
be  fed.  They  will  grow  well  in 
a  deep  dry  soil  which  is  mode- 
rately rich. 

MULCH,  rubbish  of  decayed 
vegetables.  Litter  is  a  word  of 
the  same  import. 

MURRAIN.  "  Murrain,  a  con- 
tagious disease  incident  to  cattle  ; 
it  is  known  by  the  animals  hanging 
down  their  heads,  which  are  swol- 
len ;  by  short  and  hot  breathing ; 
palpitation  of  the  heart ;  stagger- 
ing ;  an  abundant  secretion  of  vis- 
cid matter  in  the  eyes  ;  rattling  in 
the  throat  and  a  shining  tongue. 

"  The  murrain  is  occasioned  by 
various  causes,  but  principally  by 
a  hot,  dry  season,  or  a  general 
corruption  of  the  air.  It  raged 
about  the  nuddle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
and  carried  off  great  numbers  of 
cattle.  The  remedy  then  employ- 
ed both  for  prevention  and  cure, 
consisted  in  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  gun-powder,  salt,  soot, 
and  brimstone ;  one  spoonful  of 
this  composition  was  given  for  a 
dose,  and  was  hid  down  v/ith  warm 
water. 

"  In  the  36th  volume  of  Annals 
of  Jlgricidture,  the  following  re- 
cipe is  inserted  for  the  murrain  in 
hogs  ;— A  handful  of  nettles  is  to 
be  previously  boiled  in  a  gallon  of 
small  beer,  when  half  a  pound  of 


N  AV 


NET 


283 


flour  of  sulphur,  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  elecainpane,  three  ounces 
of  liquorice,  and  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  anniseeds  are  to  be  ad- 
ded m  a  pulverized  state.  This 
preparation  should  be  administer- 
ed in  milk,  and  the  quantity  here 
stated  is  said  to  be  sufficient  for 
six  doses. 

"  But  the  most  effectual  preven- 
tive of  this  contagion  is  to  keep 
the  cat(ie  cool  during  the  summer, 
and  to  allow  them  a  sufhciency  of 
water  :  all  carrion  should  be  spee- 
dily buried  :  and  as  the  feeding  of 
those  useful  animals  in  wet  places, 
or  on  rotten  grass  or  hay  frequent- 
ly '"auses  this  maladj',  their  food 
ought  to  consist  of  dry  and  sweet 
fodder." — Domestic  Encyclopedia. 

N. 

NAVE,  the  middle  part  of  a 
wheel,  through  which  the  axle 
passes.     See  Wheels^ 

NAVEL  GALL,  "a  disorder 
on  the  top  of  the  spine,  opposite 
to  the  navel,  whence  the  name. 
It  is  most  commonly  caused  by  an 
ill  formed  saddle,  or  want  of  good 
pads,  and  being  neglected  turns  to 
a  foul  fungous  excrescence  ;  and 
sometimes,  after  long  continuance, 
to  a  fistulous  ulcer.  While  there 
is  moisture  and  sensibility  in  the 
part,  an  ointment  may  be  applied 
of  quicksilver  and  turpentine  ;  an 
ounce  of  the  former  or  two  ounces 
of  the  latter,  rubbed  in  a  mortar 
till  they  be  well  incorporated  ;  and 
then  spread  upon  tow.  On  each 
side  of  the  spine,  over  the  swelling, 
may  be  laid  smooth  dry  pledgits, 


or  holsters,  which  may  be  girt 
round  with  a  sursingle.  But  if  the 
sore  be  dead  and  lifeless,  a  good 
sharp  knife  must  be  used  to  cut  it 
to  the  quick  ;  then  let  it  be  dress- 
ed according  to  the  directions  for 
the  cure  of  wounds. 

'"^  sit  fast  also  proceeds  from  a 
saddle  gall,  and  is  another  of  the 
accidents  that  happen  to  the  spine. 
It  is  dry  and  horney,  and  may  be 
cured  by  anointing  it  first  with  oil 
of  bays,  until  it  turns  soft ;  then  by 
dressnig  it  with  quicksilver  and 
turpentine,  as  above  directed. 
This  will  make  a  cure,  especially 
if  the  hard  horney  substance  be 
gently  scarified  in  some  places." 
Gibson^s  Farriery, 

NETTLE,  Uriica.  This  ge- 
nus of  plants  is  said  to  comprise 
fifty-seven  species.  We  shall  men- 
tion only  the  common  nettle,  which 
has  a  fibre,  said  to  be  finer  and 
stronger  than  that  of  hemp.  Dr. 
Willich  says,  "  The  roots  of  the 
common  nettle,  when  boiled,  com- 
municate a  yellow  tinge  to  yarn. 
But  the  most  valuable  part  is  its 
fibrous  staik  or  stem  ;  which  on 
being  dressed  in  a  manner  similar 
to  flax  or  hemp,  has  in  some  parts 
of  Europe  been  advantageously 
manufactured  into  cloth.  As, 
however,  this  plant  requires  a  rich 
soil  to  obtain  it  any  great  quanti- 
tities,  and  as  a  much  greater  degree 
of  attention  and  accuracy  is  neces- 
sary in  the  operation  of  retting, 
than  is  requisite  either  for  flax  or 
hemp.  Dr.  Anderson  is  of  opin- 
ion, that  the  cultivation  of  the 
nettle  will  be  attended  with  diffi- 
culty."— Domestic    Encyclopedia. 


284 


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The  cultivation  of  this  plant  has 
been  patented  in  the  United  States, 
and  ihe  exclusive  right  given  to  a 
Mr.  Whitlow.  But  if  it  was  culti- 
vated in  Europe,  described  in 
scientific  works,  and  appHed  lo  the 
uses,  which  Mr.  Whitlow  proposes, 
we  do  not  perceive  how  he  can 
secure  any  exclusive  right  to  its 
culture  or  application.  For  a  fur- 
ther account  of  this  plant  and  the 
;ise3  to  which  it  js  proposed  to 
apply  it.  See  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cullural  Repository^  vol.  III.  page 
41  to  46. 

The  species  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  which  Whitlow  obtained  a 
patent,  was,  as  he  says,  a  new 
one—which  he  called  Urtica  Whit- 
low is. 

NEW  HUSBANDRY,  drill hus- 
handrij^  or  horse-hocing  husbandrij. 
It  chiefly  differs  from  the  old  hus- 
bandry, in  (his,  that  the  soil  is 
tilled  while  the  plants  to  be  nour- 
ished are  growing  m  it.  This 
mode  of  culture  was  introduced 
into  England,  by  the  ingenious  Je- 
thro  Tuli,  Esq.  who  wrote  largely 
and  repeatedly  on  the  subject.  His 
volume  in  folio,  entitled,  Kezo 
horse-hoeing  Husbandrij,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  year  1731.  An  Es- 
say on  the  same  subject,  in  the 
year  1733.  A  Supplement  to  the 
Essay,  in  1735.  Addenda,  and 
Conclusion,  in  1738,  and  1739. 
This  gentleman  e>ipended  as  it 
were  his  whole  life,  in  zealous  and 
benevolent  exertions  to  convince 
mankind  of  the  great  utility  of  his 
new  system,  and  directing  them  m 
the  practice  of  it.  But  he  had  the 
moftitication  of  finding,  that  only 


here  and  there  an  enterprising 
genius  adopted  it  in  practice.  And 
though  more  than  sixty  vearshave 
now  elapsed,  since  he  made  it 
public,  it  is  so  far  from  having  be- 
come the  general  practice  of  far- 
mers in  that  country,  that  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  ever 
will :  Although  it  has  been  recom- 
mended, and  further  explained  and 
improved,  by  writers  of  note  in 
several  nations. 

The  author  of  this  husbandry 
meant  to  apply  it  chiefly  to  wheat, 
as  being  the  most  important  kind 
of  corn.  The  new  husbandry  dif- 
fers from  the  old  in  the  manner  of 
preparing  the  ground  for  a  crop, 
and  in  the  manner  of  sowing  the 
seed.  The  ground  is  ploughed 
into  ridges,  or  beds,  five  or  six 
feet  wide,  and  smoothed  with  har- 
rows. Instead  of  sowing  at  ran- 
dom with  the  hand,  or  broad-cast, 
as  it  is  called,  the  seed  is  dropped 
by  a  drill,  in  straight  lines,  in  little 
furrows  about  two  inches  deep. 
Either  two  or  three  such  rows  are 
on  Ciie  bed,  eight  or  nine  inches 
apart ;  and  the  seeds  are  closely 
covered  in  the  furrows,  by  a  small 
harrow  annexed  to  the  drill. 

Mr.  Tull  invented  a  drill,  or  drill 
plough,  on  a  new  construction. 
With  this  machine  one  may  sow 
such  a  quantity  of  seeds,  and  as 
many  rows  as  may  be  thought  ne- 
cessary, lay  the  seeds  at  a  conve- 
nient depth,  and  cover  them  nice- 
ly, only  by  drawing  the  machine 
once  along  the  ridges. 

Ar.  soon  as  the  plants  are  a  few 
inches  high,  the  horse-hoe  is  intro- 
duced, which  differs  but  little  from 


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285 


a  horse-plough,  excepting  in  the 
manner  of  connecting  it  to  the 
horse  that  draws  it.  With  this 
plough,  passing  it  within  three  or 
four  inches  of  tiie  rows,  the  earth 
is  turned  from  the  rows  into  the 
intervals  or  alleys,  so  that  tire  fur- 
rows meet  each  other,  and  form  a 
sharp  ridge.  This  is  the  first  hoe- 
ing, and  is  performed  late  in  au- 
tumn, just  before  winter.  It  lays 
the  young  plants  so  dry,  that  it  is 
thought  they  are  in  no  danger  of 
being  killed  by  the  frosts  of  win- 
ter. But  some  improvers  on  this 
system  have  recommended  omit- 
ting one  of  these  furrows,  or  if 
both  be  ploughed,  to  turn  back 
one  of  them  towards  the  row  be- 
fore the  hard  frosts  of  winter  ;  lest 
the  ridges  should  be  too  much  in 
danger  of  being  washed  away  by 
rains,  and  the  young  plants  remov- 
ed. This  seems  to  be  a  real  im- 
provement upon  Mr.  Tull's  me- 
thod. 

Early  in  the  following  spring 
(they  say  in  March,  but  it  must  be 
April  in  this  country)  the  earth  is 
turned  toward  the  rows ;  then  in 
May,  from  them  ;  and  lastly,  in 
June,  it  is  turned  back  to  the  rows, 
and  partly  against  the  stems,  when 
the  grain  is  just  out  of  blossom  ; 
which  last  ploughing  is  thought  to 
do  more  service  than  any  other, 
as  it  greatly  helps  to  fill  out  the 
grain ;  and  must  not,  therefore,  on 
any  account,  be  omitted. 

Each  of  the  ploughings  must  be 
very  deep,  so  as  to  keep  the  ground 
very  loose  and  open.  But  care 
must  be  also  taken  to  uncover 
plants  that  chance  to  be  buried  by 


the  plough ;  to  weed  the  grain 
once  or  twice  in  the  rows,  and  to 
stir  the  earth  between  the  rows, 
with  a  prong-hoe  or  hand-hoe,  as 
often  as  the  intervals  are  ploughed, 
or  horse-hoed. 

The  advantages  of  this  method 
of  culture  are  said  to  be  these : 
That  indiflferent  land  will  produce 
a  good  crop,  which  would  produce 
little  or  nothing  in  the  old  way ; 
that  a  good  crop  of  wheat  may  be 
raised  each  year  from  the  same 
piece  of  ground,  without  impover- 
ishing the  soil,  as  the  intervals  are 
always  followed ;  that  there  is  no 
need  of  manuring  the  land  at  all, 
as  the  extraordinary  tillage  will 
answer  the  same  end  as  manure, 
and  at  less  expense  ;  that  there 
will  be  no  crop  missed  or  prevent- 
ed by  a  year  of  fallow,  which  must 
take  place  every  second  year  in 
the  old  way  of  cultivating  wheat, 
to  prevent  exhausting  the  soil; 
that  the  crops  will  be  larger,  bet- 
ter and  fuller  grain  by  far,  and  en- 
tirely free  from  the  seeds  of 
weeds. 

The  editors  of  the  last  edition 
of  Mr.  TulPs  horse-hoeing  Hus- 
bandry, by  a  computation  of  the 
expense  and  profit  of  the  old  hus- 
bandry and  the  new,  and  compar- 
ing the  accounts,  make  the  clear 
profit  of  the  latter  appear  to  be 
more  than  double  to  that  of  the 
former.  This  may  be  seen  at 
large  in  the  Complete  Farmer,  un- 
der the  article  Husbandry.  Other 
ingenious  writers  in  Great  Britain, 
since  have  written  in  confirmation 
of  this  opinion.  See  Encyclopedia^ 
article  Agriculture. 


286 


NEW 


NEW 


I  do  not  at  all  scruple  the  fair- 
ness of  the  computations ;  nor  the 
accounts  of  writers  in  other  coun- 
tries to  the  sanrie  purpose.  But 
there  is  no  arguing  wilh  any  cer- 
tainty from  the  advantage  of  the 
new  husbandry  in  England,  or 
other  parts  of  Europe,  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  it  in  this  country.  Be- 
cause, in  the  first  place,  labour  is 
more  than  twice  as  dear  in  this 
country  ;  and  that  there  is  a  great- 
er quantity  of  labour  required  in 
the  new  husbandry  than  in  the  old, 
is  very  obviously  true.  There 
are  at  least  two  or  three  plough- 
ings  extraordinary  to  a  crop,  be- 
sides weeding  and  hand-hoeing ; 
and  weeders  will  net  accept  of  the 
weeds  they  pull  as  s\]fficient  pay 
for  pulling  them,  as  poor  women 
sometimes  do  in  the  old  countries. 

Another  reason  for  suspecting 
that  the  new  husbandry  may  not 
answer  so  much  better  than  the 
old  in  this  country,  when  applied 
to  wheat  and  rye,  is,  that  these 
grains  are  here  very  subject  to 
blasting  ;  and  the  later  they  ripen, 
the  more  they  are  in  danger  of  this 
distemper.  Hoeing  of  grain  will 
cause  it  to  ripen  later,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  border  of  a  field  that  is 
contiguous  to  hoed  ground.  The 
plants  that  stand  nearest  to  the 
hoed  ground  retain  their  green- 
ness much  longer  than  the  rest  of 
the  grain,  because  they  are  more 
plentifully  fed.  Hence  there  ap- 
pears to  be  some  reason  to  doubt 
of  the  advantage  of  hoeing  wheat 
and  rye  in  this  country. 

But  if  there  were  no  weight  in 
this,  nor  in  the  foregoing  argument, 
yet  the  diflference  of  climate  must 


be  taken  into  consideration.  Our 
lands  are  hoven  and  mellowed  by 
the  frost  of  every  winter,  to  a 
greater  depth  tlian  the  hoe-plongh 
can  ever  stir  them,  by  which  the 
roots  of  winter  grain  are  often  ho- 
ven out  of  the  soil :  but  m  Eng- 
land the  ground  seldom  freezes  to 
half  the  depth  that  a  p!ouf;h  goes. 
Therefore,  the  most  forcible  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  the  new  husban- 
dry, which  is  used  by  its  advocates, 
will  not  so  well  apply  in  this  coun- 
try ;  which  is,  that  the  ground  set- 
tles and  becomes  very  compact, 
during  the  long  continuance  of  a 
crop  of  grain  upon  it.  I  see  no 
reason  to  doubt  but  that  our  ex- 
traordinary degree  of  frost  may, 
on  the  whole,  have  nearly  as  much 
effect  towards  loosening  and  break- 
ing the  soil  in  tillage  ground,  as 
one  ploughing  has.  But  this  bye 
the  bye. 

Not  only  is  the  success  of  the 
new  husbandry  in  this  country  for 
the  above  reasons  uncertain ;  but 
there  are  several  disadvantages 
and  inconveniences,  attending  this 
husbandry,  which  are  common  to 
all  countries.  One  of  these  dis- 
advantages is  the  cost  of  the  drill- 
plough.  This  is  every  where  a 
material  objection  to  the  new  hus- 
bandry in  the  minds  of  common 
farmers.  And  the  curious  and 
complicated  structure  of  this  ma- 
chine, which  renders  it  liable  to 
get  out  of  order,  is  no  small  incon- 
venience ;  for  common  labourers 
are  not  expected  to  have  skill 
enough  to  rectify,  or  repair  it. 
Besides,  the  accuracy  of  the  work 
of  drill  sowing  requires  so  much 
thought  and  attention,  that  the  ig- 


NEW 


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287 


norant  and  careless,  who  are  apt  to 
despise  new  inventions,  will  not 
perform  it  in  the  best  manner.  So 
that  a  gentleman  must  always  do 
his  own  sowing  himself,  if  he  wish- 
es to  have  it  done  well.  And  not 
every  gentleman  who  has  a  farm 
will  be  disposed  to  submit  to  this 
employment.  Neither  does  the 
drill  plough  perform  well  on  sidling 
sit\iations  and  declivities.  To  which 
it  n\ay  be  added,  that  there  are  ma- 
ny kinds  of  seed  which  it  is  next  to 
impossible  to  sow  well  with  this 
machine.  Such  are  all  the  hooked, 
winged,  fiat,  long  shaped,  and  ex- 
tremely light  seeds  ;  such  as  those 
of  carrots,  parsnips,  lettuce,  &;c.  It 
will  not  well  deliver  any  but  those 
which  are  ponderous,  smooth,  and 
so  round,  or  regular  shaped,  as  to 
be  easily  put  in  motion. 

These  difficulties  are  complained 
of  in  the  old  countries  ;  but  there 
is  a  more  material  one  to  conflict 
with  jn  many  parts  of  this.  In  ma- 
ny of  our  fields,  stumps  of  trees, 
roots,  rocks  and  stones,  are  so  fre- 
quently met  with,  that  the  drill 
plough  could  not  be  used.  It  is 
necessary  that  the  ground  should 
be  perfectly  clear  of  every  thing 
that  can  obstruct  or  hinder  the  go- 
ing of  the  drill.  These  obstacles, 
I  confess,  are  not  insuperable  ;  but 
in  process  of  time  may  be  removed. 
And  in  future  generations  the  drill 
may  be  more  conveniently  used. 

These  objections  apply  chiefly  to 
the  newly  settled  parts  of  our  coun- 
try. 

I  have  not  mentioned  these  things 
with  any  view  to  deter  my  country- 
men from  attempting  to  apply  the 
new  mode  ofculture  to  winter  grain. 


There  is  nothing  that  I  more  sin- 
cerely wish,  than  to  see  careful  ex- 
ments  made  with  it.  But  1  think 
this  caution  ought  to  be  observed, 
never  to  attempt  to  raise  spring 
wheat,  or  spring  rye,  in  this  man- 
ner. Though  I  have  never  read, 
nor  heard,  of  horse  hoeing  spring 
wheat  in  England,  I  have  known  it 
tried  by  several  persons  to  their 
mortification  and  loss,  in  this  coun- 
try. The  crops  were  so  entirely 
blasted  as  to  be  scarcely  worth  reap- 
ing. This  has  been  the  case,when 
the  culture  has  been  conducted  by 
some  of  the  most  judicious  persons, 
with  great  attention,  and  with  the 
proper  apparatus.  The  true  rea- 
son of  their  miscarriage  I  take  to  be 
this,  that  as  spring  grain  ripens  later 
than  winter  grain,  and  hoed  later 
than  unhoed  grain,  it  could  not  be 
ripe  till  some  time  in  August,when 
some  of  the  nights  are  so  cold  as  to 
blast  the  grain,  by  stopping  the  as- 
cent of  the  sap. 

But  let  the  new  husbandry  be 
tried  on  winter  wheat,  sown  in  Au- 
gust, or  September,  on  a  warm  soil 
with  asouthern  exposure,and  where 
there  are  no  stones,  nor  any  other 
obstacles ;  and  let  the  seed  be 
brought  from  some  place  at  least  a 
hundred  miles  northward.  If  with 
these  advantages  for  ripening  early, 
and  in  favourable  seasons,  a  good 
crop  of  wheat  cannot  be  obtained, 
it  will  not  be  worth  while  to  make 
any  further  trials.  But  it  should  be 
tried  on  rye  also ;  for  as  that  is 
known  to  be  a  hardier  grain  than 
wheat,  it  is  possible  it  may  answer 
better  in  this  husbandry. 

We  need  not  be  at  the  expense 
of  procuring  drill  plough8,and  horse 


288 


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hoes,  to  make  experiments  of  the?e 
kinds.  After  the  ground  is  plough- 
ed into  ridges  and  well  harrowed, 
the  channels  may  be  expeditiously 
made  two  inches  deep  with  the  head 
of  a  common  rake,  and  the  seed 
may  be  scattered  in  them  by  hand, 
and  covered  with  the  rake.  The 
horse  hoeing  may  be  well  enough 
performed  with  a  common  horse 
plough,  passing  it  twice  in  a  furrow, 
if  it  be  found  necessary,  that  the 
ground  may  be  stirred  to  a  suffici- 
ent depth. 

If,  after  a  fair  trial  or  two,  the 
new  culture  of  winter  wheat  and 
rye  should  prove  unsuccessful,  it 
need  not  discourage  any  from  sow- 
ing their  grain  with  a  drill  plough. 
In  land  that  is  fit  for  it,  the  sowing 
may  be  performed  with  great  expe- 
dition. If  the  seed  were  to  be  dril- 
led in  rows  about  nine  inches  apart, 
leaving  no  wider  intervals,  it  would 
be  attended  with  several  advanta- 
ges. Half  the  seed  may  be  saved 
by  it,  which  is  a  matter  of  some  im- 
portance, especially  in  a  time  of 
scarcity  of  grain. 

If  the  seed  be  good,  it  will  un- 
doubtedly all  come  up  well  and 
prosper:  Because  it  will  all  be  bu- 
ried at  the  most  suitable  depth  in 
the  soil.  But  in  the  common  way 
of  sowing,  some  of  the  seeds  are  bu- 
ried at  such  a  depth,  that  they 
scarcely  come  up  at  all.  Some  are 
so  near  the  surface,  that  the  least 
drying  of  the  soil  prevents  their  ve- 
getating, or  alternate  moisture  and 
dryness  turns  them  to  malt.  And 
some  will  be  uncovered,which  will 
be  taken  away  by  birds.  Many 
stinted  plants  will  appear ;  the  crop 
will  be  uneven,  some  part  of  it  be- 


ing belter,  and  ripening  60oner,than 
the  rest.  Another  advantage  of 
drilling  will  be,  that  weeders  may 
pass  through  a  field  to  weed  it,  if 
there  should  be  occasion  for  it,with- 
out  any  danger  of  hurting  the  plants. 
And  all  fields  of  wheat  that  produce 
weeds,  ought  to  be  carefully  weed- 
ed. Sowed  in  this  way  the  ground 
might  also  be  stirred  in  the  narrow 
intervals  with  a  small  hoe,  which 
would  encourage  the  growth  of  the 
plant,  and  keep  it  cleaner  from 
weeds. 

Instead  of  the  drill  husbandry. 
Dr.  Hunter  recommends  a  new 
scheme  of  bis  own,  which  partakes 
partly  of  the  new,  and  partly  of  the 
old  husbandry.  He  calls  it  alter- 
nate husbandry.  The  scheme  is  as 
follows  :  He  ploughs  his  ground  in 
fiat  ridges,  or  in  lands,  nine  feet 
wide.  When  seed  time  arrsveSjhe 
sows  one  land  in  the  broad  cast 
way,  and  leaves  the  next,  sawing 
the  third,  and  so  on  alternately 
through  the  field.  The  lands  which 
are  not  sown  he  fallows,  allowing 
them  three  or  four  ploughings  in 
the  fallow  year;  sows  them  the 
next  year,  and  fallows  the  other. 

He  finds  this  to  be  a  good  mode 
of  culture  for  land  that  is  weak,and 
which  lies  remote  from  manure.  A 
mean  soil  will  thus  bear  pretty  good 
crops  without  dressings,  or  with 
very  small  ones.  The  grain  has 
greater  advantage  of  a  free  air  than 
in  the  old  husbandry.  No  new  im- 
plements are  needed,  nor  any 
greater  accuracy  in  the  culture  re- 
quired than  any  ploughman  is  ca- 
pable of.  Perhaps  a  row  or  two  of 
potatoes,  or  carrots,  in  the  middle 
of  the  fallow  ridges,  might  not  be 


NEW 


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289 


amiss  in  this  husbandry  ;  but  rather 
an  improvement. 

But,  to  return  to  my  subject  : 
Every  one  must  be  easily  convin- 
ced, that  plants  in  general  receive 
a  greater  degree  of  nourishment,  if 
the  ground  about  their  roots  be  fre- 
quently stirred  during  their  growth. 
We  find  the  benefit  of  this  in  our 
gardens.  We  see  that  bare  weed- 
ing does  not  answer  so  well  as  hoe- 
ing, among  the  plants  we  cultivate 
in  them. 

The  great  advantage  of  horse 
hoeing  husbandry  must  appear,  if 
we  only  attend  to  our  ordinary  me- 
thod of  cultivating  Indian  corn, 
which  diflfers  but  little  from  that 
husbandry.  If  ploughing  and  hoe- 
ing were  to  be  totally  neglected, 
while  the  plants  are  growing,  we 
should  have  no  good  crops.  On  the 
contrary,  the  deeper  we  plough  the 
intervals,  and  the  oftener  we  stir 
the  mould  with  the  hand  hoe,  the 
better  is  our  crop.  And  why  should 
not  the  advantage  of  the  same  cul- 
ture be  equally  great,  when  appli- 
ed to  most  of  the  plants  which  we 
cultivate  ?  The  more  the  ground  is 
opened  by  frequent  stirrings,  the 
more  vegetable  nourishment  it  will 
receive  from  the  atmosphere  ;  and 
the  roots  will  find  a  freer  passage 
in  extending  themselves  after  their 
food.  They  will,  therefore,  receive 
a  greater  quantity  ;  and  their 
growth  and  perfection  will  be  an- 
swerable. 

I  have  not  the  least  suspicion 
that  barley  and  oats  will  fail  of  re- 
ceiving great  advantage  from  this 
culture  ;  in  both  of  which  1  have 
had  some  experience.  Several 
years  of  late  I  have  applied  this  cul- 
37 


ture  to  barley,  in  single  rows  or 
ridges  three  feet  apart ;  and  have 
never  once  failed  of  gaining  at  the 
rate  of  40  bushels  per  acre.  The 
grain  has  been  perfectly  clear  from 
seeds  of  weeds,  and  more  full  and 
large  than  when  cultivated  in  the 
common  way.  After  ploughing  the 
ground,  and  harrowing  it,  I  form 
the  ridges  with  the  cultivator.  I 
sow  the  seeds  with  a  most  simple 
drill  of  my  own  inventing.  The 
weeds  are  killed,  and  the  plants 
earthed,  by  passing  the  cultivator 
between  the  rows,  with  the  addition 
of  but  little  hand  hoeing.  That  it 
does  well  for  hemp,  has  been  pro- 
ved by  trials  in  this  country.  None 
will  doubt  the  advantage  of  it  in 
raising  potatoes,  our  common  cul- 
ture of  which  is  so  similar  to  that 
of  Indian  corn.  But  if  they  were 
set  in  drills,  instead  of  hillocks,  the 
produce  would  be  greater,  in  both 
corn  and  potatoes,  as  1  have  found 
by  several  trials. 

The  new  husbandry  may  as  well 
be  applied  to  all  siliquose  plants,  as 
pease,  beans,  &lc.  and  to  all  escu- 
lent roots,as  parsnips,  carrots,beets, 
and  the  like.  The  same  may  be 
said  with  regard  to  cabbages,  aspa- 
ragus, and  most  kinds  of  pot  herbs. 
The  trials  that  have  hitherto  been 
made  upon  such  plants,  in  this 
country,  have  been  so  successful, 
that  I  trust  the  practice  will  soon 
become  general.  See  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Eliot's  Essays,  p.  111. 

These  kinds  of  plants  require  so 
much  less  labour,  in  the  drill  way, 
than  is  usually  bestowed  on  them 
in  gardens,  that  when  they  are  cul- 
tivated for  the  market,  or  for  feed- 
ing of  cattle,  they    should  by  all 


290 


NUR 


JSf  UR 


means  be  sown  in  drills,  and  horse 
hoed.  The  above  writer  from  his 
own  experience  concluded, that  five 
bushels  of  carrots  might  be  as  easi- 
ly raised,  as  one  bushel  in  the  com- 
mon method.  My  own  experi- 
ments have  fully  justified  this  opi 
nion. 

Although,  in  a  work  like  this, 
some  iiotice  of  the  New  Htsband  ry 
is  proper,  some  have  doubted  whe- 
ther it  can  be  successfully  applied 
on  an  extensive  scale  in  this  coun- 
try.    See  Drill  Husbandry. 

NURSERY,  agarden,  or  planta- 
tion of  young  trees,  to  be  trans- 
planted. In  a  nursery  for  fruit 
trees,  the  land  should  not  be  quite 
so  rich  as  that  into  which  they  are 
to  be  transplanted  ;  because  it  will 
be  better  for  them  to  have  their 
nourishment  increased  than  dimin- 
ished, as  they  increase  in  age. 
Therefore,  a  nursery  will  need  but 
a  little  manure,  unless  the  soil  be 
uncommonly  poor. 

A  nursery  should  not  be  on  a 
spot  where  fruit  trees  have  lately 
grown,  or  indeed  any  other  deep 
rooted  plants.  It  should  be  on  a 
medium  between  the  two  extremes 
of  wet  and  dry. 

To  prepare  the  ground  for  sow- 
ing, it  should  either  be  trench 
ploughed,  or  dug  with  a  spade  to  a 
considerable  depth.  From  a  foot 
to  fifteen  inches  is  not  too  deep. 
This  should  be  done  in  the  latter 
part  of  summer,  and  the  ground 
well  cleared  of  the  roots  of  all  pe- 
rennial weeds  and  grasses.  The 
season  for  planting  either  seeds  or 
atones,  is  about  the  month  oi  Octo- 
ber. If  it  were  done  in  the  spring 
none  of  the  plants  would  be  up  in 


less  than  a  year  :  And  a  considera- 
ble proportion  of  the  seeds  would 
perish.  The  seeds  may  be  sown 
promiscuously  ;  and  they  should  be 
pretty  thick,  because  they  will  not 
all  come  up.  Some  think  it  ne- 
cessary to  sow  the  pomace  with  the 
seeds  of  apples.  I  have  sown  them 
with  and  without  it,  and  do  not  see 
that  sowing  seeds  with  the  pomace 
is  to  be  preferred. 

When  you  transplant  trees  of  one 
or  two  years  growth  in  the  nursery, 
mark  the  ground  in  lines  three  feet 
apart.  Then  open  a  trench  a  foot 
wide  on  the  first  line,  and  of  a  depth 
proportionable  to  the  length  of  the 
roots  :  Take  the  stocks  out  of  the 
seed  bed,  with  a  spade,  preserving 
the  roots  as  entire  as  possible  :  Cut 
off  all  the  very  small  fibrous  roots  ; 
and  if  a  root  tends  directly  down- 
ward, it  must  be  shortened  :  Plant 
them  in  the  trench  twelve  inches 
asunder.  Then  dig  a  trench  and 
plant  it  in  the  next  line,  and  sood, 
till  the  business  is  completed. 

The  main  branch  for  the  top 
should  not  be  cut  off,  but  carefully 
preserved.  Several  of  the  lateral 
branches  should  be  taken  off  more 
or  fewer  in  proportion  as  the  root 
is  more  or  less  diminished.  In  this 
situation  they  are  to  grow  till  they 
are  transplanted  into  orchards,  &c. 
And  they  must  be  carefully  tended, 
or  they  will  not  become  good  trees. 
Every  spring  and  fall  the  ground 
between  the  rows  must  be  well 
digged,  and  so  carefully  as  not  to 
injure  or  disturb  the  roots ;  or  else 
the  intervals  must  be  horse  hoed. 
If  the  latter  be  intended,  the  rows 
should  be  planted  at  least  three 
feet  and  a  half  apart.       But  the 


NUR 


NUT 


291 


plough  must  not  go  so  near  the 
rows  as  not  to  leave  some  ground  to. 
be  dug  with  the  spade,  or  stirred 
with  a  dung  fork  ;  and  in  using  the 
plough,  great  care  should  be  taken 
to  avoid  galling  and  injuring  the 
trees. 

A  nursery  should  always  be  kept 
clear  of  weeds  by  frequent  hoeing. 
No  suckers  that  spring  up  from  the 
roots  should  be  suffered  to  remain. 
They  will  need  a  little  pruning 
each  year,  to  prevent  their  be- 
coming mishapen  ;  and  all  buds 
should  be  speedily  rubbed  off,which 
would  make  branches  too  low  on 
the  stems.  A  nursery  requires  so 
much  attention,  that  it  should  be  in 
a  situation  where  the  owner  can- 
not avoid  seeing  it  often  ;  otherwise 
it  will  be  in  danger  of  suffering 
through  neglect. 

The  fruit  trees  should  be  allow- 
ed to  grow  to  the  height  of  five  or 
six  feet,  before  they  are  budded  or 
grafted.  See  those  articles,  Inocu- 
lation, and  Grafting. 

Trees,  to  be  transplanted  into 
forests,  may  be  cultivated  in  a  nur- 
sery in  the  same  manner  as  fruit 
trees.  But,  as  Mr.  Miller  advises, 
it  would  be  best  to  have  a  nursery 
of  these  in  the  place  where  the  fo- 
rest is  designed  to  be  planted ; 
where  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
trees  may  be  left  standing,  after  the 
rest  have  been  removed. 

If  a  nursery  be  in  such  a  situation 
that  the  young  trees  are  in  danger 
of  being  broken  down  by  deep 
snows ;  either  the  fence  on  the 
windward  side  should  be  made  so 
open,  that  the  wind  may  have  a 
free  passage  through  it,  and  drive 
away  the  snow  :   Or  else  the  trees 


may  be  defended  by  staking.  A 
stake  a  little  taller  than  the  tree, 
made  of  a  slip  of  board,  should  be 
set  close  on  the  windward  side,and 
the  top  of  the  tree  fastened  close 
to  it  with  a  soft  string.  Or  two 
such  stakes  may  be  so  set,  that  the 
upper  ends  may  meet  over  the  top 
of  the  tree. 

NUT  TREE, /u^/an^.  Accor- 
ding to  Michaux  there  are  ten  sorts 
of  Nut  Trees  found  in  the  United 
States,  viz.  the  Juglans  Xigra,  or 
Black  Walnut ;  Jvglans  Catharti- 
ca,  Butternut,  White  Walnut,  or 
Oil  Nut ',  Juglans  OUvce  Formis, 
Pacane  Nut,  or  Pacanier  ;  Juglans 
Amara,  Bitter  Nut  Hickory,  or 
White  Hickory  ;  Juglans  Aquatica ; 
Water  Bitter  Nut ;  Juglans  Tomen- 
tosa,  Mockernut  Hickory,  White 
heart  Hickory,  or  Common  Hicko- 
ry ;  Juglans  Squamosa,  Shell  bark, 
or  Shag  Bark  Hickory  ;  or  Shag- 
bark  Walnut ;  Juglans  Laciniosa, 
Thick-shell-bark  Hickory  ,G  louces- 
ter  Nut  Hickory,  or  Springfield 
Hickory  ;  Juglans  Porcina,  pjgnut 
Hickory,  or  Hognut  Hickory  ;  and 
Juglans  Myristicceformis,  or  Nut- 
meg Hickory. 

There  are  two  sorts  that  are 
most  common  in  New-England  ; 
the  common  walnut,  and  the  shag- 
bark,  so  called.  The  first  of  these 
is  a  very  hard  and  tough  wood, 
which  our  farmers  find  useful  for 
many  purposes.  It  will  bend  into 
almost  any  form  without  breaking, 
especially  the  lower  part  of  the  bo- 
dy of  a  young  tree.  It  is  white  and 
smooth  ;  it  is  therefore  much  used 
for  oxbows,  goads,  and  axe  helves. 
But  it  soon  decajs  when  it  is  expo- 
sed to  the  weather.     The  fruit  of 


292 


NUT 


N  YM 


this  tree  has  a  thin  smooth  8hell,and 
is  of  very  httle  value.  The  inner 
bark  is  useful  for  making  a  yellow 
dye. 

The  shagbark  tree  is  so  called, 
on  account  of  the  roughness  of  its 
scaly  bark,  which  hangs  in  slips  on 
the  bodies  of  old  trees.  This  has  a 
small  rich  nut,  enclosed  in  a  very 
thick  shell ;  but  it  is  not  so  much 
esteemed  for  its  timber  as  the  oth- 
er sort.  The  nuts  naturally  adhere 
strongly  to  the  trees,  but  the  first 
hard  frost  causes  them  to  drop. 

The  black  walnut  tree  is  said  to 
grow  naturally  in  Virginia,  and  par- 
ticularly on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
Though  it  be  rather  brittle,  it  re- 
ceives a  good  polish  ;  is  hard  and 
heavy,  and  is  much  prized  for  its 
beautiful  brown  colour,  and  used  in 
all  sorts  of  cabinet  work. 

We  have  another  sort,  not  indi- 
genous, but  the  only  one  that  is  cul- 
tivated with  care  in  this  country.  It 
goes  by  the  nameof  theEnglish  wal- 
nut. The  fruit  is  larger  and  better 
than  that  of  either  of  the  other  sorts, 
except  the  oil  nut.  In  its  tender  state, 
it  is  used  in  pickles  for  sauce.  But 
the  nuts  are  too  solid  for  this  use 
when  they  are  come  to  their  full 
growth.  The  tree  is  so  tender  that 
it  will  only  grow  in  sheltered  situa- 
tions, in  vallies,  or  on  the  south 
side  of  houses  and  barns ;  and  there 
it  will  amply  reward  the  cultivator 
by  its  crops  affording  a  pleasant  ad- 
dition to  his  table  in  the  winter,and 
finding  a  good,  and  certain  market 
in  the  great  towns,  both  when  gath- 
ered in  July,  as  a  pickle  or  pre- 
serve,or  in  winter,when  in  maturity. 

A  moist  Joamy  soil  seems   to  be 
the  best  situation  for  walnut  trees ; 


jbut  they  will  grow  on  almost  any 
upland.  They  are  not  well  adapt- 
ed to  be  cultivated  in  nurseries. 
They  bear  transplanting  but  poor- 
ly,unlesswhen  they  are  very  }oung. 
The  roots  should  not  be  wounded, 
but  it  is  not  easy  to  avoid  it  in  ta- 
king them  up,  asthey  naturally  run 
deep.  Though  the  transplanted 
trees  are  best  for  fruit,  they  grow 
short  and  bushy,  and  are  not  fit  for 
timber.  Therelbre,  he  who  wish- 
es to  cultivate  a  grove  of  them  for 
timber,  should  plant  the  nuts  in  the 
places  where  he  wishes  the  trees  to 
remain. 

As  there  is  a  considerable  pith 
in  the  limbs  of  walnut  trees,  they 
do  not  admit  of  much  pruning.  The 
water  is  apt  to  enter  at  a  wounded 
limb  and  cause  it  to  rot. 

NYMPHA,  «  the  state  of  winged 
insects,  between  their  living  in  the 
^orm  of  a  worm,  and  their  appear- 
ing in  the  winged  or  most  perfect 
state.  The  eggs  of  these  insects 
are  first  hatched  into  worms,  or 
maggots ;  which  afterwards  pass  in- 
to the  nympha  state,  surrounded 
with  shells,  or  cases,  of  their  own 
skins  :  So  that,  in  reality,  these 
nymphs  are  only  the  embryo  in- 
sects, wrapped  up  in  this  covering ; 
from  whence  they  at  last  get  loose, 
though  not  without  great  difficulty. 

"  During  the  nympha  state,  the 
creature  loses  its  motion.  Swam- 
merdam  calls  it  nympha  aurelia,or 
simply  aurelia  ;  and  others  give  it 
the  name  of  chrysalis,  a  term  of  the 
like  import."     Did.  of  Arts. 

It  is  in  their  winged  state  only, 
that  they  copulate.  The  female 
lays  eggs  :  and  their  ofTspring  go 
through  the  same  changes.     The 


OAK 


OAK 


293 


state  of  these  animals  may  serve  to 
remind  mankind  of  the  manner  of 
their  existence,  first  in  mortal  bo- 
dies, then  in  a  state  of  death,  after- 
wards possessed  of  glorious  bodies. 
In  their  aurelian  state,  these  ani- 
mals have  no  vital  motion,  but  are 
to  all  appearance  dead.  So  that  in 
their  last  state  of  existence,  insects 
have,as  it  were,resurrection  bodies. 

O. 

OAK,  Quercus,  a  well  known 
tree,  the  timber  of  which  is  of  great 
use  and  importance  in  ship  build- 
ing, and  architecture,  and  is  valua- 
ble for  fuel  and  many  other  purpo- 
ses. The  timber  is  both  strong  and 
durable. 

!VIr.  Miller  reckons  eighteen  spe- 
cies of  the  quercus,  or  oak.  I 
know  of  but  five  that  grow  in  this 
country,  unless  the  swamp  white 
oak,  so  called  on  account  of  its 
growing  in  wet  swamps,  may  be  a 
distinct  species  from  that  which 
grows  on  the  upland. 

The  first  and  best  is  the  white 
oak,  Quercus  alba,  which  bears  a 
long  shaped,  small  and  pleasant 
tasted  acorn.  The  bark  is  of  a  very 
light  ash  colour.  The  timber  is 
more  strong,  and  far  more  durable 
than  the  other  kinds.  Staves  for 
casks,  made  of  this  tree,  bear  a 
higher  price  than  any  other.  As  it 
does  not  soon  decay,  the  farmers 
find  it  convenient  to  have  their 
wheels,  carts,  ploughs,  and  several 
other  implements  of  husbandry, 
made  of  this  timber.  The  but^ends 
of  the  trees  which  have  grown  in 
pastures,  are  commonly  found  to  be 


extremely  tough,and  are  most  fit  for 
the  naves  andspokesof  cartwheels. 

The  black  oak,  Quercus  nigra, 
has  a  very  dark  coloured,  hard  and 
rough  outer  bark.  The  inner  bark 
is  of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  and 
may  be  used  to  advantage  in  dies. 
Little  or  none  of  this  oak  is  found 
in  the  District  of  Maine.  Of  all 
the  kinds  of  oak  produced  in  our 
country,  this  is  esteemed  the  best 
for  fuel,  as  it  will  burn  freely  in  its 
green  state  :  But  it  is  not  so  much 
prized  for  timber  as  some  other 
sorts. 

The  grey  oak  is  next  in  quality 
to  the  white  for  building.  The  red, 
Quercus  rubra,  which  is  so  called 
from  the  colour  of  its  wood,an8wers 
well  for  staves, especially  formolas- 
ses  hogsheads.  But  as  it  is  not  a  last- 
ing timber,  it  is  more  proper  for 
fuel ;  and  for  the  last  purpose,  it 
does  not  answer  well  in  its  green 
state.  The  acorns  of  the  grey  and 
red  oak,  are  much  larger  than  those 
of  the  white.  The  leaves  are  also 
larger,  and  very  deeply  sinuated. 
They  are  probably  not  different 
species  of  theoak.but  only  varieties. 

The  last  kind,  and  the  meanest 
I  of  all,  is  the  dwarf,  or  shrub  oak,  it 
'.  being  fit  for  neither  fuel  nor  timber. 
It  is  always  crooked  and  small,  and 
seldom  rises  to  the  height  often 
feet.  It  delights  in  a  poor  soil,and 
overruns  many  of  our  sandy  and 
gravelly  plains.  It  has  a  strong 
root,  which  will  continue  to  send 
up  new  shoots,  though  they  are  cut 
off  yearly  ;  so  that  there  is  no  ef- 
fectual way  to  subdue  them,  but  by 
grubbing  them,  or  pasturing  goats 
upon  them. 

As  all  the  kinds  of  oak  bear  fruit. 


294 


OAK 


OAK 


the  shrub  oak  as  plentifully  as  any, 
these  trees  are  of  some  advantage 
in  feeding  swine  and  poultry.  They 
are  fondest  of  the  acorns  that  grow 
on  the  white  oak,  as  the  other  kinds 
have  a  bitter  taste. 

The  bark  is  of  great  use  in  tanning 
hides,  and  a  good  ingredient  in  dies. 

The  oak  produces  a  fungous  ball, 
or  apple,  of  a  loose,  soft  contex- 
ture, which  soon  dries  and  falls  off, 
and  is  of  no  use. 

But  besides,  it  has  little  round 
hard  kind  of  excrescences,  called 
galls,  which  are  of  great  use  in  dy- 
ing and  making  the  best  writing 
ink.  Though  they  grow  as  large 
as  nutmegs  in  other  countries,those 
which  I  have  found  in  this,  have 
been  much  smaller.  Perhaps  trees 
must  stand  single  many  years,  be- 
fore they  will  be  apt  to  produce 
galls  of  a  large  size.  1  have  not 
found  them  but  upon  the  white  oak, 
and  those  not  larger  than  peas. 

I  beg  leave  here  to  give  the  read- 
er the  history  of  galls,  from  the 
Dictionary  of  Arts.  "  An  insect 
of  the  fly  kind  is  instructed  by  na- 
ture to  take  care  of  the  safety  of 
her  young,by  lodging  her  eggs  in  a 
Mroody  substance,  where  they  will 
be  defended  from  all  injuries.  She, 
for  this  purpose,  wounds  the  bran- 
ches of  a  tree;  and  the  lacerated 
vessels,  discharging  their  contents, 
soon  orm  tumours  about  the  holes 
thus  made.  The  hole  in  each  of 
the  tumours,  through  which  the  fly 
has  made  its  way,  may  for  the  most 
part  be  found ;  and  when  it  is  not, 
the  maggot  inhabitant,  or  its  re- 
mains, are  sure  to  be  found  within, 
on  breaking  the  gall.  However, 
it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  those 


galls  which  contain  several  cells, 
there  may  be  insects  found  in  some 
of  them,  though  there  be  a  hole  by 
which  the  inhabitant  of  another  cell 
has  escaped." 

It  is  to  be  wished,  that  persons  in 
the  oldest  parts  of  the  country, when 
an  oak  is  felled,  would  search  for 
galls.  If  they  are  produced  here 
in  plenty,  it  will  not  be  right  to  per- 
sist in  sending  our  money  for  them 
to  foreign  countries. 

As  trees,  both  for  timber  and  fu- 
el, are  become  scarce  in  some  parts 
of  the  country,  it  is  high  time  to 
begin  to  make  plantations  of  trees 
for  these  purposes.  And  I  know  of 
no  kind  that  will  answer,  all  things 
considered,  better  than  the  oak. 
The  trees  are  so  hardy  as  never  to 
be  damaged  by  the  severe  coldnes& 
of  our  winters  :  Neither  have  they 
been  known  to  suffer  much  by  any 
kind  of  insects.  The  red  and  grey 
kinds  are  very  rapid  in  their  growth, 
and  will  soon  repay  the  cost  and 
trouble  of  rearing  them  :  And  the 
white  is  of  so  essential  importance 
for  timber,  that  a  scarcity  of  it  is  to 
be  dreaded. 

Some  of  our  pasture  lands,which 
are  high  and  quite  bare,  would  be 
much  improved,  if  every  hundred 
feet  square  were  shaded  by  a  lofty 
oak  :  besides  gaining  a  beautiful 
appearance,  especially  if  they  were 
placed  in  regular  order.  Barren 
heights,  in  some  pastures,  are  in 
great  want  of  trees  to  shade  them. 
Copses,  or  clumps,  in  such  places, 
would  have  excellent  effects. 
There  would  be  more  grass,  the 
appearance  would  be  beautiful, and 
the  profit  considerable.  But  the 
question  is,  in  what  manner  shall 


OAK 


OAK 


29S 


oaks  be  propagated  ?  They  may 
undoubtedly  be  raised  in  nurseries, 
and  transplanted,  as  well  as  other 
trees.  But  this  method  is  not  uni- 
versally approved. 

Mr.  Miller  says,  oaks  are  best 
produced  from  the  acorns  m  the 
places  where  the  trees  are  to  re- 
main ;  because  those  which  are 
transplanted,  will  not  grow  to  so 
large  a  size,  nor  remain  sound  so 
long.  He  advises  to  planting  the 
acorns  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe  in 
October,  which  will  come  up  in  the 
following  April ;  because  if  they 
are  attempted  to  be  kept,they  will 
sprout,  although  spread  thin.  He 
directs  that  the  ground  designed 
for  a  plantation,  should  have  a  good 
and  durable  fence  ;  that  it  be  pre- 
pared by  three  or  four  ploughings 
and  harrowings  ;  that  the  acorns  be 
taken  from  the  largest  and  most 
thrifty  trees ;  that  they  may  be  sow- 
ed in  drills  about  four  feet  asun- 
der, two  inches  deep,  and  two  in- 
ches apart ;  that  the  ground  should 
be  ploughed  and  hoed  among  them, 
during  the  first  eight  or  ten  years  ; 
that  after  two  years  some  of  them 
should  be  drawn  out  where  they 
are  too  close  ;  and  so  from  time  to 
time  as  they  grow  larger,  till  they 
come  to  be  eight  feet  distance,each 
way,  when  they  will  want  no  fur- 
ther thinning  for  a  long  time.  But 
after  the  trees  come  to  be  large,he 
thinks  25  or  30  feet  apart  will  be 
the  right  distance. 

Another  writer  directs  that  the 
acorns  be  gathered  as  soon  as  they 
fall  in  autumn,  and  kept  in  a  box  or 
boxes  of  sand  till  the  following 
spring.  Then  open  them,  and 
carefully  plant  those  of  them  which 


are  sprouted,  which  he  says  will  not 
fail  to  come  up.  But  no  time  should 
be  allowed  for  the  sprouts  to  dry, 
I  incline  to  prefer  this  method,  es- 
pecially since  I  have  tried  that 
which  is  recommended  by  Mr.Mil- 
ler  without  success.  Not  one  in  a 
hundred  ever  came  up. 

A  rich  deep  soil  suits  the  oak 
best,  and  in  such  land  they  will 
grow  to  a  large  size.  The  timber 
is  apt  to  be  tough  and  pliable  :  But 
in  a  gravelly  soil,  or  one  that  is  dry 
and  sandy,  the  wood  is  more  hard 
and  brittle.  The  oak,  however, 
will  grow  in  almost  any  soil  that  is 
not  too  wet. 

Many  are  apt  to  object  against 
attempting  to  raise  timber  trees, 
that  they  shall  not  live  to  receive 
any  advantage  from  them.  But  do 
they  think  they  were  born  for  them- 
selves only  ?  Have  they  no  great 
regard  for  the  welfare  of  their  own 
children  ?  Do  they  not  care  how 
future  generations  fare  after  they 
are  gone  ?  The  more  growing  trees 
they  leave  upon  their  farms,  the 
better  will  their  children  be  endow- 
ed ;  and  does  this  appear  as  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference  ?  Or  if  they 
should  providentially  be  under  the 
necepsity  of  selling  their  farms 
while  they  live,  will  they  not  be 
prized  higher,  by  any  rational  pur- 
chaser, for  having  a  few  hundreds 
of  thrifty  young  trees  growing 
upon  them  ?  But  it  is  possible  that 
while  they  hold  their  farms,  they 
may  receive  actual  advantage  from 
their  trees  themselves.  Possibly 
trees  may  grow  faster  than  they 
apprehend.  The  Marquis  of  Lans- 
down  planted  with  trees  a  swampy 
meadow,  with  a  gravelly  bottonij 


296 


OAK 


OAT 


in  the  year  1765,  and  in  the  year 
1786  the  dimensions  of  the  trees 
were  as  represented  in  the  follow- 
ing table. 

Height  in     Circumf. 
feet.  Ft.    In. 

Lombardy  poplar  60/o70  4  8 

Abele  poplar     -  60  70  -4  6 

Elm      ...  40  60  3  6 

Chesnut  -  -  -  30  50  2  9 
White   or    Wey> 

mouth  pine     -  30  50  2  5 

Scotch  fir     -     -  30  50  2  10 

Spruce       -     -  30  50  2  2 

Larch     -     -     -  50  60  3  10 

The  measures  were  taken  five 
feet  above  the  ground.  It  appears 
that  if  trees  can  be  waited  for  21 
years  they  will  repay  the  cost,  by 
becoming  fit  for  many  important 
uses.  And  I  am  persuaded  that 
some  of  the  species  of  oak  will 
grow  as  fast  as  some  of  the  trees 
in  the  foregoing  table. 

One  acre  will  bear  160  oaks,  at 
the  distance  of  15  feet  from  each 
other:    If  each  tree  will  grow  in 
30  years  to  half  a  cord  of  wood,  ■ 
worth   12s.    per  cord,   the  whole 
produce  will  be  90  cords  of  wood, 
worth  160  dollars,    which  is  four  ' 
dollars  and  a  third   per  acre  per  i 
annum,  for  the  use  of  the  land,  a  j 
greater  profit  than  we  expect  from 
other  acres  in  general.     It  ought 
to  be  considered  that  intermediate 
trees  taken  out  young,  may  pay  the  j 
cost  of  planting  and  culture ;  and 
that  the  land  may  serve  most  of 
the  time  for  tillage  or  pasture  ;  for  j 
tillage  while  the  trees  are  small,  | 
which  will    hasten    their   growth. 
The  increasing   dearness  of  fuel 
and  of  timber  should  put  the  holder 
of  land,  in  old  settlements,  upon 


thinking  of  the  cultivation  of  all 
trees  that  are  useful  for  either  of 
these  purposes.  The  day  is  at 
hand,  if  not  already  arrived,  when 
this  will  be  one  of  the  most  profit- 
able, as  well  as  important,  braneh- 
es  of  husbandry. 

"  The  natural  history  of  the 
American  Oaks  was  first  partially 
given  by  John  Philip  Du  Roi,  who 
published  his  observations  in  two 
volumes  8vo.  at  Brunswick  in  Ger- 
many, in  1771  :  and  in  1801  more 
extensively,  by  Andrew  Michaux, 
the  celebrated  botanist,  who  resid- 
ed many  years  at  the  Botanical 
Garden  which  was  established  by 
the  late  Louis  XVI.  king  of  France, 
near  Charleston,  South-Carolina. 
The  species  and  varieties  describ- 
ed by  him  are  twenty-nine.  This 
truly  superb  work  on  American  Fo- 
rest Trees,  ought  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  every  gentleman  farmer  in  the 
United  States.  It  may  be  had  of 
Wells  and  Lilly,  Booksellers, 
Boston." — See  Forest  Trees. 

OATS,  Avena,  a  well  known 
grain,  very  pleasant  and  nourishing 
to  horses,  and  conducive  to  keep 
them  in  health.  Though  other 
sorts  of  grain  are  too  binding,  oats 
have  a  contrary  effect ;  and  even 
too  much  so,  unless  they  be  sweat- 
ed in  a  mow  before  they  be  thrash- 
ed. The  flour  of  this  grain  is  no 
bad  ingredient  in  table  provisions. 
It  is  highly  approved  for  gruels 
and  puddings  :  And  would  be  more 
used,  were  it  not  for  the  difficulty 
of  divesting  the  grain  of  its  husk. 

There  are  varieties  of  this  grain, 
distinguished  by  their  different 
colours,  the  white,  the  black,  the 
grey,  and  the  brown  oats ;  but  as 


OAT 

these  differ  only  in  colour,  they 
are  not  considered  as  distinct  spe- 
cies. 

The  white  oats  which  are  most 
commonly  cultivated  in  this  coun- 
try, are  generally  preferred  in 
otlier  countries,  as  producing  the 
best  crops.  But  1  suspect  that 
sufficient  trials  have  not  yet  been 
made  here,  in  the  culture  of  the 
black  oats.  The  produce  of  them 
from  a  few  corns  sown  in  a  gar- 
den, has  been  astonishing.  But 
this  might  be  owing  to  the  new- 
ness of  the  seed  in  our  climate,  or 
to  some  circumstance  less  conside- 
rable, or  less  obvious. 

There  is  also  a  species  of  the 
naked  oats.  This,  one  would 
think,  must  have  the  advantage  of 
other  oats,  as  it  is  threshed  clean 
out  of  the  husk,  fit  for  grinding. 
But  with  this  grain  we  are  yet  un- 
acquainted. 

I  have  lately  met  with  the  Tar- 
tary  oats,  which  resemble  our 
white  oatG,  but  differ  in  their  man- 
ner of  growing.  They  bear  very 
plentifully  :  But  are  rather  apt  to 
lodge. 

Oats  cannot  be  sown  too  early 
in  the  spring,  after  the  ground  is 
thawed,  and  become  dry  enough 
for  sowing.  The  English  farmers 
sow  them  some  time  in  February. 
But  in  a  wet  soil  they  sometimes 
answer  very  well,  though  sowed  in 
June. 

Three  bushels  of  seed  is  the 
usual  quantity  sown  on  an  acre. 
This  quaiitity  sa)'  some  will  bo 
rather  more  than  enough  on  a  rich 
soil.  If  the  soil  be  poor,  the  quan- 
tity of  seed  should  be  the  greater, 
say  they,  as  the  plants  will  be 
38 


OAT 


f 
297 


smaller,  will  not  tiller ;  and  so 
may  stand  the  nearer  each  other 
without  crowding.  But  this  is  a 
matter  of  opinion  only,  and  may 
be  a  mistake. 

Oats  have  strong  piercing  roots, 
and  are  called  hearty  feeders,  so 
that  they  can  find  their  nourish- 
ment in  stiff  soils ;  and  for  the 
same  reason  they  sometimes  pro- 
duce great  crops  when  sown  after 
one  ploughing.  But  two  plough- 
ing, are  generally  better  for  them 
than  one. 

When  they  are  cultivated  ac- 
cording to  the  new  husbandry,  they 
should  be  sown  in  double  rows, 
fifteen  inches  apart,  on  beds  six 
feet  wide.  For  they  will  grow 
taller  than  wheat,  and  therefore 
require  more  room.  One  bushel 
of  seed  will  be  sufficient  for  an 
acre  in  this  way.  Some  advise  to 
brining  and  liming  the  seed  ;  but 
this  may  as  well  be  omitted,  unless 
when  they  are  sowed  late.  It  may 
serve  in  this  case  to  quicken  their 
growth. 

Oats  should  be  harvested  in  a 
greener  state  than  other  grain. 
The  straw  should  not  be  wholly 
turned  yellow.  It  will  be  the  bet- 
ter fodder,  if  it  do  not  stand  till  it 
be  quite  ripe  and  sapless.  Mr. 
Cook,  an  F^nglish  writer,  recom- 
mends cutting  them  about  four  or 
five  days  before  the  state  of  ripe- 
ness •,  and  says  they  will  improve 
^^y  b'f'o  ^"^  ^^^  ground.  But  if 
they  be  quite  ripe  when  they  are 
cut,  they  will  be  apt  to  shed  out 
by  lying. 

Though  they  should  be  well 
dried  on  the  ground  after  cutting, 
they    should    not    be  raked,    nor 


298 


OAT 


ONI 


handled  at  all,  when  they  are  in 
the  driest  state.  It  should  rather 
be  done  in  mornings  and  evenings, 
when  the  straw  is  made  limber 
and  pliable  by  the  moisture  of"  the 
air.  If  they  should  be  got  in 
when  they  are  somewhat  damp, 
there  will  be  no  danger,  having 
been  before  thoroughly  dried;  for 
the  straw  and  chaff  are  of  a  very 
dry  nature. 

Some  choose  to  reap  them  :  But 
the  straw  is  so  valuable  a  fodder, 
that  it  is  better  to  cradle  or  mow 
then).  And  that  the  ground  may 
be  well  prepared  for  mowing  and 
raking,  a  roller  should  be  passed 
over  it  after  sowing  and  harrow- 
ing :  But  some  prefer  rolling  the 
ground  after  the  grain  is  some 
inches  high  ;  it  is  said  to  close  the 
soil  to  the  roots,  and  make  the 
grain  grow  with  fresh  vigor. 

Oats  are  so  apt  to  rob  the  land 
of  its  richness  that  they  should  not 
be  sown  on  the  same  spot  twice 
in  succession,  unless  the  soil  be 
very  plentifully  manured.  In  a 
succession  of  crops,  oats  may  some- 
limes  be  sown  to  advantage  the 
tiisl  year  after  the  breaking  up, 
before  the  land  can  be  made  mel- 
low enough  for  other  grain  :  Or 
they  may  follow  wheat  or  barley. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  wheat  or 
barley  stubble  should  be  ploughed 
in  as  snoii  as  (he  crop  is  off. 

The  Farmer's  Assistant  says, 
that  oats  are  not  so  great  exhaus- 
ters of  the  ground  as  is  generally 
imagined,  and  that  a  piece  of  in- 
tervale land  vvas  sowed  eighteen 
years  successively  with  this  grain 
without  manure,  and  without  any 
sensible  diminution  of  the  crop. 


Cypsum  is  said  to  afford  an  ex- 
cellent manure  for  oats.  A  change 
of  seed  is  as  necessary  in  this 
plant  as  in  most  others. 

A  writer  in  the  IMassachusetts 
Agricultural  Repository,  vol.  V. 
pp.  331,  2.,  says  : — "  It  appears  to 
us  best,  all  things  considered,  that 
the  first  crop  after  turning  over 
sward,  should  be  oats.  The  rea- 
son, why  an  oat  crop  should  pre- 
cede a  potatoe  crop  is,  that  it  not 
only  pays  well  by  its  product  for 
the  year's  labour,  but  chiefly  be- 
cause it  enables  the  husbandman 
to  deepen  his  ploughing,  prepara- 
tory to  the  second  year's  series  in 
the  rotation." 

ONION,  Allium,  a  well  known 
esculent  root.  The  common  sort 
have  purple  bulbs.  The  white, 
or  silver  skinned,  which  are  sup- 
posed to  have  come  from  Egypt, 
are  by  some  preferred  to  the  other. 
They  have  not  so  strong  a  taste. 

This  plant  flourishes  so  well  in 
the  southern  parts  of  New-  England, 
that  it  has  long  been  a  considera- 
ble article  of  exportation  ;  in  the 
northern  parts,  it  requires  the  very 
best  culture  ;  but  even  there,  on- 
ions may  be  raised  in  sufficient 
plenty  for  home  consumption. 

A  spot  of  ground  should  be  cho- 
sen for  them,  which  is  moist  and 
sandy  ;  because  they  require  much 
heat,  and  a  considerable  degree  of 
moisture.  A  low  situation,  where 
the  sand  has  been  washed  down 
from  a  neighbouring  hill,  is  very 
proper  for  them.  And  if  it  be  the 
wash  of  a  sandy  road,  so  much  the 
belter.  The  most  suitable  ma- 
nures are  old  rotten  cow  and  horse 
dung  mixed,  ashes,  but  especially 


ONI 


ONI 


299 


soot.  A  small  quantity  of  ashes  or 
sand,  or  both,  should  be  spread 
over  them  after  sowing,  especiall}' 
if  the  soil  be  not  sandy.  And  it  is 
not  amiss  to  roll  the  ground  after 
sowing;  or  harden  the  surface 
with  the  back  of  a  shovel. 

I  have  many  years  cultivated 
them  on  (he  same  spot ;  and  have 
never  found  the  land  at  all  im- 
poverished by  them.  But  on  the 
contrary,  my  crops  are  better  than 
formerly.  But  the  manuring  is 
yearly  repeated  ;  and  must  not  be 
laid  far  below  the  surface. 

The  ground  should  be  dug  or 
ploughed  in  autumn,  not  very 
deep-,  and  then  made  very  fine  in 
the  spring,  and  all  the  grass  roots, 
and  roots  of  weeds,  taken  out ; 
then  laid  in  beds  four  feet  wide. 
Four  rows  of  holes  are  made  in  a 
bed,  the  rows  ten  inches  apart,  and 
the  holes  in  the  rows  ten.  About 
half  a  dozen  seeds  are  put  in  a 
hole,  or  more  if  there  be  any  dan- 
ger of  their  not  coming  up  well, 
and  buried  an  inch  under  the  sur- 
face. This  is  allowed  by  the  ex- 
perienced cultivators  in  Connecti- 
cut, to  be  the  best  way  of  setting 
the  seeds.  For  they  will  grow 
very  well  in  bunches.  I  have 
lately  found  that  they  grow  full  as 
well  in  drill-rows  a  foot  asunder. 
They  crowd  each  other  up  out  of 
the  soil,  and  lie  in  heaps  as  they 
grow  upon  the  surface.  Though 
the  largest  onions  are  those  that 
grow  singly,  some  inches  apart, 
those  that  are  more  crowded  pro- 
duce larger  crops.  And  the  mid- 
dle sized  onions  are  better  for  eat- 
ing than  the  largest. 

The  last  week  in  April  is  the 


right  season  for  sowing  (he  seeds, 
if  the  ground  be  capable  of  being 
got  into  proper  order  so  early.  In 
wet  ground  it  is  often  necessary  to 
sow  them  later. 

Last  year  I  sowed  my  onions  in 
drills,  twelve  inches  apart,  across 
the  beds  :  And  I  found  my  crop 
was  near  double  to  what  it  used  to 
be,  when  they  were  sown  in 
bunches.  Perhaps  this  will  prove 
to  be  the  better  method.  But  I 
gave  them  also  a  slight  top-dress- 
ing of  soot,  just  before  they  began 
(o  form  bulbs,  which  might  be  the 
(rue  rea  on  of  (he  great  increase  : 
So  that  1  dare  not  yet  absolutely 
prefer  the  drill  method  to  the 
other;  though  1  am  much  inclined 
to  give  it  a  decided  preference. 

Onions  should  be  hoed  three  or 
four  times,  and  kept  quite  clear  of 
weeds,  before  (he  tops  arrive  to 
(heir  full  height.  At  this  time  the 
bulbs  will  begin  to  swell ;  hoeing 
should  therefore  be  laid  aside,  and 
the  weeds  pulled  up  by  hand  as 
often  as  they  appear.  Weeds  not 
only  rob  the  plants  of  their  food, 
but  injure  them  much  with  their 
shade  ;  for  they  have  occasion  for 
all  the  warmth  of  (he  sun  (hat  they 
can  get. 

To  promote  the  growth  of  (he 
bulbous  roo(s,  I  have  (bund  it  ad- 
vantageous to  trample  the  ground 
hard  between  the  rows  or  bunches, 
and  to  draw  the  soil  away  from 
the  bulbous  roots,  laying  them  bare 
to  the  sun.  They  are  the  more 
warmed,  and  grow  faster. 

Some  think  it  proper,  and  even 
necessary,  to  pass  a  roller  over 
beds  of  onions,  or  cripple  down 
their  tops  by  hand.     But  I  have 


300 


ON  I 


ONI 


never  been  able  to  find  the  least 
advantage  from  either  of  these 
methods :  Nor  do  1  think  they 
ought  to  be  practised  ;  for  1  can- 
not easily  conceive  how  the  crush- 
ing and  woundirtg  any  plant,  while 
it  is  growing,  should  conduce  toils 
improvement.  Though  some  may 
have  good  crops,  who  treat  them 
in  this  manner.  I  am  persuaded 
that  if  they  neglected  it,  they 
would  have  much  better  crops. 
For,  besides  the  mischief  alrea- 
dy mentioned,  the  sun  is  shut 
out  from  the  bulbs  by  crushnig  the 
tops  down  upon  them ;  but  the 
more  upright  the  tops  are,  the 
more  the  sun  tvill  shine  upon  the 
roots.  I  would  sooner  cut  off  part 
of  the  tops  than  go  to  crushmg 
them. 

Others  shake  and  twist  the  tops, 
to  loosen  the  bulbs  in  the  soil, 
which  1  cannot  approve  of:  For  if 
it  do  not  snap  off  some  of  the 
fibrous  roots,  it  gives  too  free  a 
passage  of  the  air  to  them,  by 
which,  if  dry  weather  follow,  they 
will  be  injured,  rather  than  assist 
ed  in  their  growth. 

When  onions  are  thick-necked, 
do  not  incline  to  bottom,  but  ra 
ther  to  be  what  are  vulgarly  called 
scallions,  the  more  care  should  be 
taken  to  harden  the  ground  about 
them,  and  to  lay  the  brUlbs  bare  to 
the  sun.  And  it  may  be  proper 
to  let  them  touch  the  soil  only  in 
that  part  which  sends  out  the 
fibrous  roots. 

At  the  worst,  if  they  fail  to 
have  good  bottoms  the  first  year, 
and  chance  to  escape  rotting  till 
sprmg  ;  they  may  perhaps  get 
them  by  being  transplanted.  Even 


an  onion  which  is  partly  rotten 
will  produce  two,  three,  or  four 
good  ones,  if  the  seed  stems  be 
taken  off  as  soon  as  they  appear. 
They  ripen  earlier  than  young 
ones,  have  the  name  of  rare-ripes, 
and  will  sell  at  a  h  gher  price. 

When  onions  are  so  ripened  that 
the  greenness  is  entirely  gone  out 
of  their  tops,  it  is  time  to  take 
them  up  :  For  from  this  time  the 
fibrous  roots  decay,  and  no  longer 
convey  any  nourishment  to  the 
bulbs,  as  appears  by  their  becom- 
ing quite  loose  in  the  soil,  and  easy 
to  take  up. 

After  they  are  pulled  up  they 
should  lie  on  the  ground  for  ten 
days  or  a  fortnighl,  to  dry  and 
harden  in  the  sun,  if  the  weather 
be  fair.  Then,  in  fair  dry  weather, 
be  moved  into  a  garret,  and  laid 
thin.  The  scallions  should  not  be 
mixed  with  the  good  onions,  lest 
they  should  cause  them  to  rot ; 
but  be  hung  up  in  some  dry  place 
in  small  bunches,  where  they  will 
not  be  too  much  exposed  to  frost. 

That  onions  may  keep  well 
through  the  winter,  they  should 
not  be  trusted  in  a  warm  and  moist 
cellar;  but  have  a  situation  that  is 
dry  and  cool.  Moisture  soon  rots 
them,  and  warmth  causes  them  to 
vegetate.  A  degree  of  cold  which 
would  ruin  most  other  esculent 
roots,  will  not  injure  them  at  all. 
The  spirit  that  is  in  them  is  suffi- 
cient to  enable  them  to  resist  a 
considerable  degree  of  frost.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  the  southern  parts  of 
this  country,  as  1  am  informed, 
they  are  usually  kept  through  the 
winter  in  dry  casks  placed  in  cham- 
bers, or  garrets.     But  they  should 


ORG 


ORG 


301 


not  be  removed,  or  touched,  while 
the  v\  nather  is  very  frosty. 

Tliose  which  are  shipped  for 
market,  are  usually  made  into  long 
bunches,  by  tying  them  to  whisps 
of  straw. 

Vi'hen  onions  are  kept  long, 
they  are  apt  tosp.rout,  which  hurts 
thtm  for  eating.  To  prevent  this, 
nothing  more  is  necessary  than  to 
sear  the  fibrous  roots  with  a  hot 
iron.  The  pores  of  the  roots  will 
thus  be  stopped,  through  which 
the  air  enters  and  causes  them  to 
vegetate. 

To  obtain  seed  from  onions 
they  should  be  planted  early  in 
beds,  about  nine  inches  apart.  The 
largest  and  soundest  are  best,  hi 
a  month  the  tops  will  appear;  and 
each  one  will  send  up  several 
stems  for  seed.  They  should  be 
kept  free  from  weeds  ;  and  when 
the  heads  of  the  flowers  begin  to 
appear,  each  plant  must  have  a 
stake  about  four  feet  long,  and  its 
stems  be  loosely  tied  to  the  stake 
by  a  soft  string  of  sutficient  strength. 
If  this  be  neglected,  the  heavj 
tops  will  lay  the  stalks  on  the 
ground,  or  the  winds  will  break 
them.  In  either  case,  the  seeds 
will  fail  of  coming  to  perfection. 

ORCHARD,  an  enclosed  plan- 
tation of  fruit  trees,  not  again  to 
be  removed. 

An  orchard  may  consist  wholly 
of  pear  trees;  or  of  quince,  peach, 
plum,  &c.  or  it  may  be  a  mixture 
of  various  kinds  of  trees.  But  or- 
chards of  apple  trees  are  the  most 
important,  and  are  almost  the  only 
ones  in  this  country.  Other  fruit 
trees  are  commonly  planted  in  the 
borders  of  fields,  or  gardens  ;  be- 


cause only  a  small  number  of  them 
is  desired,  or  considered  as  advan- 
tageous, b^  farmers. 

The  soil  for  an  orchard  should 
be  suited  to  the  nature  of  the  trees 
planted  in  it.  Though  a  clay  soil 
will  do  well  for  pear  trees,  it  is  not 
at  all  suitable  for  apple  trees.  ])ry 
sand  and  gravel  are  not  good  ;  but 
a  deep  hazel  loan)  is  preferred  to 
any  other  soil ;  aiid  it  is  the  better 
if  it  be  somewhat  ro<k}  and  moist. 

Plains,  hollows,  or  high  summits, 
are  not  so  good  situations  (or  or- 
chards, as  land  gently  stopping : 
And  a  southeastern  exposure  is 
generally  the  best.  But  when 
this  exposes  the  trees  to  sea  winds, 
a  southwestern  exposure  may  be 
accounted  better. 

If  the  land  be  swarded,  it  should 
be  broken  up  and  tilled  one  year 
before  the  trees  are  planted  ;  and 
if  it  be  dunged  it  will  be  better  for 
the  trees.  The  rocks  should  also 
be  taken  out ;  because  it  cannot 
be  done  so  conveniently  alter- 
wards.  And  if  there  be  any  large 
stumps  of  trees,  which  would  last 
long  in  the  ground,  they  should  be 
taken  out.  Otherwise  they  will 
render  the  operations  of  tillage  in 
the  young  orchard  very  difficult. 

Trees  which  are  ungrafted  are 
supposed  to  bear  as  good  fruit  as 
any  for  cyder.  They  commonly 
bear  more  fruit,  and  will  last  long- 
er. 

But  when  grafted  trees  are  to 
be  transplanted,  those  should  be 
chosen  that  have  not  been  grafted 
more  than  two  years.  Old  stinted 
trees,  the  refuse  of  a  nursery,  are 
to  be  avoided,  which  will  grow 
very  slowly,  if  at  all.     For  direc- 


302 


O  R  C 


ORG 


tions  concerning  the  time  and  man- 
ner of  planting  an  orchard,  see 
Fruit  trees  and  Transplanting, 

Concerning  the  right  distance  of 
the  trees  in  an  orchard,  there  are 
a  variety  of  opinions.  But  the 
coldness  and  wetness  of  the  cH- 
mate,  an  argument  used  in  Eng- 
land for  placing  them  far  asunder, 
does  not  so  well  apply  in  this 
country.  Trees  in  that  cold  and 
cloudy  region  need  every  possible 
advantage  of  exposure  to  the  sun 
and  air.  It  should  be  considered 
at  the  time  of  planting,  to  what 
size  the  trees  are  likely  to  grow  : 
And  they  should  be  set  so  far 
asunder,  that  their  limbs  will  not 
be  likely  to  interfere  with  each 
other,  when  they  arrive  to  their 
full  growth.  In  a  soil  that  suits 
them  best,  they  will  beconte  larg- 
est. Twenty -five  feet  may  be  (he 
right  distance  m  some  soils ;  but 
thirty-five  feet  will  not  be  too 
mueh  in  the  best,  or  even  forty. 
If,  contrary  to  expectation,  they 
should  be  too  close  when  they  are 
grown  up.  they  may  be  easily 
thnnied  :  And  it  will  be  better  to 
take  away  here  and  there  a  whole 
tree,  than  to  lop  and  maim  them 
all,  that  they  may  have  room. 

Thf  plantiiie;  of  small  trees  in 
the  midst  of  full  grown  ones  does 
not  answer  so  well  for  the  small 
ones,  as  when  the  trees  are  all 
nearly  of  one  size.  A  small  tree 
among  large  ones  has  not  an  equal 
chance  o(  exposure  to  tlie  sun  and 
air  :  Both  of  which  arc  of  great 
imponanre.  So  that  it  is  of  tlie 
les'!-  insportancp  to  replace  a  tree 
that  dies  in  bu  orchard.  And  it  is 
of  no  advantage  to  do  it,  when  the 


nearest  neighbouring  trees  appear 
to  be  rather  too  much  crowded. 

An  orchard  must  be  constantly 
well  fenced,  to  keep  out  cattle.  It 
should  be  enclosed  by  itself.  Hun- 
gry sheep  would  peel  the  trees 
while  they  are  young  ;  and  cattle 
will  bite  offall  the  limbs  of  young 
and  old  trees  that  are  within  their 
reach.  But  there  is  no  danger  in 
turning  in  a  horse  occasionally, 
when  there  is  grass  and  no  apples ; 
and  swine  may  be  confined  in  an 
orchard  that  is  grown  up,  so  that 
the  trees  cannot  be  hurt  by  them, 
and  when  the  fruit  is  not  in  their 
way. 

Sheep  sometimes  get  into  an 
orchard  that  is  well  fenced,  by 
means  of  high  banks  of  snow,  when 
they  are  stiff  or  crusted.  I  can 
think  of  no  better  way  to  prevent 
this,  than  to  make  the  fence  so 
open,  with  round  poles,  or  pickets, 
that  the  snow  will  pass  freely 
through  it,  and  not  rise  in  high 
banks.  The  latter  kind  of  fence 
might  be  so  constructed  as  to  keep 
out  such  creatures  as  are  apt  to 
take  fruit  from  the  trees,  without 
leave  of  the  proprietor. 

After  an  orchard  is  planted,  it 
is  best  to  keep  the  land  continu- 
ally in  tillage,  till  the  trees  have 
nearly  got  their  full  growth  ;  at 
least  till  they  have  begun  to  bear 
plentifully.  The  trees  will  grow 
faster,  and  be  more  fruitful.  But 
great  care  must  betaken  that  the 
roots  be  not  disturbed  by  plough- 
ing, nor  the  bark  on  the  stems  of 
the  trees  wounded.  The  ground 
near  the  trees,  which  the  plough 
leaves,  should  be  broken  and  made 
mellow  with  a  spade,  for  two  or 


ORG 


ORG 


303 


three  years,  before  the  roots  have 
far  extended. 

Severe  pruiiings  should  generally 
be  avoided.  The  limbs  that  inter- 
fere, and  rub  each  other,  must  be 
cut  out ;  but  never  shorten  the 
shoots,  nor  cut  oif  any  of  the  bear- 
ing spurs.  Take  off  all  decayed 
and  broken  branches,  close  to  the 
stems  from  whence  they  are  pro- 
duced ;  and  cut  away  all  suckers, 
as  soon  as  they  appear,  whether 
from  the  roots,  or  any  other  parts. 

Mr.  Forsyth  recommends  the 
washing  of  trees  annually,  in  the 
monthof  February  or  March,  with 
the  following  mixture,  which,  he 
says,  will  destroy  the  eggs  of  in- 
sects, and  prevent  moss  from  grow- 
ing on  the  trunks  and  branches : 
It  will  also  help  to  nourish  the 
tree,  keeping  the  bark  fine  and 
healthy  ;  and  will  have  the  same 
effect  on  it  as  a  top-dressing  has 
upon  grass  land. 

Mix  fresh  cow  dung  with  urine 
and  soap-suds,  and,  with  this  mix- 
ture, wash  over  the  stems  and 
branches  of  the  trees,  as  a  white- 
washer  would  wash  the  ceiling  or 
walls  of  a  room  ;  taking  care  to 
cut  off  the  cankered  parts,  and  to 
scrape  off  all  the  moss,  before  you 
lay  the  mixture  on.  In  the  coarse 
of  the  spring,  or  summer,  you  will 
see  a  firm  new  bark  coming  on. 
When  the  old  bark  is  cankered,  you 
must  pare  it  off  with  a  drawing 
knife,  or  such  long  knife  as  1  have 
made  for  the  purpose.  Soft-soap, 
and  lime  and  water  have  also  been 
recommended  for  washing  fruit- 
trees. See     the     article    Fruit 

Trees, 

John  Prince,  Esq.  of  Jamaica 


Plains,  Roxbury,  gives  an  account  of 
a  "  small  white-ringed  worm,  about 
3-4ths  of  an  inch  long,  with  a  dark- 
coloured  head,"  supposed  to  be 
the  same,  which  attacks  the  peach 
trees  at  and  just  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  Worms  of  this 
kind  are  got  rid  of  "  by  digging 
round  the  tree,  and  clearing  away 
the  earth  to  the  roots,  and  thea 
with  a  sharp-pointed  knife,  a  chisel 
or  a  gouge,  (and  a  small  wire  to 
probe,  if  they  are  deep  in  the  tree,) 
they  may  easily  be  destroyed." 
After  taking  out  all  that  can  be 
found,  the  wounds  should  be  co- 
vered over  with  grafting  clay,  and 
a  large  proportion  of  dry  wood 
ashes  mixed,  and  the  earth  then 
returned  to  the  tree. 

The  worms  are  discovered  by 
the  "  saw-dust  borings,  which 
should  be  followed,  and  wholly  ex- 
tracted," Mr.  Prince  likewise 
observes,  "  I  have  also  lost  seve- 
ral mountain  oaks  and  quince 
trees,  I  believe,  by  the  same  de- 
stroyer."— See  Mass.  Agr.  Repos, 
vol.  V.  p.  360. 

Orchards  which  are  laid  down 
to  grass  last  longest ;  but  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  keep  the  ground  clear 
of  weeds  and  grass  for  some  little 
distance  from  the  roots.  They 
may  be  pastured  with  calves  and 
swine,  and  sheep  may  be  admitted, 
provided  the  trees  are  smeared 
with  a  coat  of  lime,  or  of  Mr. 
Forsyth's  composition,  mentioned 
above;  but  large  cattle  which  can 
reach  up  to  the  limbs  of  the  trees 
should  not  be  suffered  to  run  in 
an  orchard. 

Judge  Peters  of  Pennsylvania 
asserts    that    young    apple   trees, 


304 


ORG 


ORE 


taken  from  a  clay  soil,  and  trans- 
planted into  one  nDore  suitable, 
throve  better  than  other  apple 
trees,  apparently  of  better  quality., 
taken  from  a  nursery,  where  the 
soil  was  conge  nial  to  their  growth. 

It  is  said  that  a  rope  of  straw, 
with  one  end  tied  round  the  body 
of  a  tree,  and  the  other  in  a  pail 
of  water,  will  prevent  the  etfects 
of  a  late  frost  in  the  spring. 

Sir  John  Sinclair  says,  "  It  can- 
not be  too  strongly  inculcated, 
that  to  permit  young  plants  to 
bear  fruit  too  early,  is  eventually 
to  do  essential  injury  to  their  fu- 
ture fruitfulness  and  duration." — 
Code  of  Agriculture,  316.  Ameri- 
can Edition, 

"  To  bring  an  orchard  as  early 
as  possible  into  profit,  plant  com 
mon  wild  trees,  or  what  are  com- 
monly called  crab  apples,  four  or 
five  years  old ;  cut  them  down  as 
soon  as  planted,  and  on  their  young 
shoots  graft  or  inoculate  such  fruit 
as  is  desired." — Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Repository,  vol.  111. 
p.^40. 

In  Tessier's  Annales  de  I'Agri- 
culture;  tom.  XLlll.  page  185., 
the  following  method  is  mentioned 
of  preserving  the  health  of  fruit 
trees  in  grass  lands.  In  Germany 
they  surround  the  roots  of  trees 
with  hemp  breakings,  not  only 
near  the  stock,  but  for  some  dis- 
tance from  the  tree.  The  break- 
ings of  flax  are  made  use  of  for 
the  same  purpose,  and  it  is  said 
they  prove  a  defence  against  the 
canker  worm.  Spent  tar  applied 
to  the  roots  of  trees  is  likewise  re- 
commended.— See  Mass.  Agricul- 
tural Repository,  vol.  VI.  283. 


ORE  WEED,  sea  weed^  sea 
ware,  or  sea  wreck.  These  names 
are  applied  to  all  the  vegetables 
which  grow  plentifully  in  the  sea, 
and  on  the  nuiddy  and  rocky  parts 
of  the  shore  below  higli  water 
mark. 

The  sorts  are  chiefly  three  ;  the 
kali,  or  rock-weed,  which  strongly 
adf»f^res  to  rocks,  and  which  is 
allowed  to  be  of  the  greatest  value 
lor  manure.  The  alga,  called  eel 
grass,  or  grass  wreck,  is  of  the 
next  rank  as  to  its  richness.  But 
there  is  another  sort,  consisting  of 
a  broad  leaf  with  a  long  shank  or 
stem,  of  an  inch  diameten,  by  some 
ignorantly  called  kelp;  this  is  said 
by  Sir  A.  Purves  to  be  of  the  least 
value  of  any  of  the  sea  weeds. 
However,  none  of  them  are  unim- 
portant for  fertilizing  the  earth. 

All  vegetables  when  putrefied 
are  a  good  pabulum  for  plants; 
for  they  consist  wholly  of  it.  But 
the  value  of  marine  vegetables  is 
greater  than  that  of  any  other ;  for, 
besides  the  virtues  of  the  other, 
they  contain  a  large  quantity  of 
salt,  which  is  a  great  fertilizer. 
i>Jr.  Dixon  thinks  those  weeds 
which  grow  in  the  deepest  water 
are  the  best.  Perhaps  they  con- 
tain a  greater  proportion  of  salt 
than  those  which  grow  near  the 
shore,  as  they  are  seldom  or  never 
wetted  with  fresh  water. 

A  great  advantage  that  these 
plants  have  above  any  other,  is 
their  speedy  fermentation  and  pu- 
trefaction. The  farmer  has  no 
need  to  wait  long  after  he  has  got 
them,  before  he  applies  them  to 
the  soil.  The  rock  weed  nia)  be 
ploughed  into  the  soil,  as  soon  as 


ORE 


ORE 


305 


it  is  taken  from  the  sea.  This  is 
practised  in  those  parts  of  Scotland 
which  lie  nearest  to  the  shore  ;  by 
which  they  obtain  excellent  crops 
of  barley,  without  impoverishing 
the  soil.  Neither  have  they  any 
occasion  for  fallowing  to  recruit  it. 
In  hills  of  potatoes,  it  answers 
nearly  as  well  as  barn  dung.  1 
have  known  some  spread  it  upon 
young  flax  newly  come  up,  who 
say  it  increases  their  crops  surpris- 
ingly. The  flax  may  grow  so  fast, 
and  get  above  this  manure  and 
shade  it,  so  soon,  as  to  prevent 
evaporation  by  the  sun  and  wind  ; 
so  that  but  a  small  part  of  it  is 
lost ;  and  flax  is  so  hardy  a  plant 
that  it  does  not  suffer  by  the  vio- 
lence of  salt,  like  many  other 
young  plants. 

But  I  rather  think  it  is  best  to 
putrefy  sea  weeds  before  they  are 
applied  to  the  soil.  This  may 
speedily  be  accomplished  by  lay- 
ing them  in  heaps.  But  the  heaps 
should  not  lie  naked.  Let  them 
be  covered  with  loose  earth  or 
turf;  or  else  mixed  in  compost 
dunghills,  or  laid  in  barn  yards 
with  divers  other  substances.  This 
substance  will  soon  dissolve  itself, 
and  what  is  mixed  with  it,  chang- 
ing to  a  salt  oily  slime,  very  pro- 
per to  fertilize  light  soils,  and  not 
improper  for  almost  any  other. 

As  to  the  eel  grass,  &c.  the  best 
way  is  to  cart  it  in  autumn  into 
barn  yards,  filling  the  whole  areas 
with  it,  two  or  three  feet  deep.  It 
may  be  either  alone,  or  have  a 
layer  of  straw  under,  and  another 
above  it.  When  it  has  been  tramp- 
led to  pieces  by  the  cattle,  and 
mixed  with  their  stale  and  dung,  it 
3d 


I  will  be  the  fittest  to  be  applied  to 
!  the  soil.  It  being  a  light  and  bi- 
bulous substance,  it  will  absorb 
the  urine,  which  is  totally  lost  by 
soaking  into  the  earth,  unless  some 
such  trash  be  laid  under  cattle  to 
take  it  up,  and  retain  it. 

Farmers  who  are  situated  near 
to  the  sea  shore  have  a  vast  ad- 
vantage for  manuring  their  lands. 
If  they  were  once  persuaded  to 
make  a  spirited  improvement,  they 
might  enrich  their  farms  to  almost 
any  degree  that  they  please. 
They  should  visit  the  shores  after 
spring  tides  and  violent  storms, 
and  with  pitchforks  take  up  the 
weeds,  and  lay  them  in  heaps  a 
little  higher  up  upon  the  shore  ^ 
which  will  at  once  prevent  their 
growing  weaker,  and  secure  them 
from  being  carried  away  by  the 
next  spring  tide. 

Many  are  so  situated  that  they 
can  drive  th.eir  carts  on  a  sandy, 
hard  beach,  at  low  water,  to  the 
rocks ;  and  fill  them  with  weeds. 
Can  they  be  so  stupid  as  to  neglect 
doing  it  ?  It  is  even  worth  while  to 
go  miles  after  this  manure  with 
boats,  when  it  cannot  be  done  more 
easily. 

It  has  often  been  observed  that 
manuring  with  sea  weeds  is  an  ex- 
cellent antidote  to  insects.  It  is 
so,  not  only  in  the  ground,  but  al- 
so upon  trees.  I  have  an  orchard 
which  has  been  for  many  years 
much  annoyed  by  caterpillars.  Last 
spring,  about  the  last  of  May,  I  put 
a  handful  of  rock  weed  into  each 
tree,  just  where  the  limbs  part  from 
the  trunk ;  after  which  1  think  there 
was  not  another  nest  formed  in  the 
whole  orchard.     April  is  a  better 


30G 


ORE 


OS! 


time  to  furnish  the  trees  with  this 
antidote  to  insects.  And  the  month 
of  March  is  perhaps  better  still. 

Putrefied  sea  weeds  should,  1 
think,  be  used  for  crops  of  cabba- 
ges, and  turnips,  and  for  any  other 
crops  which  are  much  exposed  (o 
be  injured  by  insects. 

One  disadvantage  attending  the 
business  of  farming  in  this  country, 
is,  that  our  cold  winters  put  an  en- 
tire stop  to  the  fermentation,  and 
putrefaction  of  manures.  This  may 
be  in  some  measure  obviated  by 
the  use  of  rock  weed,  which  is  so 
full  of  salt  that  it  is  not  easily  fro- 
zen :  Or  if  frozen,  it  is  soon  thaw^ 
ed.  I  have  been  informed  that 
some  have  laid  it  under  their  dung- 
hills by  the  sides  of  barns  ;  in  which 
situation  it  has  not  frozen  ;  but  by 
its  fermentation  has  dissolved  it- 
self, and  much  of  the  dung  that  lay 
upon  it.  There  is  undoubtedly  a 
great  advantage  in  such  a  practice. 

Another  advantage  of  this  kind 
of  manure,  which  must  not  be  for- 
gotten, is,  that  it  does  not  encour- 
age the  growth  of  weeds  so  much 
as  barn  dung.  It  is  certain  it  has 
none  of  the  seeds  of  weeds  to  pro- 
pagate, as  barn  dung  almost  always 
has.  But  some  suppose  that  its  salt 
is  destructive  to  many  of  the  seeds 
of  the  most  tender  kinds  of  plants; 
if  it  be  so,  it  is  only  when  it  is  ap- 
plied fresh  from  the  sea,  at  the  time 
of  sowing.  But  even  this  is  doubt- 
ful. 

This  manure  is  represented  in 
the  Complete  Farmer  to  be  twice 
as  valuable  as  dung,  if  cut  from  the 
rocks  at  low  water  mark ;  that  a 
dressing  of  it  will  last  three  years  ; 
and  that  fruit  trees  which  have  been 


barren  are  rendered  fruitful  by  lay' 
ing  tliis  manure  about  their  roots. 

OSIEH,  Salix,  Sallozv,  or  JViKozo 
Trees.  According  to  Mr.  Miller 
there  are  fourteen  species;  the 
twigs  of  some  of  which  are  much 
used  by  basket  makers  in  Europe. 

A  sort  of  grey  or  brown  willow 
grows  naturally  in  this  country,  in 
low  moist  places.  But  it  is  only 
a  bushy  shrub,  of  slow  growth, and 
has  not  that  toughness  in  its  shoots 
for  which  some  of  the  foreign  wil- 
lows are  valued. 

Two  sorts  are  propagated  in  this 
country,  which  were  l.)ro\]ght  from 
Europe.  The  young  sh.oots  of  the 
yellow  sort  have  a  golden  colour  ; 
but  the  trunks  of  the  trees  are  al- 
most black.  The  green  sort  bids 
fair  to  be  more  useful  than  the  oth- 
er. They  will  grow  in  almost  any, 
soil,  and  come  to  be  large  tiees; 
but  a  moist  soil  suits  them  best. 
I  have  known  the  green  sort  to 
grow  where  the  ground  is  some 
part  of  the  year  flowed  with  wa- 
ter, as  in  the  borders  of  rivers  and 
ponds. 

It  might  be  advisable  for  the 
people  in  some  parts  of  the  coun- 
try to  propagate  them  for  the  sake 
of  the  wood.  I  know  of  no  other 
trees  that  increase  nearly  so  fast 
as  both  these  kinds  do.  A  prodi- 
gious quantity  of  wood  might  be 
obtained  from  an  acre  planted  with 
them.  In  less  than  twenty  years 
they  would  be  large  trees.  I  have 
known  sets,  or  cuttings  of  the 
smallest  size,  in  ten  years,  grow  to 
the  size  of  thirty  inches  round,  or 
ten  inches  diameter. 

The  trees  are  easily  propagated 
by  cuttings,  or  sets,  either  in  spring 


OUT 


OX 


307 


or  fall.  If  in  spring,  they  should 
be  planted  early,  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  thawed.  Young  sets 
should  be  three  feet  long,  and  two- 
thirds  of  their  length  in  the  ground. 

Live  hedges  may  be  more  cheap- 
ly and  expeditiously  made  of  osiers 
than  of  any  other  plants.  Stakes 
or  truncheons  of  seven  or  eight 
feet  long  may  be  set  in  a  spungy 
or  miry  soil ;  they  will  take  root 
and  grow,  and  form  a  hedge  at 
once.  This  saves  the  cost  of  se- 
curing a  young  hedge.  It  is  with 
great  pleasure  that  1  observe  some 
fences  of  this  kind  are  begun  in 
the  country.  It  is  a  very  cheap 
and  easy  method  of  fencing,  which 
cannot  be  too  much  encouraged. 
The  trimmings  of  the  hedges  will 
be  of  great  value  in  towns  where 
wood  is  become  scarce,  and  may 
be  had  yearly.     See  Willow. 

OVERFLOWING  of  the  GALL, 
a  disease  in  horned  cattle,  known 
by  a  copious  discharge  of  water  at 
their  eyes.  To  cure  it,  take  a 
hen's  egg,  open  the  end,  and  pour 
off  the  white,  reserving  the  yolk  ; 
then  fill  up  the  cavity  with  equal 
quantities  of  soot,  salt  and  black 
pepper ;  draw  out  the  tongue  of 
the  animal,  and  with  a  slender 
stick  push  the  egg  down  his  throat. 
It  should  be  repeated  two  or  three 
mornings.  It  seldom  fails  to  cure. 
OUT  HOUSES,  sliglit  buildings 
that  belong  to  a  mansion  house, 
but  stand  at  a  little  distance  from 
it.  When  it  can  conveniently  be 
so  ordered,  the  out  houses  of  a 
farmer  ought  to  be  so  placed  as  to 
be  all  contiguous  to  the  farm  yard. 
Then  all  the  dung,  filth  and  rubbish 
they  afford  at  any  time,  may  be 


flung  into  the  yard,  without  the 
trouble  of  carrying;  where  they 
will  be  mixed  and  mellowed  by 
the  trampling  of  beasts,  and  con- 
tribute to  the  increase  of  manure. 

OX,  a  castrated  bull.  Till  they 
are  four  years  old,  they  are  usually 
called  steers,  afterwards  oxen. 
Oxen  that  are  white,  black  and 
white,  or  a  very  pale  red,  are  sel- 
dom hardy,  or  good  in  the  draught. 
Red  and  white  oxen  are  often 
good ;  but  the  darkest  coloured 
oxen  are  generally  best.  Brown, 
dark  red  and  brindled  are  good 
colours. 

The  signs  of  a  good  ox  are  these  : 
Thick,  soft,  smooth  and  short  hair; 
a  short  and  thick  head ;  glossy, 
smooth  horns ;  large  and  shaggy 
ears ;  wide  forehead  ;  full,  black 
eyes  ;  wide  nostrils ;  black  lips  ; 
a  thick  fleshy  neck,  and  large 
shoulders ;  broad  reins ;  a  large 
belly ;  thick  rump  and  thighs ;  a 
straight  back  ;  a  long  tail,  well  co- 
vered with  hair ;  short  and  broad 
hoofs. 

Steers  at  the  age  of  two  years 
and  a  half,  or  earlier,  may  be  yok- 
ed and  trained  for  the  draught. 
If  it  be  longer  delayed,  they  are 
apt  to  be  restiff  and  ungovernable. 
They  should  not  be  worked  by 
themselves,  but  in  a  team  with 
other  cattle  which  have  been  used 
to  labour.  Tlieir  work  should  be 
very  easy  at  first,  and  only  at  short 
intervals,  as  they  are  apt  to  fret 
and  worry  themselves  excessively. 
A  gentle  usage  of  them  is  best, 
and  beating  them  should  be  avoid- 
ed. 

If  oxen  are  worked  in  the  yoke 
in  wet  and   rainv  weather,  which 


308 


OX 


ox 


sometimes  unavoidably  happens, 
their  necks  are  apt  to  becomt-  sore. 
To  prevent  this,  a  httle  tallow 
should  be  rubbed  on  the  parts  of 
the  yoke  which  lie  upon  their 
necks,  and  also  upon  the  bows. 

When  steers  come  to  be  four 
years  old,  they  have  one  circular 
ring  at  the  root  of  their  horns, 
at  tive  two  rit)gs,  and  one  ring  is 
added  each  year;  so  that  if  you 
would  know  the  age  of  an  ox, 
count  the  rings  on  one  of  his  horns, 
and  add  three,  which  amounts  to 
the  true  number  of  his  years.  It 
is  the  same  in  a  bull,  and  a  cow. 
In  very  old  cattle,  these  rings  are 
sometimes  rather  indistinct. 

When  an  ox  has  completed  his 
eighth  year  he  should  be  worked 
no  longer,  but  be  turned  off  to 
fatten.  His  flesh  will  not  be  so 
good,  if  he  be  kept  longer.  A 
little  blood  must  be  taken  from 
him,  that  he  may  fatten  the  faster. 

A  valuable  paper  "On  the  Ad- 
vantages of  Oxen  in  preference  to 
Horses,"  by  the  Hon.  Timothy 
Pickering,  was  published  in  the 
Massachusetts  Repository  and 
Journal  for  July,  1820,  vol.  VI. 
No.  2.,  from  which  the  following  is 
extracted  : 

"  1  have  been  inclined  to  enter- 
tain the  opinion  (perhaps  an  erro- 
neous one)  that  oxen  might  be 
trained  (beginning  with  their  first 
acquaintance  with  the  yoke)  to  a 
greater  quickness  of  movement 
than  is  common ;  and  that  this 
might  be  rendered  habitual.  I 
have  seen  a  pair  of  oxen  in  a 
plough  keep  pace  with  another 
plough  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses. 
And  Sir  John  Sinclair,  in  his  ac- 


count of  the  Improved  Scottish 
Husbandry,  mentions  two  distin- 
guished farmers  of  the  name  of 
Walker,  who,  contrary  to  the  ge- 
neral practice  of  their  neighbours, 
persisted  in  the  use  of  ox-teams  as 
protitable  on  their  farms.  Two 
oxen,  harnessed  like  horses  in  a 
plough,  performed  the  same  labour, 
without  losing  a  turn.  After  the 
experience  of  twenty  years,  these 
farmers  pronounced  oxen  tit  for 
every  agricultural  labour,  travel- 
ling on  hard  turnpike  roads  ex- 
cepted. 

"  It  would  seem  that  horse  har- 
ness is  generally,  if  not  universally 
used  fcr  oxen  in  Scotland,  the  col- 
lars being  reversed.  Sir  John 
Sinclair  says,  '  the  principal  objec- 
tion to  the  use  of  oxen  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  shoeing  them.'  The  fa- 
cile mode  of  shoeing  oxen  in  New- 
England  would  remove  that  objec- 
tion." 

In  a  letter,  published  on  the 
next  page  of  the  same  work,  Mr. 
Pickering  gives  the  testimony  of 
an  "experienced  farmer  of  Penn- 
sylvania, whose  prejudices  were 
opposed  to  the  use  of  oxen  for  la- 
bour, and  where  horses,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  constitute  the  far- 
mers' teams.  This  farmer,  Mr. 
William  Ashford,  in  a  letter  to 
John  Vaughan,  Esq.  says  : — 
"  There  is  another  thing  in  which 
1  was  wrong  in  not  taking  your 
advice,  viz.  not  keeping  oxen  in- 
stead of  horses:  this  spring  all  my 
horses  became  sick,  and  I  was 
forced  to  buy  a  pair  of  oxen.  1 
supposed  I  should  be  tired  of  them  ; 
but  on  the  contrary  I  am  tired  of 
horses  ;  as  I  find  that  with  my  two 


PAN 


PAN 


309 


oxen,  I  can  do  more  work  tlian  1 
could  with  four  horses,  and  with 
half  the  expense.  I  have  worked 
horses  for  forty  years,  and  if  1  had 
used  oxen  in  their  place,  they 
would  have  put  five  hundred 
pounds  in  my  pocket." 

To  train  oxen,  put  a  broad  strap 
round  their  necks  :  fasten  one  end 
of  a  cord  to  it,  and  the  other  end 
to  a  large  log  of  wood  :  permit  the 
ox  to  drag  it  about  as  he  feeds  in 
his  pasture  before  he  is  put  into 
harness,  by  which  his  docility  is 
much  forwarded. — Transactions  of 
the  Society  of  Arts,  1800. 

OYSTER  SHELLS  are  an  ex- 
cellent manure,  but  being  large 
they  should  be  burnt  to  lime  be- 
fore they  are  applied  to  the  soil. 


P. 


PALE,  a  pointed  stake,  used  in 
making  enclosures,  partitions,  &ic. 
Gardeners  oftentimes  have  occa- 
sion to  make  pale  fences,  to  secure 
choice  apartments  from  the  en- 
trance of  tame  fowls,  which  will 
not  often  fly  over  a  paled  or  pick- 
etted  fence  :  as  well  as  to  prevent 
the  intrusion  of  idle  and  mischiev- 
ous people. 

PAN,  a  stratum  of  compact 
earth  under  the  soil.  In  some 
places  it  is  so  hard  that  it  cannot 
be  dug  through  without  pickaxes 
or  crows.  If  the  pan  be  low,  the 
soil  is  said  to  be  deep  and  good  ; 
but  if  near  the  surface,  the  soil  is 
thin  and  poor.  The  common 
depth  in  good  land  is  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  four  inches. 

The  deeper  strata,  or  layers  in 


the  bowels  of  the  earth,  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  formed,  by  the 
diurnal  rotation  of  the  earth,  be- 
foie  it  had  become  compact  and 
solid.  But  this  stratum  being 
more  constant  and  regular,  the  for- 
mation ofit,if  I  mistake  not,  should 
be  ascribed  to  other  causes.  If 
we  suppose  that  this  and  the  soil 
above  were  intermixed,  and  of  one 
consistence  after  the  creation,  the 
pan  must  have  been  formed  long 
before  this  time,  by  the  subsiding 
of  the  more  ponderous  parts  of  the 
soil.  For  it  has  been  often  ob- 
served, that  clay,  chalk,  and  lime, 
which  have  been  laid  on  as  ma- 
nures, after  some  years,  disappear 
from  the  surface,  and  are  found  a 
foot  or  more  beneath  it.  Rains, 
and  fermentations  in  the  soil,  make 
way  for  the  descent  of  the  heaviest 
particles  contained  in  the  soil. 

It  is  in  favour  of  this  hypothesis, 
that  the  pan  under  the  soil  most 
commonly  bears  an  affinity  to  the 
soil  itself.  Under  a  gravelly  soil, 
there  is  a  large  proportion  of  gra- 
vel in  the  pan  ;  under  a  sandy  one 
it  usually  is  found  to  consist  chiefly 
of  sand  ;  and  under  a  stiff  loam  it 
is  commonly  clay  :  I  think  it  is  al- 
ways found  to  be  so. 

But  I  suppose  the  operation  of 
frost  should  be  considered,  as  as- 
sisting in  forming  the  pan.  All 
the  soil  above  it  is  usually  hoven 
by  the  frost  in  winter.  At  least  it 
is  so  in  this  latitude.  We  see  rocks 
and  stones  below  the  surface  when 
the  ground  is  frozen,  which  before 
were  on  a  level  with  it ;  and  in  a  soft 
soil  they  do  not  rise  quite  up  to  their 
former  situation,  when  the  ground 


310 


PAN 


PAN 


is  thawed.  The  frost  does  more 
than  tillage,  and  perhaps  rnoie  than 
rains,  or  fermentation,  towards 
causing  the  more  ponderous  parts 
of  the  soil  (or  ponderous  bodies 
in  thi'  soil)  to  subside,  or  sink. 

The  frost  may  have  another  in- 
fluence in  increasing  the  compact- 
ness of  the  under  stratum.  As 
the  frost  expands  the  soil,  the  pres- 
sure of  it  downward  is  increased  ; 
by  which  pressure,  the  matter  of 
which  the  pan  consists,  is  made 
most  close  and  hard,  like  earth 
thai  hss  been  violently  rammed. 
Bui  tbii  perhaps  can  take  place, 
only  when  the  frozen  stratum  is 
heid  down  by  strong  objects,  which 
reach  far  below  the  frost  and  pan  ; 
as  the  stumps  of  large  trees  deeply 
rooted,  large  rocks,  &;c. 

Bui  it  will  be  objected,  that 
some  soils  appear  to  have  no  pan 
under  them.  To  answer  this,  it 
may  be  said,  that  perhaps  some 
soils  were  originally  made  up  of 
particles  equally  ponderous ;  so 
that  one  had  no  more  tendency  to 
subside  than  another.  Or  else  the 
looseness  and  openness  of  the 
under  earth  in  such  places,  was  so 
great  that  it  could  not  stop  the 
ponderous  parts  of  the  soil  in  their 
descent ;  so  that  they  have  been 
dispersed  among  the  loose  earth, 
and  part  of  them  gone  to  a  very 
great  depth. 

If  I  have  given  a  just  account  of 
the  formation  of  the  pan,  will  it 
not  follow,  that  this  under  stratum  ' 
is  less  penetrable  in  cold  than  in 
warm  latitudes,  when  made  of  like 
materials  ?  So  far  as  my  obterva- 
tion  has  extended,  this  appeal's  to 


be  the  case.  It  ought  also  to  be 
lower  in  the  earth,  and  the  soil 
deeper ;  and  future  observations 
may  convince  us  that  this  also  is 
fact. 

Another  corollary  may  be,  that 
deeper  ploughing  than  is  usually 
practised  in  this  country  would  be 
proper.  For  it  seems  that  nature 
designed  all  the  strata  above  the 
pan  to  serve  for  pasture  of  plants. 
And  it  is  well  known  that  the  more 
it  is  stirred  and  mixed,  the  titter  it 
is  for  this  purpose  ;  not  only  be- 
cause it  lies  the  more  loose  and 
open,  but  because  the  more  of  the 
food  of  plants  will  be  contained  in 
it. 

Such  a  stratum,  at  a  right  dis- 
tance from  the  surface,  is  a  great 
benefit  to  the  soil.  For,  as  no  ma- 
nures can  easily  penetrate  it,  they 
must  remain  in  a  good  situation  to 
be  taken  up  by  the  roots  of  vege- 
ables.  But  where  there  is  no 
compact  under  stratum,  unless  at 
a  great  depth,  manures  laid  upon 
the  soil  are  partly  lost.  Hence 
appears  the  great  propriety  of 
claying  and  marling  such  soils.  In 
a  long  course  of  tillage,  these 
dressings  will  subside,  and  do 
something  towards  forming  the 
stratum  that  is  wanted. 

But  to  form  a  good  under  stra- 
tum at  o'nce,  where  it  is  wanted, 
let  one  hundred  or  more  loads  of 
clay  be  spread  on  an  acre  of  sandy 
grass  land.  After  it  has  lain, 
spread  upon  the  surface  one  win- 
ter, let  it  be  made  perfectly  fine 
and  even  by  a  bush  harrow,  and 
rolled.  Afterwards  turn  it  under 
with  a  very  deep  ploughing.     This 


PAN 


PAN 


ill 


\Vill  greatly  assist  a  weak  dry  soil 
to  retain  moisture,  and  to  hold  the 
manures  that  shall  be  given  it.  It 
will  be  a  lasting  benefit.  But  this 
ploughing  should  be  done  at  a 
time,  when  the  clay  is  so  damp 
that  it  will  turn  over  in  whole 
flakes. 

When  a  plot  of  ground  intend- 
ed for  a  garden  wants  an  under 
stratum,  it  may  be  advisable  to 
dig  trenches  four  feet  wide,  and 
place  a  regular  bed  of  clay  in  the 
bottom.  The  second  trench  may 
be  contiguous  to  the  first,  and  the 
first  be  filled  up  with  the  earth 
that  is  taken  out  of  the  second; 
and  so  on  till  the  whole  work  is 
completed. 

Some  have  put  themselves  to 
the  expense  of  this  operation,  only 
with  a  view  to  get  rid  of  all  the 
seed  of  weeds  in  a  garden  which 
had  long  lain  neglected,  placing 
the  upper  part  of  the  soil  at  the 
bottom. 

PANAX,  GINSENG,  or  NIN- 
SENG.  As  this  plant  is  a  native 
of  our  country,  and  is  become  a 
considerable  article  of  commerce, 
I  think  it  is  necessary  that  every 
one  should  know  how  to  distin- 
guish it  from  all  other  plants  when 
he  meets  with  it.  I  desire  there- 
fore to  entertain  the  reader  with 
Mr.  Miller's  account  of  it. 

"  It  hath  male  and  hermaphro- 
dite flower  on  distinct  plants. 
The  male  have  simple  globular 
umbels,  composed  of  several  co- 
loured rays,  which  are  equal.  The 
flower  hath  five  narrow,  oblong, 
blunt  petals,  which  are  reflexed, 
sitting  on  the  empalement,  and  five 


oblong  slender  stamina  inserted  in 
the  empalement,  terminated  by  sin- 
gle summits.  The  hermaphrodite 
umbels  are  simple,  equal,  and  clus- 
tered ;  the  involucrum  is  small, 
permanent,  and  composed  of  sev- 
eral awl-shaped  leaves.  The  flow- 
ers have  five  oblong,  equal  petals, 
which  are  recurved,  and  five  short 
stamina  terminated  by  single  sum- 
mits, which  fall  ott',  with  a  round- 
ish germen  under  the  empalement, 
supporting  two  small  erect  styles, 
crowned  by  simple  stigmas.  The 
germen  afterwards  becomes  an 
umbilicated  berry  with  two  cells, 
each  containing  a  single  heart  sha- 
ped, convex,  plain  seed. 

"  The  species  are,  1 .  Panax  quin- 
quefolmm,  foliis  ternis  quinatis  ^  or 
panax  with  trifoliate  cinquefoil 
leaves ;  called  ninzin.  2.  Panax 
trifolinm,  foliis  ternis  ternatis  j  or 
panax  with  three  trifoliate  leaves. 
"  Both  these  plants  grow  natur- 
ally in  North  America;  the  first  is 
generally  believed  to  be  the  same 
as  the  Tartarian  Ginseng.  It  has 
a  fleshy  taper  root,  as  large  as  a 
man's  finger,  which  is  jointed,  and 
frequently  divided  into  smaller  fi- 
bres downward.  The  stalk  rises 
above  a  foot  high,  naked  to  the  top, 
where  it  generally  divides  into 
three  small  foot  stalks,  each  sus- 
taining a  leaf  composed  of  five 
spear  shaped  lobes,  which  are  saw- 
ed on  their  edges;  they  are  of  a 
pale  green,  and  a  little  hairy.  The 
flowers  arise  on  a  slender  foot  stalk, 
just  at  the  division  of  the  foot  stalks 
which  sustain  the  leaves,  and  are 
formed  into  a  small  umbel  at  the 
top;  they  are  of  an  herbaceous  yel- 


312 


PAR 


PAR 


low  colour,  composed  of  small  pe- 
tals, which  are  recurved.  These 
appear  the  beginuing  of  June,  and 
are  succeeded  by  compressed  heart 
shaped  berries,  which  ripen  the  be- 
ginning of  August.  The  Chinese 
affirm  that  it  is  a  sovereign  remedy 
for  all  weakness  occasioned  by  ex- 
cessive fatigues,  either  of  body  or 
mind ;  that  it  cures  weakness  of 
the  lungs  and  the  pleurisy;  that  it 
stops  vomitings  ;  that  it  strengthens 
the  stomach,  and  helps  the  appe- 
tite;  that  it  strengthens  the  vital 
spirits,  and  increases  the  lymph  in 
the  blood  ;  in  short,  that  it  is  good 
against  dizziness  of  the  head,  and 
dimness  of  sight,  and  that  it  pro- 
longs life  in  old  age." 

Mr.  Miller  found  he  could  not 
propagate  this  plant  by  the  seed, 
either  raised  in  England, or  brought 
from  America.  None  of  the  seeds 
would  grow.  He  believes  the  her- 
maphrodite plants  should  have  some 
of  the  male  plants  standing  near 
them,  to  render  the  seed  prolific  ; 
for  all  the  plants  he  saved  seed 
from,  had  only  hermaphrodite  flow- 
ers. 

PARING  AND  BURNING.  Pa- 
ring the  surface  of  tlie  soil,  and 
burning  the  sods,  is  a  process,  high- 
ly recommended  by  writers  on  ag- 
riculture, and  is  useful  in  all  cases 
where  an  excess  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter renders  the  soil  too  rank.  It  is 
scarceJy  possible  to  redeem  fens 
and  peat  mosses  from  a  state  of  bar- 
renness without  the  assistance  of 
fire.  Old  pastures,  whose  surface 
has  become  mossy,  and  unproduc- 
tive, or  covered  with  useless  and 
coarse  herbage,  are  best  reclaimed 
in  this  wav.     A  meadow  overrun  j 


with  rushes  should  first  be  drained, 
atid  then  pared  and  burnt.  But 
burning  is  prejudicial  to  sandy,  dry 
and  flinty  soils,  containing  little  ani- 
mal or  vegetable  matter. 

A  new  method  of  '•  burning  with- 
out fire"  has  been  lately  discover- 
ed. This  consists  in  substituting 
quick  lime  for  fire.  The  lisne  in  its 
most  caustic  state,  fresh  from  the 
kiln,  is  laid  upon  the  vegetable  sur- 
face to  be  consumed  ;  and  before 
it  is  weakened  by  exposure  to  the 
air,  a  quantity  of  water,  just  suffici- 
ent to  put  it  in  powerful  action,  is 
applied.  This  process  unites  the 
advantages  of  burning  and  liming; 
and  is  probably  the  readiest  and 
cheapest  mode  of  fertilizing  soils 
which  super-abound  with  vegetable 
matter,  and  for  which  lime  would 
prove  a  suitable  manure.  See 
Code  of  Agriculture.  Likewise 
Burning  the  Soil. 

PARSNEP,  Pastinaca,  an  escu- 
lent root,  of  a  sweet  taste,  and  of  a 
very  nourishing  quality. 

Parsneps  must  have  a  mellow, 
rich  and  deep  soil,  not  apt  to  be 
very  dry.  The  best  tasted  roots 
are  produced  in  a  soil  that  is  more 
sandy  than  loamy.  When  they  are 
cultivated  in  kitchen  gardens,  the 
ground  should  be  dug  uncommon- 
ly deep  ;  eighteeii  or  twenty  inch- 
es at  least.  No  common  plough- 
ing will  loosen  the  soil  to  a  suffici- 
ent depth.  The  goodness  of  a  crop 
of  these  roots  depends  much  upon 
their  length. 

If  they  be  set  near  together,they 
will  not  grow  to  a  large  size.  I 
sow  them  in  rows  across  the  beds, 
15  inches  apart,  and  allow  about  6 
inches  from  plant  to  plant  at  the 


PAR 


PAR 


313 


last  thinning,  which  may  be  early, 
as  they  are  not  often  hurt  by  insects. 
1  have  seldom  known  any  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  them. 

The  seeds  should  be  sown  as 
early  as  in  March,  if  the  ground  be 
thawed,  and  not  too  wet.  Some 
sow  them  in  tiie  fall ;  but  thai  is 
not  a  good  practice,  because  the 
ground  will  grow  too  close  and  stiflf, 
for  want  of  stirring  in  the  spring  ; 
which  cannot  well  be  performed  in 
gardens,  without  danger  of  injuring 
the  roots.  And  weeds  will  be  more 
apt  to  abound  among  them,  if  they 
be  sown  in  autumn. 

The  manure  that  is  used  for  pars- 
neps  should  be  very  fine  and  rot- 
ten, and  quite  free  from  straws  and 
lumps ;  otherwise  it  will  cause  the 
roots  to  be  forked,  which  is  a  great 
damage  to  them.  They  require 
but  little  manure,  as  they  draw 
much  of  their  nourishment  from  a 
great  depth.  What  manure  is  giv- 
en them,  should  be  spread  before 
digging  the  ground,  that  some  of  it 
at  least  may  go  deep.  They  do  not 
impoverish  the  soil.  I  have  raised 
them  near  thirty  years  in  the  same 
spot,  on  a  soil  not  naturally  rich, 
and  with  a  very  slight  yearly  dres- 
sing. The  crops  are  better  than 
they  were  at  first :  And  the  earth 
is  become  very  black  to  a  great 
depth. 

Parsneps  will  continue  growing 
so  late  as  till  the  tops  are  killed  by 
the  frost,  if  not  longer.  Some  let 
them  remain  in  the  ground  through 
the  winter,  expecting  that  they  will 
grow  larger  in  that  season.  But  it 
is  not  possible  they  should  grow  at 
all,  so  long  as  they  are  enclosed 
with  the  frozen  soil.  They  may 
40 


possibly  grow  a  little  in  the  spring, 
before  there  is  opportunity  to  take 
them  up,  if  they  escape  rotting. 
But  their  growing  will  be  chiefly 
sprouting  at  the  top,  which  hurts 
them  for  eating.  As  soon  as  they 
begin  to  sprout,  which  will  be  as 
soon  as  the  ground  is  thawed,  they 
will  begin  to  grow  tough,  and  to 
have  a  bitterish  taste. 

The  best  way  is  to  dig  them  up 
about  the  last  of  November,  or  in 
the  beginning  of  December.  Let 
them  not  be  wounded,  or  so  much 
as  touched  with  the  spade  in  doing 
it,  if  it  can  be  avoided;  neither 
should  the  tops  be  cut  oflf  very  close 
to  the  roots,  nor  any  of  the  lateral 
roots  cut  off.  In  either  case  the 
roots  will  rot,  or  become  bitter. 

Many  lose  their  parsneps,  or 
make  them  sprout,  by  putting  them 
into  a  warm  cellar.  It  is  better  to 
keep  them  in  some  out-house,  or  in 
a  cellar  that  freezes ;  for  no  degree 
of  frost  ever  hurts  them.  But  to 
prevent  their  drying  too  much,  it  is 
best  to  cover  them  with  dry  sods, 
or  else  bury  them  in  sand  that  has 
no  moisture  in  it.  Beach  sand  is 
improper,  because  the  salt  in  it 
will  make  them  vegetate. 

It  is  said  by  European  writers, 
that  parsneps  are  an  excellent  food 
for  swine,  and  useful  for  feeding 
and  fattening  all  sorts  of  cattle. 

If  we  would  cultivate  them  for 
these  purposes,  the  horse  hoeing 
husbandry  must  be  applied.  The 
ground  must  be  trench  ploughed  in 
October,  and  all  the  stones  careful- 
ly taken  out.  The  trench  plough- 
ing must  be  repeated  before  the 
end  of  November,  the  soil  made 
fine  by  harrowing,   laid  in  beds  of 


314 


PAS 


PAS 


from  three  to  four  feet  wide,  and 
sown  by  a  line  in  drills  on  the  mid- 
dle of  the  beds.  There  may  be 
either  one  or  two  rows  on  a  bed. 
if  there  be  two,  they  should  be  full 
twelve  inches  apart,  and  the  inter- 
vals proportionably  wider. 

Autumnal  sowing  in  the  field  cul- 
ture is  not  amiss,  as  the  ground  is 
to  be  kept  light  by  horse  hoeing. 
In  this  operation  the  ground  should 
be  stirred  very  deep.  The  plough 
should  go  twice  in  a  furrow.  At 
the  last  ploughing,  the  furrows 
should  be  turned  towards  the  rows. 

PASTURE,  according  to  the 
laLi/uage  of  farmers  in  this  country, 
means  land  in  ^rass  for  the  summer 
feedi,ng  of  cattle. 

To  manage  pasture  land  advan- 
tageously, it  should  be  well  fenced 
in  small  lots,  of  four,  eight  or  twelve 
acres,  according  to  the  largeness 
of  one's  farm  and  stock.  And  these 
lots  should  be  bordered  at  least 
with  rows  of  trees.  It  is  best  that 
trees  of  some  kind  or  other  should 
be  growing  scattered  in  every  point 
of  a  pasture,  so  that  the  cattle  may 
never  have  far  to  go  in  a  hot  hour 
to  obtain  a  comfortable  shade.  The 
grass  will  spring  earlier  in  lots  that 
are  thus  sheltered,  and  they  will 
bear  drought  the  better.  But  too 
great  a  proportion  of  shade  should 
be  avoided,  as  it  will  give  a  sour- 
ness to  the  grass. 

Small  lots  thus  sheltered,are  not 
left  bare  of  snow  so  early  in  the 
spritig  as  larger  ones  lying  bare,  as 
fences  and  trees  cause  more  of  it 
to  remain  upon  the  ground.  f'he 
cold  viads  in  March  and  April  hurt 
the  grass  much  when  the  ground  is 
bare.   And  the  winds  in  winter  will 


not  suffer  snow  to  lie  deep  on  land 
that  is  too  open  to  the  rake  of  winds 
and  storms. 

It  is  hurtful  to  pastures  to  turn 
in  cattle  too  early  in  the  spring : 
and]  most  hurtful  to  those  pastures 
in  which  the  grass  springs  earliest, 
as  in  very  low  and  wet  pastures. 
Potching  such  land  in  the  spring, 
destroys  the  sward,  so  that  it  will 
produce  the  less  quantity  of  grass. 
Neither  should  cattle  be  let  into 
any  pasture,  until  the  grass  is  so 
much  grown  as  to  afford  them  a 
good  bite,  so  that  they  may  fill 
themselves  without  rambling  over 
the  whole  lot.  The  20th  of  May 
is  early  enough  to  turn  cattle  into 
almost  any  of  our  pastures.  Out  of 
some  they  should  be  kept  later. 
The  driest  pastures  should  be  used 
first,  though  in  them  the  grass  is 
shortest,  that  the  potching  of  the 
ground  in  the  wettest  may  be  pre- 
vented. 

The  bushes  and  shrubs  that  rise 
in  pastures,  should  be  cut  in  the 
most  likely  times  to  destroy  them. 
Thistles,  and  other  bad  weeds, 
should  be  cut  down  before  their 
seeds  have  ripened;  and  ant  hills 
should  be  destroyed.  Much  may 
be  done  towards  subduing  a  bushy 
pasture,  by  keeping  cattle  hungry 
in  it.  A  continual  browsing  keeps 
down  the  young  shoots,  and  totally 
kills  many  of  the  bushes.  Steers 
and  heifers  may  mend  such  a  pas- 
ture, and  continue  growing. 

But  as  to  cleared  pastures,  it  is 
not  right  to  turn  in  all  sorts  of  cat- 
tle promiscuously.  Milch  kine, 
working  oxen,  and  fatting  beasts, 
should  have  the  first  feeding  of  an 
enclosure.     Afterwards,  sheep  and 


PAS 


PAS 


315 


liorses.  When  the  first  lot  is  thus 
fed  off,  it  should  be  shut  up, and  the 
dung  that  has  been  dropped  should 
be  beat  to  pieces,  and  well  scatter- 
ed. Afterwards,  the  second  pas- 
ture should  be  treated  in  the  same 
manner,  and  the  rest  in  course, 
feeding  the  wettest  pasture  after 
the  driest,  that  the  soil  may  be  less 
potched. 

Something  considerable  is  saved 
by  letting  all  sorts  of  grazing  ani- 
mals take  their  turn  in  a  pasture. 
By  means  of  this,  nearly  all  the  her- 
bage produced  will  be  eaten  ;  much 
of  which  would  otherwise  be  lost. 
Horses  will  cat  the  leavings  of 
horned  cattle  ;  and  sheep  will  eat 
some  things  that  both  the  one  and 
the  other  leave. 

But  if  in  a  course  of  pasturing, 
by  means  of  a  fruitful  year,  or  a 
scanty  stock  of  cattle,  some  grass  of 
a  good  kind  should  run  up  to  seed, 
and  not  be  eaten,  it  need  not  be  re- 
gretted ;  for  a  new  supply  of  seed 
will  fill  the  ground  with  new  roots, 
which  are  better  than  old  ones. 
And  1  know  of  po  grass  that  never 
needs  renewing  from  the  seed. 

A  farmer  needs  not  to  be  told, 
that  if  he  turn  swine  into  a  pasture, 
they  should  have  rings  in  their  no- 
ses, unless  brakes  and  other  weeds 
need  to  be  rooted  out.  Swine  may 
do  service  in  this  way.  They 
should  never  have  the  first  of  the 
feed  ;  for  they  will  foul  the  grass, 
and  make  it  distasteful  to  horses 
and  cattle. 

Let  the  stock  of  a  farmer  be 
greater  or  less,  he  should  have  at 
least  four  enclosures  of  pasture 
land.  One  enclosure  may  be  fed 
two   weeks,  and  then  shut  up  to 


grow.  Then  another.  Each  one 
will  recruit  well  in  six  weeks ;  and 
each  will  have  this  space  of  time  to 
recruit.  But  in  the  latter  part  of 
October,  the  cattle  may  range 
through  all  the  lots,  unless  some 
one  may  become  too  wet  and  soft. 
In  this  case,  it  ought  to  be  shut  up, 
and  kept  so  till  feeding  time  the 
next  year. 

But  that  farmers  may  not  be 
troubled  with  low  miry  pastures, 
they  should  drain  them,  if  it  be 
practicable,  or  can  be  done  consist- 
ently with  their  other  business.  If 
they  should  producea  smaller  quan- 
tity of  grass  afterwards,  it  will  be 
sweeter,  and  of  more  value.  It  is 
well  known,  that  cattle  fatted  in  a 
dry  pasture,have  better  tasted  flesh 
than  those  which  are  fatted  in  a 
wet  one.  In  the  old  countries  it 
will  fetch  a  higher  price.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  as  to  mutton. 

Feeding  pastures  in  rotation,  is 
of  greater  advantage  than  some  are 
apt  to  imagine.  One  acre,  man- 
aged according  to  the  above  direc- 
tions, will  turn  to  better  account,as 
some  say  who  have  practised  it, 
than  three  acres  in  the  common 
way.  By  the  common  way  I  would 
be  understood  to  mean,  having 
weak  and  tottering  fences,  that  will 
drop  of  themselves  in  a  few  months, 
and  never  can  resist  the  violence 
of  disorderly  cattle ;  suffering 
weeds  and  bushes  to  overrun  the 
land  ;  keeping  all  the  pasture  land 
in  one  enclosure  ;  turning  in  all 
sorts  of  stock  together  ;  suffering 
the  fence  to  drop  down  in  autumn, 
so  as  to  lay  the  pasture  common  to 
all  the  swine  and  cattle  that  please 
to  enter ;  and  not  putting  up  the 


316 


PEA 


PEA 


fence  again  till  the  first  of  May,  or 
later.  Such  management  is  too 
common  in  all  the  parts  of  this 
country  with  which  1  am  most  ac-  ) 
quainted.  I  would  hope  it  is  not 
universal.  i 

Land  which  is  constantly  used  as 
pasture,  will  be  enriched.  There- 
fore it  is  advisable  to  mow  a  pas- 
ture lot  once  in  three  or  four  years, 
if  the  surface  be  so  level  as  to  ad- 
mit of  it.  In  the  mean  time,  to 
make  amends  for  the  loss  of  pas- 
ture, a  mowing  lot  may  be  pastur- 
ed. It  will  thus  be  improved  :  And 
if  the  grass  do  not  grow  so  rank  af- 
terwards in  the  pasture  lot,  it  will 
be  more  clear  of  weeds,  and  bear 
better  grass.  Alternate  pasturing 
and  mowing  has  the  advantage  of 
saving  a  good  deal  of  expense  and 
trouble,  in  manuring  the  mowing 
grounds. 

Though  pastures  need  manuring 
less  than  other  lands,  yet,  when 
bushes,  bad  weeds,  &;c.  are  burnt 
upon  them,  the  ashes  should  be 
spread  thinly  over  the  surface.  The 
grass  will  thus  be  improved  :  And 
grass  seeds  should  be  sown  upon 
the  burnt  spots,  that  no  part  may 
be  vacant  of  grass. 

Sheep,  calves  and  horses,  unless 
they  are  worked,  it  is  said  require 
no  water  in  their  pastures.  The 
want  of  water  induces  them  to  feed 
in  the  night,  when  the  dew  is  on 
and  the  grass  the  more  nutritious. 
Cows  however  want  pure  water. 

In  pastures,  which  are  on  side 
hills,  water  may  generally  be  ob- 
tained by  digging  horizontally  into 
the  side  of  the  hill,  till  it  is  found, 
and  then  carrying  it  out  with  a  pipe. 

PEACH    TREE,  Jmt/gdalus, 


a  well  known  kind  of  fruit  tree. 
Mr.  Miller  reckons  no  less  than  31 
sorts,  besides  a  number  of  less  va- 
lue. What  we  call  the  rareripe, 
is  almost  the  only  sort. 

Peach  trees  should  be  cultivated 
near  to  or  in  the  borders  of  gardens. 
When  they  are  propagated  by  plant- 
ing the  stones,  they  should  be  ta- 
ken from  fruit  that  has  thoroughly 
ripened  on  the  tree,  and  be  plant- 
ed in  October,  three  inches  under 
the  surface.  The  trees  may  also 
be  propagated  by  inoculating  upon 
plums  and  apricots.  This  will  un- 
doubtedly render  them  longer  lived. 

When  the  trees  are  transplant- 
ed, the  downright  shoot  of  the  roots 
should  be  pruned  very  short,  and 
the  lateral  ones  be  left  at  a  good 
length  ;  for  if  the  trees  draw  much 
of  their  nourishment  from  a  great 
depth,  the  sap  will  be  crude,  and 
the  fruit  not  so  good.  As  these 
trees  are  natives  of  a  warmer  cli- 
mate they  ought  to  have  a  south- 
ern exposure.  They  should  also 
be  screened  from  the  direct  influ- 
ence of  north,  and  north-easterly 
winds. 

The  soil  that  suits  them  best  is  a 
dry  light  loam ;  and  the  surface 
should  be  constantly  tilled,  and 
moderately  manured  with  old  rot- 
ten dung. 

If  too  great  a  quantity  of  peach- 
es appear  on  the  trees,  so  as  to 
crowd  each  other,  they  should  be 
speedily  thinned,  by  taking  off  the 
poorest:  Forif  they  be  suffered  all 
to  remain  on  the  tree,  much  of  the 
fruit  will  drop  off  unripe  :  What 
remains  will  not  be  so  perfect,  and 
perhaps  fewer  in  number. 

As  the  fruit  grows  not  on  spurs, 


PEA 


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317 


but  on  the  shoots  made  in  the  last 
preceding  year,  Mr.  Miller  directs, 
that  the  new  shoots  should  be  short- 
ened, by  cutting  them  yearly  in 
October,  leaving  them  from  five  to 
eight  inches  in  length,  according  as 
they  are  weaker  or  stronger.  I 
have  practised  this  method  of  cut- 
ting in  October  for  several  years  ; 
which  has  caused  trees,  which  were 
before  barren,  to  bear  some  fruit. 
And  I  observe  that  the  branches  of 
the  trees  are  not  so  often  killed  by 
the  frost  in  winter.  But  the  trees 
have  nov/  become  sickly  and  bar- 
ren. 

Mr.  Thomas  Coulter  of  Bedford, 
Penn.  gives  some  directions  for  cul- 
tivating peach  trees,  which  he  has 
practised  with  success  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Delaware  for  forty-five 
years.  See  Trans.  Amer,  Philad. 
iSoc.  vol.  5. 

Mr.  Coulter  advises  to  transplant 
peach  trees,  as  young  as  possible 
when  you  mean  them  to  stand ;  if 
in  the  kernel,  so  much  the  better. 
To  plant  them  16  feet  apart  both 
ways,  except  you  would  wish  to 
take  your  waggon  through  the  or- 
chard to  carry  the  peaches  away  ; 
in  that  case  give  24  feet  distance 
to  every  fifth  row,  one  way,  after 
transplanting.  In  the  month  of 
March  or  April,  in  the  third  year 
after  transplanting,  cut  them  all  off 
by  the  ground^^ndi  let  all  the  sprouts 
and  scions  grow.  From  four  to  six 
will,  generally,  come  to  maturity  ; 
the  rest  will  die,  and  should  be  cut 
away,  taking  care  not  to  wound  the 
stock.  The  sprouts  growing  all 
round  the  old  stump,  when  loaded 
with  fruit,  will  bend  and  rest  on  the 
ground  in  every  direction,  and  will 


remain  fruitful  for  many  years. 
Three  years  after  the  trees  are  cut 
off  by  the  ground,  they  will  be  suf- 
ficiently large  and  bushy  to  shade 
the  ground  so  as  to  prevent  grass 
of  any  kind  from  matting  or  bind- 
ing the  surface,  so  as  to  injure  the 
trees  ;  therefore  ploughing  is  use- 
less, as  well  as  injurious  ;  useless 
because  nothmg  can  be  raised  in 
the  orchard  by  reason  the  trees 
will  shade  all  the  ground,  or  near- 
ly so  ;  injurious  because  either  the 
roots,  stock  or  branches  will  be 
wounded. 

Mr.  Coulter  says  that  peach  trees 
should  have  no  manure,  as  it  cau- 
ses them  to  produce  worse  and 
smaller  fruit. 

A  blue  fly  attacks  peach  trees 
from  about  the  middle  of  July  to 
the  middle  of  September,  and  gen- 
erally deposits  its  eggs  in  the  bark 
at  the  surface  of  the  ground.  These 
eggs  hatch  into  worms,  which  eat 
ofT  the  bark  quite  round  the  tree. 
To  guard  against  this,  raise  a  little 
hillock  in  the  month  of  June  round 
the  tree,  about  a  foot  high,  so  as 
completely  to  cover  that  part  of 
the  bark,  kept  moist  and  tender  at 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  This 
hillock  will  not  stand  so  long  atone 
height  as  to  make  tender  the  bark 
above,  as  the  rain  will  gradually 
wash  it  down  level  with  the  surface, 
and  it  must  be  raised  again  every 
summer. 

To  take  out  the  worm,  the  roots 
must  be  uncovered,  and  the  spot 
looked  for  where  the  gum  oozes 
out ;  follow  the  cavity  round  with 
the  point  of  a  knife,  until  you  come 
to  the  solid  wood,  and  lay  the  whole 
open  5  the  worm  will    be  found, 


318 


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PEA 


with  a  white  body  and  black  head  ; 
which  must  be  destroyed,  and  the 
hole  tilled  up  with  cow  manure, 
rendered  adhesive  by  lime  sand  and 
ashes,  as  directed  by  Forsyth.  See 
Orchard. 

Soap  suds,  heated  after  a  fl^mily 
wash,  and  poured  on  the  roots  of 
the  trees,  about  the  middle  of  Au- 
gust, have  been  used  with  success 
in  destroying  the  eggs,  or  the  young 
worm. 

Mr.  John  Ellis,  of  New-Jersey, 
directs  taking  away  the  dirt  round 
the  tree,  so  as  to  expose  the  root 
to  the  depth  of  about  six  inches,and 
surrounding  the  tree  with  straw 
about  three  feet  long,  and  apply  it 
lengthwise  about  an  inch  thick,  the 
butt-ends  of  the  straw  resting  on  the 
ground  at  the  bottom.  This  straw 
should  be  bound  with  three  bands, 
one  near  the  top,  one  at  the  mid- 
dle, and  the  third  at  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  Fill  up  the  hole  at  the 
root  with  earth,  and  press  it  close- 
ly round  the  straw.  When  the 
white  frosts  appear,  the  straw 
should  be  removed,  and  the  tree 
remain  uncovered  until  the  blos- 
soms put  out  in  the  spring.  By  this 
process  the  fly,  it  is  said,  is  pre- 
vented from  depositing  its  egg  v^'ith- 
in  three  feet  of  the  root,  and  al- 
though it  may  place  its  egg  above 
that  distance,  the  worm  travels  so 
slow,  that  it  cannot  reach  the 
ground  before  frost,  and  therefore 
is  killed  before  it  is  able  to  injure 
the  tree. 

Mr.  Forsyth  recommends  thin- 
ning the  peaches,  when  they  are 
about  the  size  of  a  small  marble, 
which  ought  to  be  done  according 
to  the  strength  and  size  of  the  tree, 


and  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  person,  who  performs  the  op- 
eration. 

Mr.  William  Coxe,  of  Burlington, 
N.  J.  prefers  a  northern  aspect 
for  peach  trees :  "  I  have  tried," 
he  remarks,  "  with  great  success  a 
northern  aspect,and  even  the  north 
side  of  a  building  for  apricots,  the 
tenderest  and  earliest  of  our  fruits. 
The  northern  situation  of  the  rising 
and  setting  sun,  is  sufficient  to  im- 
part to  them  a  large  portion  of  heat 
in  the  long  days  of  summer  ;  while 
the  blossoming  is  retarded  by  the 
greater  shelter  afforded  by  the  po- 
sition of  the  sun  in  the  spring." 
American  Jarmer,  vol.  II.  p.  71. 

Peach  trees  are  subject  to  a  dis- 
ease called  the  "  Yellows,"  of 
which  we  have  seen  no  particular 
description.  The  remedy  howev- 
er is  wood  ashes,  scattered  about 
the  roots,  which  is  said  to  be  un- 
failing. American  Farmer,  \o\,  IL 
p.  187. 

PEAR  TREE,  Pyrus.  Pears 
have  a  nearer  affinity  to  quinces 
than  to  apples  :  For  a  pear  scion 
will  grow  upon  a  quince  stock,  but 
not  so  well  upon  an  apple :  And 
a  quince  scion  will  grow  upon  a 
pear  stock. 

The  vast  variety  of  pears,  which 
are  cultivated  in  the  world,  have 
been  obtained  from  the  seeds, 
whichj  like  those  of  the  apple,  will 
produce  fruit  trees  different  from 
tjie  parent  tree.  Seeds  sometimes 
bring  degenerate,  and  sometimes 
improved  fruit  trees.  So  that  all 
the  best  grafted  fruits  have  been, 
some  time  or  other,  produced  by 
nature  itself:  And  though  the  fruits 
vary,  there  is  not  a  specifical  differ- 
ence. 


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SI  9 


Though  the  pear  will  grow  upon 
the  quince,  or  even  upon  the  white 
thorn,  it  should  not  be  grafted  on 
the  former,  unless  it  be  for  dwarf 
trees,  and  even  for  these  it  is  not 
good ;  and  in  no  case  upon  the  lat- 
ter. The  stock  of  the  thorn  will 
not  grow  to  so  large  a  size  as  the 
scion  will :  The  trees  will  therefore 
be  top  heavy,  and  short  lived,  as  I 
have  found  by  experience.  There- 
fore it  is  best  in  general,  that  pears 
should  be  grafted  upon  pears. 

The  propagation  of  pear  trees 
from  the  seeds,  and  the  culture  of 
them  in  nurseries,  do  not  differ 
from  the  propagation  and  culture 
of  apple  trees.     See  J^^'ursery. 

Pear  trees  bear  fruit  at  the  ends 
of  the  last  year's  shoots,  as  well  as 
upon  the  spurs.  Therefore,  the 
new  shoots  should  not  be  shorten- 
ed, lest  the  fruit  be  diminished  : 
And,  for  the  same  reason,  these 
trees  should  never  stand  so  near  to- 
gether  as  to  crowd  each  other.  But 
the  distance  at  which  the  trees  are 
to  be  set  in  an  orchard,  or  in  a 
grove,  depends  partly  upon  the  na- 
ture of  the  trees,  as  some  grow  lar- 
ger than  others  ;  and  partly  upon 
the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil.  In  gen- 
eral they  may  be  allowed  to  stand 
nearer  together  than  apple  trees. 
These,  as  well  as  other  fruit  trees, 
should  have  the  ground  tilled  about 
them,  to  promote  their  growth  and 
fruitfulness,  at  least  until  they  are 
become  so  large  as  to  bear  plenti 
fully,  and  occasionally  from  time  to 
time  afterwards. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  vol.  IV.  No.  III.  con- 
tains a  description  by  Professor 
Peck,  with  drawings  of  the  insects 


which  destroy  the  young  branches 
of  the  pear  tree,  and  the  leading 
shoots  of  the  Weymouth  pine. 
"  The  genus,  to  which  this  insect 
belongs  is  called  Scolytus,of  which 
it  is  an  undescribed  species.  It  is 
precisely  J^  or  -J^^^  of  an  inch  in 
length,  y^^  in  diameter;  of  a  deep 
brown  colour,  the  legs  and  anten- 
nas pale,  and  of  a  rust  colour  ;  the 
thorax  in  front  is  rough  with  small 
tubercles  which  point  upwards  and 
is  studded  with  erect  bristles,  as 
are  also  the  elytra  or  wing-cases 
and  other  parts  of  the  body.  The 
elytra  are  striated  with  slightly  im- 
pressed points,  and  between  the  se- 
ries of  points  are  rows  of  bristles. 
The  plane  of  the  anterior  opening 
of  the  thorax,  which  receives  the 
head,  is  nearly  at  right  angles  with 
that  which  joins  the  abdomen,  so 
that  the  head  is  entirely  under- 
neath. The  eyes  are  oblong,  and 
the  antennae  inserted  at  their  lower 
and  anterior  edge. 

"  The  mischievous  effects  of  this 
minute  insect  are  observed  in  June 
and  July  ;  the  dead  part  of  the 
branches  of  the  pear  tree  should  be 
immediately  cut  off  and  burnt  with- 
out delay,  as  the  insects  have  not 
then  left  them." 

Mr.  Forsyth  gives  a  catalogue 
of  more  than  seventy  different 
kinds  of  this  fruit. 

A  writer  in  the  American  Farm- 
er, vol.  II.  p.  347,  mentions  a  dis- 
ease, which  atTects  pear  trees,which 
causes  a  withering  of  the  interior 
bark,  especially  the  limbs  appear- 
ing in  spring,  in  spots  and  bars,  and 
more  extended  affections  of  the 
same  kin^,  spreading  to  the  de- 
struction of  the    individual   limb, 


520 


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PEA 


though  the  superior  parts  of  the 
limbs  are  often  unatTected  by  the 
disease,  and  are  only  destroyed  by 
being  cut  off  from  the  main  stock. 
This  disease  takes  place,  when  a 
warm  winter,  especially  a  warm 
February  is  followed  by  a  cold 
March.  He  thinks  that  manuring 
and  high  cultivation  are  the  causes 
of  the  disorder,  by  causing  the  sap 
to  flow  too  exuberantly  when  win- 
ter relaxes  a  little  of  its  rigour. 
The  remedy  he  proposes  is  to  let 
the  trees  grow  naturally,  with 
shrubs  and  grass  about  their  roots-, 
but  we  doubt  exceedingly  both  as 
"to  the  supposed  cause  of  the  evil, 
and  the  proposed  remedy. 

PEASE,  Pisum.  The  varieties 
are  so  numerous,  that  I  shall 
not  undertake  to  distinguish 
them.  They  are  cultivated  in 
gardens  and  in  fields.  The  gar- 
den culture  is  thus :  After  the 
ground  has  been  well  dug,  raked 
and  levelled,  mark  it  out  in  double 
rows  one  foot  apart,  and  leave  in- 
tervals of  three  feet  between  the 
double  rows,  so  that  when  they  are 
brushed,  there  may  be  a  free  pas- 
sage through  the  intervals.  Open 
the  trenches  three  inches  deep  with 
the  head  of  a  rake,  or  with  a  hoe  ; 
scatter  in  the  pease  at  the  rate  of 
about  one  to  an  inch,  or  nearer  to- 
gether if  you  have  plenty  of  seed  ; 
and  then  cover  them  with  a  rake. 
Or  small  marks  may  be  made  for 
the  rows,  and  the  pease  pricked  in 
with  a  finger  to  the  same  depth, 
and  the  holes  filled  with  a  rake. 
The  former  method  is  best,  as  the 
mould  about  thenease  is  left  light- 
er ;  atid  it  is  more  e^ypeditiously 
performed. 


The  ground  should  be  hoed,and 
kept  clear  of  weeds;  and  when  the 
young  plants  are  six  inches  high, 
the  stems  should  be  earthed  up  a 
little,  and  each  double  row  filled 
with  brush  wood,  so  that  each 
plant  may  climb,  and  none  of  them 
trail  upon  the  ground.  The  brush 
should  be  set  strongly  in  the  earth, 
or  they  will  not  bear  the  weight  of 
the  plants  in  windy  weather.  I  set 
the  larger  bushes  strongly  between 
the  rows,  making  the  holes  with  a 
crow  bar;  and  then  the  smaller 
bushes  in  the  rows  as  leaders. 
The  latter  may  be  sharpened  a  lit- 
tle at  the  points,  and  pushed  in  by 
hand.  They  will  be  the  more 
fruitful  for  brushing  or  sticking,  as 
well  as  more  sightly,  and  more 
conveniently  gathered.  But  the 
low  dwarf  kinds  seldom  need  any 
supporting. 

Whatever  be  the  sort,  no  weeds 
should  be  suffered  to  increase 
among  them  ;  and  the  alleys  should 
be  hoed  deep  once  or  twice  after 
brushing.  But  the  soil  should  not 
be  very  rich,  lest  the  plants  run 
too  much  to  haulm.  The  most 
hungry  part  of  a  garden  answers 
well  for  pease. 

The  earliest  sorts  of  pease  will 
somtimes  be  ripe  in  June  :  So  that 
a  crop  of  potatoes,  turnips,  or  cab- 
bages, may  be  had  after  them. 

For  field  pease,  land  that  is 
newly  ploughed  out  of  sward  is 
generally  accounted  best  ;  and 
land  which  is  high  and  dry,  and 
has  not  been  much  dunged.  A 
light  loamy  soil  is  most  suitable  for 
them  ;  and  if  it  abound  with  slaty 
stones  it  is  the  better.  But  they 
will  do    in   any  dry    soil.      The 


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321 


sorts  that  grow  large  should  have 
a  weaker  soil ;  in  a  stronger  soil 
the  smaller  sorts  answer  best. 
The  manures  that  suit  pease  best 
are  marie  and  lime. 

Horse-hoeing  husbandry  appli- 
ed, if  it  were  practicable,  would 
greatly  assist  the  growth  of  pease. 
They  soon  begin  to  trail  upon  the 
ground,  that  the  season  in  which 
this  culture  can  be  applied,  is  ex- 
tremely short.  But  some  have 
obtained  very  good  crops  in  this 
way.  Much  of  the  seed  at  least 
might  be  saved. 

Our  farmers  do  not  commonly 
allow  a  sufficient  quantity  of  seed 
for  pease,  in  broad-cast  sowing. 
When  pease  are  sowed  thin,  the 
plants  will  lie  upon  the  ground, 
and  perhaps  rot :  When  they  are 
thick,  the  plants  will  hold  each 
other  up,  with  their  tendrils,  form- 
ing a  continued  web ;  and  will 
have  more  benefit  of  the  air. 

At  Fryburgh  and  Conway,  as  I 
am  informed,  the  farmers  sow 
three  bushels  on  an  acre,  according 
to  the  practice  in  England  ;  and 
their  crop,  one  time  with  another, 
is  upwards  of  twenty  bushels. 
This  is  certainly  better  for  them, 
than  to  sow  one  bushel,  and  reap 
fifteen :  But  he  that  sows  one 
bushel  only  on  an  acre,  must  not 
expect,  one  time  with  another,  to 
reap  twelve. 

The  only  insect  that  commonly 
injures  our  pease,  is  a  small  brown 
bug,  or  fly,  the  egg  of  which  is  de- 
posited in  them  when  they  are 
young,  and  the  pods  easily  perfo- 
rated. The  insect  does  not  come 
out  of  his  nes<,  till  he  is  furnished 
with  short  wings.  They  diminish 
11 


the  pease  in  which  they  lodge  to 
nearly  one  half,  and  their  leavings 
are  fit  only  for  the  food  of  swine. 
The  bugs,  however,  will  be  all 
gone  out,  if  you  keep  them  to  the 
following  autumn.  But  they  who 
eat  buggy  pease,  the  winter  after 
they  are  raised,  must  run  the  ven- 
ture of  eating  the  insects. 

If  sown  in  the  new  plantations, 
to  which  this  bug  has  never  been 
carried,  pease  are  free  from  bugs  : 
For  the  insects  do  not  travel  far 
from  their  native  place.  There- 
fore, care  should  be  taken  not  to 
carry  them,  as  some  are  apt  to  do, 
in  seed,  from  older  settlements. 
Even  in  the  part  of  an  old  farm, 
near  to  which  pease  have  not  for 
a  long  time,  if  ever,  been  sown,  a 
crop  of  pease  are  not  buggy,  if 
clean  seed  be  sown.  There- 
fore, in  such  places,  one  may 
guard  against  this  insect,  by  sow- 
ing pease  which  are  certainly 
known  to  be  clear  of  them.  But 
if  the  contrary  be  known,  or  even 
suspected,  let  the  pease  be  scalded 
a  quarter  of  a  minute,  in  boiling 
water  ;  then  spread  about,  cooled, 
and  sown  without  delay.  If  any 
of  the  bugs  should  be  in  the  pease, 
this  scalding  will  destroy  them : 
And  the  pease,  instead  of  being 
hurt,  will  come  up  the  sooner,  and 
grow  the  faster. 

All  pease  that  are  sown  late, 
should  be  steeped,  or  scalded,  be- 
fore sowing.  They  will  be  for- 
warder. But  pease  should  always 
be  sown  as  early  as  the  ground  can 
be  got  into  a  good  tilth,  without 
any  silly  regard  to  the  time  of  the 
moon ;  by  which  1  have  known 
some  miss  the  right  time  of  sowing, 


322 


PEA 


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and  suffer  much  in  their  crop. 
The  real  causes  of  a  crop  not  ri- 
pening equally,  are  bad  seed,  poor 
culture,  and  sowing  too  thin.  If 
the  ground  be  ploughed  but  once, 
it  should  be  harrowed  abundantly. 
But  on  green  sward  ground,  I  think 
it  should  be  ploughed  early  in  au- 
tunui,  and  cross  ploughed  and  har- 
rowed in  the  spring.  In  old  ground, 
as  it  is  called,  it  is  no  bad  way  to 
plough  in  the  seed  with  a  shoal 
furrow  :  It  will  be  more  equally 
covered,  and  bear  drought  better  ; 
and  1  should  think  the  crop  would 
ripen  more  equally.  There  is  no 
danger  of  thtir  being  buried  too 
deep,  in  our  common  method  of 
ploughing.  The  European  farmers 
think  six  inches  is  not  too  great  a 
depth  for  pease  to  be  covered  in 
moist  soils,  and  four  inches  not  too 
deep  in  clay. 

Changing  the  seed  is  a  matter  of 
very  great  importance  ;  for  pease 
are  apt  to  degenerate  more  ra- 
pidly than  almost  any  other  plants. 
Seeds  should  be  brought  from  a 
more  northern  clime ;  for  those 
which  ripen  earliest  are  best.  I 
would  change  them  yearly,  if  it 
could  be  done  without  much  trou- 
ble or  cost.  Once  in  two  or  three 
years  is  necessary. 

If  weeds  come  up  among  field 
pease,  while  they  are  young,  they 
should  be  weeded.  But  when 
they  are  grown  up,  they  will  hin- 
der the  growth  of  weeds  by  their 
shade,  unless  they  are  sown  too 
thin.  Pease  sown  thick  form  so 
close  a  cover  for  the  soil,  that 
they  cause  it  to  putrefy ;  they  are 
therefore  called  an  improving 
crop  :  But  they  also  draw  a  greater 


proportion  of  their  nourishment 
from  the  air,  than  most  other 
plants  ;  for  it  is  observable  that 
they  continue  their  greenness  long 
after  the  lower  parts  of  the  stems 
are  dead  to  appearance. 

Garden  pease  are  harvested  by 
picking  them  off  as  they  ripen ; 
but  tield  pease  must  unavoidably 
be  harvested  all  at  once.  They 
should  be  carefully  watched,  and 
harvested,  before  any  of  them  are 
so  ripe  as  to  begin  to  shell  out. 
Those  "among  them  which  are  un- 
ripe, will  ripen,  or  at  least  become 
dry,  after  they  are  cut  or  pulled 
up  ;  and  such  pease,  well  dried, 
are  not  commonly  bad  for  eating, 
though  ill  coloured.  To  dry  them, 
they  should  be  laid  on  the  ground 
in  small  heaps,  as  light  and  open 
as  possible,  the  greenest  of  the 
straw  and  pods  uppermost.  The 
heaps  should  never  be  turned  up- 
side down,  though  rain  should  fall, 
but  they  may  be  gently  lightened 
up,  if  they  settle  close  to  the 
ground.  This  will  be  sufficient. 
When  thoroughly  dried,  they 
should  be  carefully  removed  to 
the  barn,  at  a  time  when  the  air  is 
not  dry,  and  thrashed  without  de- 
lay. But  if  the  thrashing  must  be 
delayed,  it  is  better  to  keep  them 
in  a  stack  than  in  a  barn. 

After  winnowing,  pease  should 
lie  on  a  floor,  three  or  four  inches 
thick,  and  air  should  be  let  into 
the  apartment,  that  they  may  be 
dried  ;  which  they  will  be  in  two 
or  three  weeks,  the  weather  being 
generally  dry.  After  this  they 
may  be  put  into  casks  to  keep. 

Our  common  method  of  pulling 
up  pease  by  hand,  is  too  laborious. 


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323 


They  should  be  cut  or  pulled  up 
with  a  sharp  hook  in  the  form  of  a 
sickle ;  fastened  to  a  long  handle. 
Some  perform  it  expeditiously  with 
a  common  sickle.  But  this  is  lit- 
tle, if  at  all,  less  laborious  than  do- 
ing it  with  the  hand. 

When  land  is  in  suitable  order, 
field  pease  may  be  cultivated  ac- 
cording to  the  new  husbandry,  with 
advantage.  M.  Eyma  found  his 
crops  were  half  as  large  again  in 
this  way,  as  in  the  old  husbandry, 
besides  saving  half  the  seed.  The 
intervals  between  the  double  rows 
should  be  near  four  feet  wide,  or 
there  will  not  be  suflicient  room 
for  horse-hoeing.  And  this  should 
be  done  with,  before  the  plants 
begin  to  trail  on  the  ground. 

Pease  are  said  to  be  much  im- 
proved for  the  purpose  of  feeding 
hogs  by  steam  boiling.  The  Do- 
mestic Encyclopedia  recommends 
grinding  them  for  that  use. 

"  It  is  a  great  error  in  those  per- 
sons, who  sow  the  rows  of  tall 
growing  pease  close  together.  It 
is  much  better  in  all  those  sorts 
which  grow  six  or  eight  feet  high  to 
have  only  one  row,  and  then  leave 
a  bed  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide  for 
onions,  carrots,  or  any  crops,  which 
do  not  grow  tall. 

"  The  advantages  which  will  be 
derived  are,  that  the  pease  will 
not  be  drawn  up  so  much ;  be 
stronger  ;  will  flower  much  nearer 
the  ground,  and  in  wet  weather 
can  be  more  easily  gathered  with- 
out wetting  yourself." — Domestic 
Encyclopedia, 

The  same  work  recommends 
sowing  pease  in  rows  of  circles, 
three  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  space 


of  two  feet  between  each  circle ; 
and  if  you  w^ant  more  than  one 
row  of  circles,  leave  a  bed  of  ten 
or  twelve  feet  before  you  begin 
another. 

PEAT,  a  kind  of  earth,  or  ra- 
ther a  fossil,  used  in  some  coun- 
tries for  fuel. 

It  is  often  found  in  low,  miry, 
and  boggy  places,  that  lie  between 
hills.  That  which  is  the  most 
solid  is  the  most  valuable.  It  lies 
at  different  depths ;  sometimes, 
very  near  the  surface  ;  sometimes 
eight  or  ten  feet  below  it.  The 
best  way  to  find  it  is  by  boring. 
The  stratum  above  it  is  most  com- 
monly mud,  or  moory  earth. 

I  suppose  many  places  where  it 
is  found  to  have  been  originally 
ponds ;  and  that  they  have  been, 
either  suddenly,  at  the  time  of 
Noah's  flood,  or  gradually  since, 
filled  up  with  wood,  and  other 
vegetable  substances,  which,  by  a 
slow  putrefaction,  have  been 
changed  into  the  substance  we  call 
peat.  For  some  undissolved  trunks 
of  trees,  bark,  &c.  are  found  among 
it. 

It  is  sometimes  found  in  interval 
lands,  and  near  to  the  banks  of 
rivers.  In  these  places,  the  shitV 
ing  of  the  beds  of  rivers,  caused  by 
the  choking  of  the  old  currents, 
will  afford  a  probable  account  of 
its  formation. 

Peat  is  distinguishable  by  its 
cutting  very  smooth,  like  butter  or 
lard,  by  its  being  free  from  grit, 
and  its  burning  freely,  when  tho- 
roughly dried.  It  will  not  dissolve 
when  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  long 
time,  but  become  hard  like  cinder. 

A  dry  season  is  the  best  oppor- 


324 


PEA 


PEA 


tunity  for  digging  it,  as  the  labour- 
ers are  but  little  incommoded  by 
water.  They  who  dig  peat  for 
fuel,  should  have  long  angular 
spades,  the  blades  of  which  should 
be  spiked  like  a  carpenter's  bur, 
with  which  it  may  be  easily  cut 
out  of  the  pits,  in  pieces  four  in- 
ches square,  and  twenty  inches  in 
length.  These  should  be  laid  sin- 
gly on  the  surface  to  harden. 
When  they  are  partly  dry  they 
are  piled  open,  athwart  each  other: 
And  in  a  few  days  of  drying  wea- 
ther, they  will  be  fit  to  cart,  and 
store  for  fuel.  This  fuel  must  be 
constantly  kept  in  a  dry  place. 

It  has  been  found  by  trials  that 
the  ashes  of  peat  is  a  very  impor- 
tant manure,  of  three  times  the 
value  of  wood  ashes.  Fifteen 
bushels  are  allowed  to  be  a  suffi- 
cient top-dressing  for  an  acre.  It 
is  an  excellent  manure  for  cold 
grass  lands  ;  and  for  all  such  crops 
in  any  soil  as  require  much  heat. 
They  should  be  sowed  by  hand, 
as  they  can  thus  be  more  evenly 
spread.  It  may  be  done  in  winter 
with  the  least  danger  of  hurting 
plants  by  its  heat,  li  sown  in 
summer,  it  should  be  just  before 
rain,  when  it  should  be  immedi- 
ately deprived  of  its  burning  qua- 
lity. 

The  method  of  burning  peat  to 
ashes,  I  will  give  from  the  Museum 
Rusticum,  as  I  have  had  no  expe- 
rience in  it  myself. 

"  As  soon  as  it  is  dug,  some  of  it 
is  mixed  in  a  heap  regularly  dis- 
posed with  faggot  wood,  or  other 
ready  burning  fuel :  After  a  layer 
or  two  of  it  is  mixed  in  this  man- 
ner, peat  alone  is  piled  up  to  com- 


plete the  heap.  A  heap  will  con* 
sist  of  from  one  hundred  to  a  thou- 
sand loads. 

"  After  setting  fire  to  it  at  a 
proper  place,  before  on  purpose 
prepared,  it  is  watched  in  the  burn- 
ing: And  the  great  art  is  to  keep 
in  as  much  of  the  smoke  as  possi- 
ble, provided  that  as  much  vent  is 
left  as  will  nourish  and  feed  the 
fire. 

"  Whenever  a  crack  appears, 
out  of  which  the  smoke  escapes, 
the  labourer  in  that  place  lays  on 
more  peat ;  and  if  the  fire  slackens 
too  much  within,  which  may  be 
known  by  the  heat  of  the  outside, 
the  workmen  must  run  a  strong 
pole  into  the  heap,  in  as  many 
places  as  is  needful,  to  supply  it 
with  a  quantity  of  fresh  air.  When 
managed  in  this  manner,  the  work 
goes  on  as  it  should  do.  It  is  no- 
ticed, that  when  once  the  fire  is 
well  kindled,  the  heaviest  rain  does 
it  no  harm  whilst  it  is  burning." 
To  preserve  the  ashes  for  use,  this 
writer  proceeds  thus : 

"  It  is  necessary  to  defend  the 
ashes  from  the  too  powerful  influ- 
ence of  the  sun,  air,  dews,  rain, 
&c.  or  great  part  of  their  virtue 
would  be  exhaled  and  exhausted. 
If  the  quantity  of  ashes  procured 
is  not  very  great,  they  may  be  easily 
put  under  cover  in  a  barn,  cart 
lodge,  or  hovel ;  but  large  quanti- 
ties must  necessarily,  to  avoid  ex- 
pense, be  kept  abroad  ;  and  when 
this  is  the  case,  they  should  be  or- 
dered as  follows : 

"A  dry  spot  of  ground  must  be 
chosen  ;  and  on  this  the  ashes  are 
to  be  laid  in  a  large  heap,  as  near 
as  possible  in  the  form  of  a  cone 


PEA 


PER 


325 


standing  on  its  base,  the  top  as 
sharp-pointed  as  possible :  AVhen 
this  is  done,  let  the  whole  be  co- 
vered thinly  over  with  a  coat  of 
soil,  to  defend  the  heap  from  the 
weather ;  The  circumjacent  earth, 
provided  it  is  not  too  light  and 
crumbly. 

"  When  thus  guarded,  the  heap 
may  very  safely  be  left  till  Janu- 
ary or  February,  when  it  is  in 
general  the  season  for  spreading  it. 
But  before  it  is  used,  it  is  always 
best  to  sift  the  ashes,  &;c." 

Mr.  Eliot  supposed  it  was  neces- 
sary to  dry  the  peat  before  burn- 
ing: But  perhaps  he  never  tried 
the  above  method.  He  says,  if  it 
be  stifled  in  burning,  it  will  be  coal 
instead  of  ashes ;  and  that  the  red 
sort  makes  better  charcoal  than 
that  made  of  wood. 

It  is  happy  for  mankind,  that 
bountiful  Providence  has  prepared 
and  preserved  this  precious  trea- 
sure, containing  the  essence  of 
vegetables,  by  which  they  may  be 
supplied  with  fuel  in  their  houses, 
manure  for  their  lands,  and  coal 
for  smiths'  forges.  But  in  vain  it 
is  provided,  unless  men  will  search 
for  it,  and  make  use  of  it.  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  of  its  being 
as  plenty  in  this  country,  as  in  any 
other.  When  Mr.  Eliot  searched 
for  it,  he  tells  us  he  soon  found  it 
in  seven  different  places.  Peat  is 
now  found  in  great  abundance  and 
is  much  used. 

The  ashes  are  said  to  have  a 
better  effect  upon  winter,  than  up- 
on summer  grain  ;  and  to  be  not 
good  for  leguminous  plants,  as  it 
makes  their  haulm  too  luxuriant. 
The  good  effects  of  a  dressing  are 


visible  for  three  years  ;  and  they 
will  not  leave  land  in  an  impover- 
ished state. 

PERRY,  a  liquor  made  from 
pears,  in  the  same  manner  as  cyder 
is  from  apples.  The  pears  should, 
in  general,  be  ripe  before  they  are 
ground.  They  will  not  bear  so 
much  sweating  as  apples.  The 
most  crabbed  and  worst  eating 
fruit,  is  said  to  make  the  best 
perry.  After  perry  is  made  it 
should  be  managed  in  all  respects 
like  cyder.  Boiling  has  a  good 
effect  on  perry,  changing  it  from 
a  white  to  a  flame-coloured  and 
fine  flavoured  liquor,  which  grows 
better  by  long  keeping  and  bot- 
thng. 

PERSPIRATION  0/ PLANTS, 
the  passing  off  of  the  juices  that 
are  superfluous,  through  pores  pre- 
pared by  nature  on  their  superfi- 
cies for  that  purpose. 

The  analogy  which  plants  bear 
to  animals,  is  in  no  instance  more 
remarkable  than  in  this  evacuation. 
The  parts  of  a  plant  which  contain 
the  excretory  ducts,  are  chiefly 
the  leaves.  For  we  find,  that  i^a 
tree  be  continually  deprived  of  its 
leaves  for  two  or  three  years,  it 
will  sicken  and  die,  as  an  animal 
does  when  its  perspiration  is  stop- 
ped. But  smear  the  bark  on  the 
stems  with  any  glutinous  substance 
sufficient  to  stop  any  pores,  and  no 
great  alteration  will  be  observed 
in  the  health  of  the  tree,  as  has 
been  proved  by  experiment.  And 
as  M.  Bonnet  has  proved  that 
leaves  generally  imbibe  the  mois- 
ture of  the  atmosphere  on  their  un- 
der surface,  it  is  not  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  pores  for  transpi- 


32G 


PER 


PL  A 


ration  are  placed  on  their  upper 
surface  ?  But  that  the  stems  of 
plants  contain  some  bibulous  pores, 
seems  evident  from  this,  that  when 
placed  in  the  earth,  they  will  send 
out  roots.  But  these  pores  in 
the  stems  are  so  few,  that  the  stop- 
ping of  them  does  not  materially 
injure  a  plant. 

As  animals  have  other  ways  of 
throwing  ofif  those  parts  of  their 
food  which  are  not  fit  to  nourish 
them,  it  is  no  wonder  that  plants 
have  been  found  to  perspire  insen- 
sibly a  far  greater  quantity  than 
animals.  Plants  cannot  choose 
their  food  as  animals  do,  but  must 
take  in  that  which  is  presented  by 
the  earth  and  atmosphere,  which 
food  in  general  is  more  watery, 
and  less  nourishing,  than  that  of 
animals ;  and  for  these  reasons, 
also,  it  might  be  justly  expected, 
that  the  matter  perspired  by  a 
plant  should  be  vastly  more  than 
that  perspired  by  an  animal  of  the 
same  bulk ;  and  this  has  been 
found  to  be  the  case.  See  the  ar- 
ticle Leaves. 

A  practical  inference  or  two 
from  the  copious  perspiration  of 
plants  may  be,  that  the  plants  we 
cultivate  should  not  be  set  too 
close,  that  they  may  not  be  incom- 
moded, or  rendered  sickly,  by  the 
unwholesome  steams  of  each  other. 
They  are  as  liable  to  be  injured 
this  way,  for  ought  that  appears  to 
the  contrary,  as  animals  are.  And 
the  water  that  drips  from  trees 
upon  smaller  vegetables  is  known 
to  be  not  healthy  for  them  ;  the 
reason  is,  because  this  water  con- 
tains some  of  the  matter  which  is 
perspired  from  the  trees.     But  if 


the  perspirable  matter  of  plants  be 
injurious  to  plants,  it  does  not  fol- 
low that  it  is  so  to  animals.  It  is 
thought  to  be  not  so  in  general, 
but  the  reverse.  The  effluvium 
of  poisonous  plants  is  an  exception. 

PLANTS.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy 
says,  that  every  plant  examined  as 
to  external  structure,  displays  at 
least  four  systems  of  organs,  or 
some  analogous  parts.  First,  the 
Root ,'  secondly,  the  Trunk  and 
Branches,  or  stem ;  thirdly,  the 
Leaves;  and  fourthly,  the  Flowers 
or  Seeds.  The  roots  of  plants  in 
their  anatomical  division  are  very 
similar  to  the  trunk  and  branches. 
The  root  may  indeed  be  said  to  be 
a  continuation  of  the  trunk  termi- 
nating in  minute  ramifications  and 
plamenta  and  not  of  leaves. 

The  bark  is  covered  by  a  thin 
cuticle  or  epidermis,  composed  of 
a  number  of  laminae,  or  scales. 
Immediately  beneath  the  epider- 
mis, is  the  parenchyma,  a  soft 
substance,  consisting  of  cells  filled 
with  fluid,  having  almost  always  a 
greenish  tint.  The  innermost  part 
of  the  bark  is  constituted  of  corti- 
cal layers,  and  their  numbers  vary 
with  the  age  of^the  tree. 

It  has  been  shewn  by  the  ex- 
periments of  Mr.  Knight,  and 
those  made  by  other  physiologists, 
that  the  sap  descending  through 
the  bark,  after  being  modified  in 
the  leaves,  is  the  principal  cause 
of  the  growth  of  the  tree  ;  thus,  if 
the  bark  is  wounded,  the  principal 
formation  of  new  bark  is  on  the 
upper  edge  of  the  wound;  and 
when  the  wood  has  been  removed, 
the  formation  of  new  wood  takes 
place  immediately  beneath  the 
bark. 


PLA 


PLA 


327 


The  wood  of  trees  is  composed 
of  an  external  or  living  part,  call- 
ed alburnum,  or  sap'zoood,  and  of 
an  internal  or  dead  part,  the  heart- 
wood.  The  alburnum  is  white  and 
full  of  moisture,  and  in  young  trees, 
and  annual  shoots,  it  reaches 
even  to  the  pith.  The  alburnum  is 
the  great  vascular  system  of  the 
vegetable  through  which  the  sap 
rises,  and  the  vessels  in  it  extend 
from  the  leaves  to  the  minutest 
filaments  in  the  roots. 

The  pith  occupies  the  centre  of 
the  plant ;  its  texture  is  membra- 
nous ;  it  is  composed  of  cells,  which 
are  circular  towards  the  extremity, 
and  hexagonal  in  the  centre  of 
the  substance.  In  the  tirst  infan- 
cy of  the  vegetable,  the  pith 
occupies  but  a  small  space.  It 
gradually,  and  in  annnal  shoots  and 
young  trees,  offers  a  considerable 
diameter.  In  the  more  advanced 
age  of  the  tree,  acted  on  by  the 
heart-wood,  pressed  by  the  layers 
of  the  alburnum,  it  begins  to  di- 
minish, and  in  very  old  forest- 
trees  disappears  altogether. 

The  leaves,  though  infinitely  di- 
versified in  their  forms,  are  in  all 
cases  similar  in  interior  organiza- 
tion, and  perform  the  same  func- 
tions. 

The  alburnum  spreads  itself 
from  the  foot-stalks  into  the  very 
extremity  of  the  leaf;  it  retains  a 
vascular  system  and  its  living 
powers ;  and  its  peculiar  tubes, 
particularly  the  tracheae,  may  be 
distinctly  seen  in  the  leaf. 

PLASTER  OF  PARIS.  Great 
differences  exist  among  agricul- 
turists respecting  the  uses  of 
gypsum,   and   the  manner  of  its 


operation.  Some  have  supposed 
that  its  efficiency  as  a  manure  is 
altogether  owing  to  its  power  of 
attracting  moisture  from  the  air. 
But  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  is  of 
opinion,  that  but  little  effect  can 
be  produced  by  such  attraction. 
"  When  combined  with  water,"  he 
observes,  "it  retains  that  fluid  too 
powerfully  to  yield  it  to  the  roots 
of  the  plant,  and  its  adhesive  attrac- 
tion for  moisture  is  inconsidera- 
ble ;  the  small  quantity  in  which  it 
is  used  likewise  is  a  circumstance 
unfavourable  to  this  idea."  Some 
have  supposed  that  gypsum  assists 
in  promoting  the  putrefaction  of 
animal  substances,  and  the  decom- 
position of  the  manure  in  the  soil. 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  however,  has 
proved  by  repeated  experiments, 
that  it  rather  retards  than  accele- 
rates petrefaction.  This  philoso- 
pher likewise  says,  "  In  examining 
the  ashes  of  sainfoin,  clover  and 
rye-grass,  I  found  that  they  afford- 
ed considerable  quantities  of  gyp- 
sum ;  and  this  substance,  probably 
is  intimately  combined  as  a  neces- 
sary part  of  their  woody  fibre.  If 
this  be  allowed,  it  is  easy  to  explain 
the  reason  why  it  operates  in  such 
small  quantities ;  for  the  whole  of 
a  clover  crop,  or  sainfoin  crop,  on 
an  acre,  according  to  my  estima- 
tion, would  afford  by  incineration 
only  three  or  four  bushels  of  gyp- 
sum. The  reason  why  gypsum  is 
not  generally  efficacious,is  probably 
because  that  most  cultivated  soils 
contain  it  in  sufficient  quantities 
for  the  use  of  the  grasses.  In  the 
common  course  of  cultivation  gyp- 
sum is  furnished  in  the  manure ; 
for  it  is  contained  in  stable  dung, 


328 


PL  A 


PL  A 


and  in  the  dung  of  cattle  fed  on 
grass  ;  and  it  is  not  taken  up  in 
corn  crops,  or  crops  of  pease  and 
beans,  and  in  very  small  quantities 
in  turnip  crops  ;  but  where  lands 
are  exclusively  devoted  to  pastur- 
age or  hay,  it  will  be  continually 
consumed.  Lord  Dundas  informs 
me,  that  having  tried  gypsum  with- 
out any  benefit  on  two  of  his  es- 
tates in  Yorkshire,  he  was  induced 
to  have  the  soil  examined  for  gyp- 
sum, and  this  substance  was  found 
in  both  the  soils." — Elements  of 
Agncidlural  Chemistry,  p.  224, 
225.     Philadelphia  Edition. 

It  has  been  made  a  question, 
whether  burning  and  calcining 
gypsum  make  any  difference  with 
regard  to  its  fertilizing  properties. 
This  is  said  to  be  the  practice  of 
the  French  cultivators,  and  was 
likewise  recommended  by  Mr. 
Deane.  But  an  English  writer  on 
agriculture  says,  that  "calcining 
is  not  likely  to  make  any  ditfer- 
ence,  because  the  sulphuric  acid 
in  gypsum  cannot  be  expelled  by 
the  most  violent  heat  of  the  fur- 
nace ;  and  an  experiment  of  Ar- 
thur Young  countenances  the  as- 
sertion, that  the  effects  of  gypsum 
are  the  same,  whether  calcined 
or  rough."  Others  have  suppos- 
ed that  the  sulphuric  acid,  which 
forms  one  ingredient  of  gypsum, 
"  diluted  with  water  by  the  che- 
mistry of  nature,"  may  be  instru- 
mental in  converting  the  starch  of 
plants  into  sugar.  "As- starch 
boiled  in  water  with  sulphuric 
acid,  and  thereby  changed  into  su- 
gar, increases  in  weight  without 
uniting  with  any  sulphuric  acid  or 
gaS;  or  without  forrai^ng  any  gas. 


we  are  under  the  necessity  of  as- 
cribing the  change  solely  to  the 
fixation  of  water.  Hence  we  must 
conclude  that  starch  sugar  is  no- 
thing else  than  a  combination  of 
starch  wi'th  water  in  a  solid  state. 
The  sulphuric  acid  is  neither  de- 
composed, nor  united  to  the  starch 
as  a  constituent ;  nevertheless  it  is 
found  that  long  boiling  in  pure  wa- 
ter does  not  convert  the  starch  into 
sugar.*  This  fact  opens  a  large 
field  for  rational  speculation  on  the 
physiology  of  vegetables ;  as  it 
renders  it  possible  that  some  of  the 
mineral  acids  in  the  sap  of  plants, 
after  acting  chemically  on  the 
juices  concocted  into  pulp,  may  be 
thrown  out  unchanged ;  they  may 
alter  the  flavour  without  entering 
into  the  essence. 

"  Another  step  in  the  process  of 
conversion  brings  us  to  pure  sul- 
phur. Some  plants  yield  this  on 
analysis.  Seeds  sown  by  way  of 
experiment  on  nothing  but  this 
mineral,  have  produced  healthy 
plants  ;  and  many  soils,  which  na- 
ture has  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
are  highly  fertile."! 

It  is  possible  that  the  sulphuric 
acid  contained  in  gypsum  may  give 
that  substance  its  principal  value 
as  a  manure.  And  it  would  be 
well  to  ascertain,  by  experiment 
the  efficacy  of  sulphuric,  and  other 
mineral  acids,  by  applying  them, 
in  a  very  diluted  state,  as  a  liquid 
manure  to  plants,  and  likewise  to 

*  See  a  Translation  of  the  original  Paper, 
iu  Annals  of  Philosophy,  for  December 
1815.     (No.  XXXVI.  pp.  425,  426.) 

t  See  a  Treatise  on  Soils  and  Manures, 
appended  to  the  Philadelphia  Edition  of 
Elements  of  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Article 
Gi/psum. 


PL  A 


PL  A 


329 


mix  them  with  composts,  in  such 
proportions  as  may  be  most  hkely 
to  ascertain  their  lertihzing  quali- 
ties, if  any  such  exist. 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  gypsum 
is  not  useful  as  a  manure  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  sea.  And  (he  wri- 
ter last  above  quoted  observes, 
that  "on  the  hypothesis  that  sea- 
air  destroys  the  fertilizing  princi- 
ple in  gypsum,  Mr.  R.  Bakcwell, 
a  correspondent  of  the  Montlily 
IMagazine,  proceeds  to  account  for 
its  failure  as  a  manure  in  so  many 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  enough 
to  dispel  this  opinion,  to  name  the 
county  of  Kent,  in  England,  as  the 
place  where  it  has  most  fully  suc- 
ceeded." It  has  likewise  been  used 
on  Long  Island,  in  America,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  sea,  with  good  eliect, 
and  in  the  state  of  Maine  on  the 
margin  of  the  sea. 

Dr.  Jos.  E.  Muse,  of  Maryland, 
in  an  essay  on  the  subject  of  gyp- 
sum, and  its  mode  of  operation, 
published  in  the  American  Farmer, 
vol.  I.  p.  338,  gives  it  as  his  opi- 
nion "  That  the  chief,  if  not  the 
whole  cause  of  the  efficacy  of  gyp- 
sum in  promoting  vegetation,  is  to 
be  found  in  its  tendency  to  become 
phosphoric.  This  gentleman  pro- 
duces many  chemical  facts,  and 
deductions  therefrom,  to  shew  that 
gypsum  by  exposure  to  the  atmos- 
phercy  becomes  phosphoric  ;  and 
that  phosphorus  exists  in  vegeta- 
bles. 

Dr.  Gorham,  in  a  paper  read 
before  a  Society  in  Boston,  July 
]6th,  1813.  and  published  in  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Jour- 
nal, vol.  III.  No.  2.,  gives  it  as  his 
opinion,  that  "  when  the  plaster  of 
42 


Paris  is  applied  to  the  seed,  it  stimu- 
lates the  little  rod,  the  action  of  the 
vessels  is  thus  increased,  absorp- 
tion goes  on  more  rapidly,  and  it 
acquires  more  nourishment  in  a 
given  time  than  in  oidinary  circum- 
stances ;  the  consequences  are  a 
quick  growth  and  enlargement  of 
the  organs,"  <s:c. 

Col.  Taylor,  of  Virginia,  ob- 
serves, in  substance,  that  he  sows 
of  plaster  from  three  pecks  to  one 
bushel  to  the  acre.  Sown  on 
clover  in  the  spring,  it  benefits  it 
considerably.  And  in  any  other 
mode  he  ploughs  it  in.  The  best 
way  of  using  it  is  in  the  spring  upon 
the  long  manure  of  the  preceding 
winter,  to  be  ploughed  in  with  it. 
He  thinks  it  a  valuable  ally,  but 
by  no  means  a  substitute  for  ma- 
nure. That  there  should  be  in- 
tervals of  two,  three,  or  four  years 
between  applying  it  to  the  same 
land.  That  its  effect  is  graduated 
by  the  quantity  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter on  which  it  is  sown.  That 
upon  close  grazed  land  it  does  lit- 
tle good  at  first,  and  repeated  ^ 
v.'ould  become  pernicious ;  and 
that  it  must  be  united  either  with 
long  manure  of  the  winter,  or  the 
ungrazed  vegetable  cover  produc- 
ed in  the  summer.  'I'hat  all  crops 
are  ultimately  improved  by  its  im- 
proving the  soil,  even  when  its 
effects  are  tiot  immediately  visible, 
but  he  does  not  recommend  it  as 
a  top-dressing,  except  for  clover. 

M.  Canolie,  a  French  writer, 
observes,  th;U  plaster  acting,  or 
operating  chiefly  on  the  absorbent 
system  of  plants,  its  cflectsare  not 
like  those  of  manures  buried  in  the 
soil,  which  act  principally  on  tl)e 
roots.     The    latter    according'    to 


330 


PL  A 


TLO 


ihe'n  particular  nature,  divide,  sof- 
ten, enrich,  warm,  or  stiffen  the 
soils  with  which  they  are  mixed. 
The  quantity  of  plaster  spread 
upon  the  land  is  so  trifling,  that  it 
can  have  little  effect  on  the  soil. 
'  I  speak  from  experience.  Plas- 
ter buried  in  the  earth  where  sain- 
foin has  been  sown,  has  produced 
no  visible  alteration  ;  whilst  the 
same  quantity  of  plaster  spread 
over  the  same  surface  of  sainfoin, 
has  produced  the  most  beautiful 
vegetation. 

"  From  this  experience,  so  uni- 
form in  the  application  of  plaster, 
I  am  led  to  believe,  that  one  must 
consult  as  well  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  as  the  kinds  of  plants  to  which 
we  apply  plair  ter.  Thus,  whatever 
may  be  the  soil  on  which  clover, 
lucern,  and  sainfoin  naturally  flour- 
ish vigorously,  or  with  that  vigour 
which  encourages  us  to  apply  ma- 
nure, there  is  no  risk  in  trying 
■plaster. 

"  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  plas- 
ter operates  on  plants  in  a  direct 
ratio  to  the  size  and  number  of 
their  leaves.  1  have  spread  plas- 
ter on  land,  where  sainfoin  was 
mixed  with  the  common  grasses 
which  compose  our  meadows. 
The  growth  of  the  sainfoin  and 
wild  honey-suckle  has  been,  be- 
yond comparison,  greater  than  that 
of  the  common  grasses.  It  is  to 
this  cause  I  attribute  the  failure  of 
success  on  grass-ground,  chiefly 
tilled  with  common  grasses.  I 
have  a  field  of  lucern  separated 
from  a  natural  meadow  only  by  a 
brook.  I  have  greatly  increased 
the  lucern  by  the  plaster,  whilst 
the  effect  of  a  like  quantity  on  the 


adjoining  grass-land,  was  scarcely, 
if  at  all,  perceptible." 

PLOUGH.  It  would  not  be 
possible  to  give  any  accurate  idea 
of  modern  improvements  in  the 
construction  of  this  very  useful 
implement,  without  long  descrip- 
tions, and  expensive  drawings,  in- 
compatible with  the  general  design 
of  this  work,  we  can,  therefore, 
only  give  some  general  rules  for 
the  construction  of  ploughs,  and 
refer  our  readers  to  more  volumi- 
nous and  elaborate  works  for  fur- 
ther and  more  minute  information 
on  this  subject. 

"  The  great  points  to  be  attend- 
ed to  in  ploughing,  are,  1.,  to  open 
a  fair  regular  furrow  ;  and  2.,  to 
do  this  with  as  little  resistance  as 
possible.  It  is  believed  that  these 
advantages  are  to  be  obtained,  by 
the  use  of  a  plough,  to  which  the 
mould-board,  invented  by  Thomas 
Jefferson,  is  affixed,  and  of  which 
the  annexed  views  will  give  a  clear 
idea. 

"  The  following  account  of  this 
mould-board,  and  of  the  principles 
upon  which  it  is  constructed,  are 
taken  from  a  communication,  ad- 
dressed to  Sir  John  Sinclair,  in 
1 798,  then  President  of  the  British 
Board  of  Agriculture,  and  inserted 
in  the  4th  volume  of  the  Transac- 
tions of  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  vol.  IV.  p.  314. 

"  The  mould-board  should  be  a 
continuation  of  the  wing  of  the 
ploughshare,  beginning  at  its  hin- 
der edge,  and  in  the  same  plane. 
Its  first  ofl^ce  is  to  receive  the  sod 
horizontally  from  the  wing ;  to 
raise  it  to  a  proper  height  for  be- 
ing turned  over;  and  to  make,  in 


PLO 


PLO 


331 


its  progress,  the  least  resistance 
possible,  and  consequently  to  re- 
quire a  minimum  in  the  moving 
power.  Were  this  its  only  office 
the  wedge  would  offer  itself  as  the 
most  eligible  form  in  practice. 
But  the  sod  is  to  be  turned  over 
also.  To  do  this  the  one  edge  of 
it  is  not  to  be  raised  at  all ;  for  to 
raise  this  would  be  a  waste  of  la- 
bour. The  other  edge  is  to  be 
raised  till  it  passes  the  perpendicu- 
lar, that  it  might  fall  over  of  its 
own  weight.  And,  that  this  may 
be  done,  so  as  to  give  also  the  least 
resistance,  it  must  be  made  to  rise 
gradually  from  the  moment  the  sod 
is  received.  The  mould-board 
then,  in  this  second  office,  operates 
as  a  transverse,  or  rising  wedge, 
the  point  of  which  sliding  back 
horizontally  on  the  ground,  the 
other  ends  continues  rising  till  it 
passes  the  perpendicular.  Or  to 
vary  the  point  of  view,  place  on 
the  ground  a  wedge  of  the  breadth 
of  the  ploughshare,  of  its  length 
from  the  wing  backwards,  and  as 
high  at  the  heel  as  it  is  wide : 
draw  a  diagonal  on  its  upper 
face,  from  the  left  angle,  at  the 
point,  to  the  right  upper  angle 
of  the  heel :  bevil  the  face  from 
the  diagonal  to  the  right  bottom 
edge,  which  lies  on  the  ground. 
That  half  is  then  evidently  in  the 
best  form  for  performing  the  two 
offices  of  raising  and  turning  the 
sod  gradually,  and  with  the  least 
effort;  and  if  you  will  suppose  the 
same  bevil  continued  across  the 
left  side  of  the  diagonal  ;  that  is, 
if  you  will  suppose  a  straight  line, 
whose  length  is  at  least  equal  to 
the  breadth  of  the  wedge,  applied 


on  the  face  of  the  first  bevil,  and 
moved  backwards  on  it,  parallel 
with  itself  and  with  the  ends  of  the 
wedge,  the  lower  end  of  the  line 
moving  along  the  right-bottom- 
edge,  a  curved  plane  will  be  ge- 
nerated, whose  characteristic  will 
be  a  combination  of  the  principle 
of  the  wedge  in  cross  directions, 
and  will  give  what  we  seek,  the 
mould-board  of  least  resistance.  It 
offers  too  this  great  advantage,  that 
it  may  be  made  by  the  coarsest 
workman,  by  a  process  so  exact 
that  its  form  shall  never  be  varied 
a  single  hair's  breadth.  One  tault 
of  all  other  mould-boards  is  that, 
being  copied  by  the  eye,  no  two 
will  be  alike.  In  truth,  it  is  easier 
to  form  the  mould-board  I  speak 
of  with  precision,  than  to  describe 
that  method  either  by  words  or  fi- 
gures." 

To  this  is  appended  a  more  mi- 
nute description,  applicable  to 
drawings,  with  letters  of  reference, 
&ic. — See  Domestic  Encijclopedia, 
vol.  HI.  p.  113.,  and  American 
Farmer,  vol.  II.  p.  185. 

Robert  Smith,  of  the  township  of 
Buckingham,  Buck's  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, gives  the  following  rules 
for  constructing  ploughs. 

"  In  constructing  ploughs,  the 
beam  ought  to  be  placed  directly 
over  the  land  side  of  the  plough, 
so  that  the  cut  of  the  coulter  may 
be  square  with  the  cut  of  the 
share  ;  and  the  land  should  be 
given  to  the  plough,  between  the 
coulter  mortice,  and  the  fore  end 
of  the  beam  :  for  if  the  cutting  of 
the  share  and  coulter  makes  an 
acute  angle  with  the  land,  then 
the  plough  will  incline  to  fall  to 


332 


PLO 


P  L  O 


the  right ;  but  if  it  makes  an  ob- 
tuse an^le.  ihen  it  will  incliue  to 
fall  to  the  left.  A  plough  for  two 
horses  ought  not  to  be  less  than 
nine  inches,  nor  more  than  ten  in- 
ches wide  in  the  bottom,  and  for 
three  horses  from  eleven  to  twelve 
inches  wide.  The  share  sl)ouhl 
never  differ  much  in  width  from 
the  ploi.jgh.  The  cut  of  the  share 
and  bottom  of  the  plough,  slioulil 
be  exactly  in  one  plane.  A  three 
horse  plough  requires  no  land  in 
its  construction.  A  crook  of  tlirec 
inches  and  a  half  in  the  beam,  be- 
fore the  coulter  mortice  to  the 
right,  will  sutlice  for  the  land  of  a 
two-horse  [s'ough.  A  plough  with 
a  long  beam  runs  the  steadiest, 
and  it  being  long  prevents  the 
plough  from  kicking ;  and  long 
shafts  give  the  ploughman  a  great- 
er command  of  its  direction.  The 
cast-iron  plate  ought  to  be  scoured 
with  a  grit  stone  before  it  is  used." 

Freeborn's  patent  plough  is 
highly  recommended,  but  we  are 
not  able  to  give  a  description  of  it ; 
and  perhaps  it  is  so  well  known 
among  practical  farmers,  that  a 
description  is  not  necessary.  The 
Hon.  Josiah  Qiiincy  gives  this 
plough  the  following  recommenda- 
tion. 

"Concerning  its  superiority,  I 
have  had  the  opinion  of  every 
practical  farmer,  who  has  witness- 
ed its  operation,  I  believe  without 
exception.  The  effect  upon  my 
farm  is  this  ;  that  1  now  break  up, 
with  care,  the  same  quantity  and 
qualities  of  land,  say  one  acre  in  a 
day,  with  one  yoke  of  oxen  and 
one  man,  who  both  holds  and  drives, 
which   was    never    before  to  my 


knowledge,  broke  up  with  less  than 
two  yoke  of  oxen  and  two  men. 
My  ploughmen  agree,  that  it  takes 
one-third  less  power  to  do  the  same 
work  than  common  ploughs  re- 
quire."— Jllassachusetls  Agricultu- 
ral Repository^  vol.  V.  p.  262. 

PLOUGIHNG,  the  operation 
of  turning,  breaking  and  loosening 
the  earth  with  a  plough. 

One  rule  to  be  regarded  in 
ploughing  is,  that  no  land,  ex- 
cepting green  sward,  should  be 
pioughed  when  it  is  so  wet  that  it 
will  not  easily  crumble.  For  the 
principal  design  of  ploughing  is  to 
break  the  cohesion  of  the  soil,  and 
set  the  particles  of  it  at  such  a 
distance  from  each  other,  that  even 
the  smallest  and  tenderest  roots  of 
plants  may  find  their  way  between 
them  in  quest  of  their  nourish- 
ment. 

When,  in  ploughing,  of  land  in 
tillage,  the  furrow  turns  over  like 
a  dead  mass  of  mortar,  ploughing 
can  be  of  no  advantage  at  all. 
The  soil  becomes  no  lighter  or 
looser  by  it,  but  rather  heavier, 
and  more  compact.  On  the  con- 
trary, land  should  not  be  ploughed 
when  it  is  too  dry  ;  because  it  re- 
quires the  more  strength  of  team 
to  perform  it,  nor  can  the  furrows 
be  so  well  turned  over. 

The  plough  should  be  used  much 
more  tlian  it  is  in  this  country. 
When  a  crop  of  barley  or  wheal  is 
designed,  the  ground  should,  at 
least,  be  thrice  ploughed  ;  for  a 
crop  of  Indian  corn,  twice  is  not 
too  much.  The  extra  expense 
will  be  repaid  by  the  increased 
crops.  The  advantages  of  fre- 
quent  ploughing   have   not   been 


PLO 


PLO 


333 


duly  considered.  By  often  re- 
peated ploughings,  land  may  be 
brought  to  any  degree  of  richress 
almot^t  that  is  desired.  Frequent 
ploughings  are  destructive  to 
weeds,  and  save  much  labour  in 
hand  hoeing  and  weeding;  besides 
making  a  greater  quantity  of  pas- 
ture for  plants,  preparing  the 
vegetable  food  the  better  to  enter 
the  roots  of  plants,  and  disposmg 
the  soil  to  imbibe  the  rich  and  fer- 
tilizing particles  of  the  atmosphere. 

As  it  is  known  that  repeated 
ploughings  supply  the  place  of  ma- 
nure ;  where  manure  is  scarce, 
farmers  have  need  to  plough  the 
more  frequently.  Mr.  Tull  was 
of  opinion  that  it  was  a  cheaper 
method  to  enrich  land  by  plough- 
ing than  by  manuring.  In  some 
situations  it  undoubtedly  is  so. 
But  it  is  best  that  land  should  have 
enough  of  both,  when  it  is  practi- 
cable. 

And  the  more  to  promote  the 
fertilization  of  the  soil  by  plough- 
ing, let  the  farmer  plough  as  much 
of  his  ground  as  possible  while  the 
dew  is  on  it,  because  dew  contains 
much  nourishment  for  plants.  The 
early  riser  has  the  advantage  of  his 
sluggish  neighbour;  not  only  in 
ploughing,  but  also  in  harrowing 
and  hoeing,  to  greater  advantage. 

When  land  is  to  be  ploughed 
that  is  full  of  stumps  of  trees  and 
other  obstacles,  as  land  that  is 
newly  cleared  of  wood,  or  that  is 
rocky,  the  strong  plough  should  be 
used  ;  and  the  strtength  of  the  team 
must  be  proportioned  to  the 
strength  of  the  plough ;  and  the 
plough  to  the  condition  of  the  soil. 

ft  is  sometimes  advisable,  to  cut 


off'  close  to  the  bodies  of  stumps, 
before  ploughing,  the  horizontal 
roots  which  lie  near  the  surface  ; 
especially  if  there  be  no  stones, 
nor  gravel  in  the  way,  to  hurt  the 
edge  of  an  axe.  When  this  is 
done,  the  strong  plough  will  be 
apt  to  take  out  the  most  of  the 
roots  so  parted.  And  the  frosts  of 
a  few  winters  will  be  tb.e  more 
likely  to  heave  out  the  stumps,  or 
so  to  loosen  them  that  they  rray  be 
easily  removed.  I  have  conquer- 
ed the  stumps  of  white  pine  in  this 
manner;  but  stumps  which  rot 
very  soon  it  is  not  of  such  impor- 
tance to  manage  in  this  way. 

The  plough  must  go  deeper  in 
breaking  up  new  ground,  than  old. 
Otherwise  the  little  hollows  will 
go  unploughed  ;  and  there  will  not 
be  mould  enough  raised  in  the  hil- 
locks to  level  the  surface,  and 
leave  sufficient  depth  for  the  roots 
of  plants  to  extend  themselves. 

The  last  of  summer,  or  the  be- 
ginning of  autumn,  is  the  right  sea- 
son for  ploughing  new  ground. 
For  it  will  be  best  to  harrow,  and 
cross  plough  it,  before  it  is  seeded, 
that  the  soil  may  be  thoroughly 
mixed  and  pulverized.  There- 
fore, the  first  ploughing  should  be 
performed  so  long  beforehand, 
that  before  the  second,  the  turfs 
may  ferment  and  become  partly 
rotten.  But  this  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected, if  the  ground  be  ploughed 
late  in  the  fall ;  because  the  sun, 
at  that  late  season,  will  not  warm 
the  ground  enough  to  bring  on  any 
fermentation  before  the  following 
spring,  when  the  ground  is  to  be 
sowed.  For  fall  sowing,  the  ground 
should  be  broken  up  still  earlier ; 


334 


PLO 


PLO 


either  in  spring  or  summer  will  do 
very  well,  if  time  can  be  spared 
for  it. 

But  it  is  best  that  the  most  or 
all  of  our  tillage  land  should  be 
ploughed  in  autumn,  both  in  new 
and  old  ground.  It  saves  time 
and  labour  in  the  following  spring, 
the  hurrying  season,  when  more 
work  is  to  be  done  than  we  can 
well  get  time  for ;  and  when  our 
teams  are  usually  much  weaker 
than  they  are  in  the  fall.  But 
land  ploughed  in  the  fall  must  be 
again  ploughed  in  the  spring ;  and 
a  weaker  team  will  perform  it  for 
its  having  been  ploughed  in  au- 
tumn. In  very  light  old  ground 
a  single  horse  may  perform  it ;  and 
two  ploughings  are  better  than  one 
in  most  cases. 

Green  sward  land  may  be 
ploughed  at  any  season  of  the 
year,  if  it  be  not  too  dry,  nor  too 
much  frozen.  In  the  former  case 
the  plough  will  go  very  hard ;  in 
the  latter  ploughing  is  impractica- 
ble, which  is  the  case  for  four 
months  together,  commonly,  from 
the  first  of  December  to  the  last 
of  March. 

Farmers  generally  choose  to 
plough  green  sward  ground  when 
it  is  pretty  wet,  if  it  be  not  miry ; 
because  the  labour  is  more  easy 
for  man  and  beast. 

The  English  farmers  practise 
ploughing  green  sward  in  January, 
not  only  because  they  have  lei- 
sure, but  because  it  is  so  wet  as  to 
plough  easily.  They  call  \t plough- 
ing in  lays ;  and  it  is  said  to  be 
well  performed,  when  the  sward  is 
all  completely  turned  over,  with- 
out lapping  one  furrow  on  another. 


The  depth  that  the  plough  should 
go  is  a  matter  that  ought  to  be  at- 
tended to.  The  depth  should  be 
governed  in  some  measure  by  the 
staple  of  the  soil.  Where  the  soil 
is  deep,  deep  ploughing  is  best. 

But  where  the  soil  is  very  thin, 
shoal  ploughing  is  necessary  ;  for 
if  the  plough  turn  up  much  of  the 
under  stratum,  and  mix  it  with  the 
soil,  it  will  be  rather  hurtful,  at 
least  for  some  years  after. 

Land  should  always  be  ploughed 
out  of  sward  with  a  deeper  furrow 
than  will  be  necessary  afterwards, 
through  the  whole  course  of  tillage. 
AH  the  after  ploughings  will  be 
the  more  easily  performed. 

Mr.  Young,  by  attending  parti- 
cularly to  the  depth  of  ploughing 
in  various  towns  in  England,  found 
that  the  average  depth  in  sandy 
soils  was  four  inches,  in  loamy 
soils  four  and  three  quarters,  and 
in  clayey  soils  three  and  an  half. 
But  in  Ireland  they  plough  much 
deeper;  sometimes  not  less  than 
nine  or  ten  inches. 

Our  farmers  are  sometimes  led 
to  plough  too  shallow,  to  save  a 
little  labour.  And  some  are  too 
much  afraid  to  turn  up  what  they 
call  dead  earth.  But  they  should 
know  that  all  the  soil  above  the 
hard  pan  may  be  well  employed 
in  tillage,  for  some  crops  or  other; 
and  that  if  they  turn  up  a  red  soil, 
it  ^ill  in  a  year  or  two  become 
dark,  and  fit  to  nourish  plants,  by 
being  exposed  to  the  sun  and  the 
weather,  and  imbibing  rich  parti- 
cles from  the  atmosphere. 

Trench  ploughing  is  sometimes 
practised  to  advantage ;  and  the 
culture  of   some  plants  with  tap 


FLO 


PLO 


335 


roots  requires  it.  This  is  done  by 
passing  a  plough  twice  in  a  furrow. 
Ground  may  be  thus  ploughed  to 
the  depth  of  twelve  or  fifteen  in- 
ches. But,  instead  of  this  double 
labour  of  the  plough,  where  la- 
bourers are  plenty,  the  furrows 
may  be  deepened  with  shovels,  by 
a  number  of  hands  following  the 
plough. 

In  old  countries,  where  lands 
have  been  tilled  for  a  thousand 
years,  and  have  been  frequently 
manured,  the  rich  black  soil  has 
been  growing  deeper  r.  id  deeper. 
So  that  trench  ploUjiliiiig  bv  this 
time  may  be  very  proper  in  many 
of  their  fields  ;  and  even  neces- 
sary to  bring  up  the  strength  of 
minuiues,  which  has  subsided  to 
a  greater  depth  than  common 
ploughing  reaches. 

But  there  is  only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  our  land  in  this  country, 
to  which  trench  ploughing  is  suita- 
ble, or  which  will  well  pay  the 
cost  of  it.  In  most  of  our  soils, 
even  where  the  hard  under  stra- 
tum, or  pan,  lies  deep,  trench 
ploughing  would  throw  up  so  much 
cold  hungry  earth,  and  bury  the 
upper  tnould  so  deep,  as  to  render 
the  land  very  barren  at  first.  The 
places  where  it  would  answer  best, 
are  hollows,  into  which  much  ve- 
getable mould  has  been  washed 
down  from  the  neighbouring 
heights,  which  has  a  black  moory 
soil  to  a  great  depth ;  and  such 
spots  as  have  been  used  as  gardens, 
and  have  been  often  dug  with  the 
spade. 

If  labour  of  men  and  teams  were 
as  cheap  as  it  i«  hi  some  countries,  it 
would  be  advisable,  to  give  more  of 


our  deepest  soils  this  culture  than 
we  do  at  present.  But  wherever  it  is 
once  begun,  it  should  be  continu- 
ed, at  least  through  a  course  of 
tillage  ;  or  else  the  first  ploughings 
will  be  worse  than  lost.  The  best 
of  the  soil  would  be  buried  at  such 
a  depth  as  to  become  almost  use- 
less, unless  it  were  alternately 
brought  near  the  surface,  by  after 
ploughings  equally  deep. 

Regard  should  be  had  to  the  shape 
of  the  land  iti  ploughing.  They 
who  plough  a  steep  hill  up  and 
down  injure  their  cattle,  and  miss 
of  ploughing  their  land  to  advan- 
tage. The  furrow  that  is  drawn  up 
hill  must  be  excessively  shoal  ;  or 
the  team  much  stronger  than  com- 
mon. For  this  reason  a  hill  should 
be  ploughed  horizontally ;  with  fur- 
rows as  nearly  parallel  to  the  base 
as  possible.  This  may  be  easily 
done  when  all  the  sides  of  a  hill 
are  to  be  ploughed  at  once.  The 
rains  will  carry  much  of  the  finest 
of  the  soil  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill 
if  the  furrows  are  made  up  and 
down.  But  ploughed  the  other 
way,  the  hentings,  or  parting  fur- 
rows, will  be  sufficient  drains  ;  and 
the  water  will  move  so  slowly  in 
them,  that  none  of  the  soil  will  be 
washed  away.  But  when  a  hill  is 
very  steep,  no  turning  of  a  furrow 
upwards  should  be  attempted. 
And  if  only  one  side  of  a  steep 
hill  is  to  be  ploughed,  the  furrows 
should  be  all  cut  the  same  way, 
the  team  returning  light  after  each 
furrow. 

The  reader  will  perceive,  that 
what  is  commonly  called  cross 
ploughing  on  hills'  sides  is  not  ap- 
proved.    But    cross-ploughing    of 


336 


PLU 


PLO 


land  that  is  level,  or  gently  sloping, 
is  oftentimes  very  proper.  Land 
in  general  should  be  ploughed  one 
way  and  the  other  alternately,  that 
it  nnay  be  the  more  thoroughly 
pulverized  and  mixed  ;  that  is, 
when  the  shape  of  the  ground  and 
the  dimensions  of  a  lot  admit  of 
it. 

Green  sward  ground,  that  is 
hroken  up  in  the  fall  is  usually 
cross-ploughed  in  the  spring  fol- 
lowing. But  this  should  not  be 
done  without  caution.  For  if  the 
turf  be  not  considerably  rotted, 
cross-ploughing  will  only  drive  it 
into  heaps,  instead  of  cutting  it  to 
pieces :  Neither  will  the  harrow 
reduce  the  turf  to  powder.  In 
this  case  it  will  be  best  to  omit  the 
cross-ploughing  :  And  after  a  hea- 
vy harrowing  lengthwise  of  the 
furrows,  seed  the  land  with  pease, 
potatoes,  maize,  or  any  thing  that 
will  do  well  with  such  culture. 

Some  plough  green  sward  in  the 
spring  and  seed  it  without  delay. 
It  sometimes  does  well  for  maize, 
oats,  and  flax,' if  well  dunged  ;  or 
for  pease  and  potatoes  without 
much  dunging.  Potatoes  seem  to 
do  better  than  any  thing  else.  But 
the  holes  must  be  made  quite 
through  the  furrows,  whether 
dunged  or  not.  As  this  crop  re- 
quires the  greatest  part  of  its 
nourishment  in  the  latter  part  of 
summer,  about  that  time  the  turf 
comes  to  be  in  i(s  best  state  for 
yielding  nourishment  to  plants. 

For  a  crop  of  winter  wheat  the 
tillage  ground  should  be  ploughed 
in  the  spring,  again  in  June,  and 
lastly  just  before  sowing.  What- 
ever manure  be  put  on,  it  should 


be  just  before  the  last  ploughing, 
and  ploughed  in  immediately.  If 
the  grain  be  ploughed  in  with  a 
shoal  furrow,  it  will  not  be  so  apt 
to  be  killed  by  the  winter.  The 
roots  will  lie  deeper  than  those  of 
harrowed  grain ;  and  it  will  the 
better  bear  drought  in  the  follow- 
ing summer,  if  that  should  happen. 

For  other  seeding  in  general,  or 
for  whatever  is  planted  or  sown  in 
the  spring,  on  what  we  call  old 
ground,  it  should  be  ploughed  near 
the  time  of  seeding,  although  it 
were  ploughed  in  the  fall  ;  and  the 
nearer  to  the  time  of  seeding  the 
better.  The  seeds  will  be  the 
better  supplied  with  moisture  to 
make  them  vegetate  ;  and  the  crop 
will  have  the  better  chance  of  be- 
ing able  to  outgrow  and  stifle  the 
weeds,  and  have  the  benefit  of  a 
looser  soil,  during  the  whole  of  its 
growth.  These  autumnal  plough- 
ings,  I  have  found  to  be  greatly 
advantageous,  especially  in  clays, 
and  in  stiff  loams. 

Many,  to  save  labour,  plough 
their  land  so  shallow  for  sowing, 
as  scarcely  to  take  up  the  roots  of 
the  vveeds.  Men  of  common  un- 
derstanding, I  should  suppose, 
need  not  be  told  that  this  is  bad 
husbandry  :  For  it  may  rationally 
be  expected  that  there  will  be  a 
larger  crop  of  weeds,  than  if  it  had 
not  been  ploughed  at  all  ;  and  that 
the  roots  of  the  plants  will  not 
have  suflicient  room  to  extend 
themselves.  Ploughing  the  ground 
in  autumn  will  have  a  tendency  to 
prevent  this  most  absurd  conduct 
in  the  spring,  which  many  go  into 
that  they  may  favour  their  teams 
in  a  faint  season. 


PLO 


PLO 


33: 


That  seed  may  be  sown  as  early 
as  possible,  many  are  led  to  make 
the  seed  furrow  before  the  ground 
is  sufficiently  dry.  If  the  crop 
should  be  a  little  earlier,  it  will  be 
the  poorer.  It  will  be  slower  in 
coming  up  ;  more  of  the  seeds  will 
fail ;  the  blade  will  be  more  slen- 
der ;  nor  will  it  grow  so  fast  as  if 
it  were  sowed  later,  when  the 
ground  is  warmer.  Sometimes  it 
will  not  grow  at  all  for  a  long  time, 
but  become  so  stinted,  that  a  crop 
must  be  despaired  of.  No  prac- 
tice can  be  worse  than  to  give  the 
seed  furrow  in  stiff  soils,  before 
the  ground  is  sufficiently  dried. 

Land  that  is  low  and  flat,  and 
therefore  apt  to  be  too  wet  and 
heavy,  ought  to  be  ploughed  in 
ridges.  The  ridges  may  have  two, 
three  or  four  furrows  on  each  side, 
according  as  the  ground  is  wetter 
or  drier.  The  wettest  ground 
should  have  the  narrowest  ridges  ; 
but  they  should  never  be  narrower 
than  four  furrows  in  a  ridge.  The 
rows  will  be  between  four  and  five 
feet  apart,  if  one  row  of  plants  be 
set  on  each  ridge.  But  if  there 
be  six  or  eight  furrows  in  a  ridge, 
it  may  admit  of  two  rows,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  veering. 

After  lying  in  ridges  through 
the  winter,  the  ridges  should  be 
thrown  into  the  hollows  by  ano- 
ther ploughing  in  the  spring  ; 
which  will  bring  it  into  good  order 
for  seeding. 

Or  if  it  should  be  too  miry  to  be 
ploughed  in  the  spring,  either  Indi- 
an corn  or  potatoes  may  be  planted 
on  the  ridges  ;  and  what  is  want- 
ing of  the  proper  tillage,  may  be 
made  up  after  the  ground  is  be- 
43 


come  drier,  by  frequent  and  deep 
horse-hoeings.  Good  crops  of 
corn  have  been  obtained  in  this 
method,  on  land,  whic!»,  with  plain 
ploughing,  would  have  produced 
next  to  nothing. 

Most  of  our  clay  soils,  which  lie 
level,  require  this  sort  of  culture; 
for  this  more  than  any  other  soil  is 
liable  to  be  injured  by  overmuch 
wetness.  And  the  drier  it  lies  the 
weaker  will  be  the  cohesion  of  its 
parts. 

Some  soils  which  lie  gently  slop- 
ing are  so  wet  as  to  need  ridging. 
It  is  not  best  to  make  the  ridges 
directly  up  and  down  the  slope, 
nor  horizontally,  but  on  a  medium 
between  both.  But  where  the 
land  will  admit  of  it,  the  ridges 
should  lie  north  and  south.  It  is 
no  bad  practice  to  lay  lands  to 
grass  in  ridges  or  beds.  For  too 
much  wetness  is  apt  to  hurt  grass 
lands,  as  well  as  lands  for  tillage, 
whether  they  are  used  for  mowing 
or  pasturage.  In  the  former,  the 
grass  will  be  too  sour  to  make 
a  good  hay  ;  in  the  latter,  not  only 
the  grass  will  be  bad,  but  the  soil 
so  soft  as  not  well  to  bear  the  tread 
of  cattle,  I  have  found  that  not 
only  better  grass,  but  a  greater 
quantity,  will  be  produced  in  this 
method.  Nor  will  the  soil  so  soon 
become  hard  and  bound- 

Nor  is  it  a  bad  practice  to  split 
the  hills  with  the  light  plough  in 
autumn,  after  a  crop  of  corn  j 
even  though  the  ground  be  not 
seeded  till  the  following  spring. 
One  side  of  a  row  of  hills  is  plough- 
ed off  with  one  furrow,  and  the 
other  side  ploughed  off  the  contra- 
ry way  by  another  furrow,  so  as  to 


338 


PLO 


PLO 


form  veerings,  or  ridges,  in  the  in- 
tervals. It  is  performed  with  less 
than  half  the  expense  of  a  plain 
ploughing;  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  surface  is  either  taken  up 
or  covered.  European  writers 
think  land  should  be  ploughed  im- 
mediately after  a  crop  of  corn, 
to  prevent  the  stubs  from  robbing 
the  soil  of  its  juices.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  ploughing  is  at  least  as 
useful  as  other  autumnal  plough- 
ing ;  and  where  dung  has  been  put 
in  holes,  it  mixes  it  with  the  soil ; 
not  to  mention  the  burying  of  some 
of  the  stubs  and  leaves  of  the  corn, 
which  is  of  some  advantage  to- 
wards enriching  the  soil. 

There  is  another  way  of  plough- 
ing, called  ribbing;  which  is  mak- 
ing furrows  unconnected  wilh  each 
other,  three  feet  or  more  asunder. 
It  is  but  a  fourth  part  so  much  work 
as  ploughing  plain.  One  very 
considerable  advantage  of  it  is,  in- 
creasing the  superticies  of  the  soil, 
by  which  it  is  more  exposed  to  the 
action  of  frost,  air,  and  dews,  and 
absorbs  the  largest  quantity  of  nu- 
tritive particles. 

In  tillage  land  that  is  steep,  rib- 
bing is  a  further  benefit  to  the  soil, 
as  it  prevents  the  washing  down  of 
the  vegetable  mould,  and  the 
strength  of  manures.  With  this 
view  the  operation  should  be  per- 
formed in  autumn.  And  the  plough 
must  pass  horizontally,  or  nearly 
so,  not  up  and  down  the  steep. 

In  pastures  or  grazing  land,  de- 
clivities would  produce  the  more 
grass,  if  they  were  ribbed  ;  as  the 
benefit  of  sudden  rains  would  not 
so  soon  be  over,  by  means  of  their 
quickly    running    down    into   the 


vallies.  At  the  same  time,  the 
vallies  would  not  so  often  be  over- 
charged wilh  water.  Furrows 
eight  or  ten  feet  apart  would  an- 
swer, and  the  ribbing  would  not 
want  to  be  repeated  for  a  long 
time.  The  furrows  should  be  as 
nearly  horizontal  as  possible,  as 
well  as  in  tillage  land. 

The  following  maxims  respect- 
ing the  proper  depth  of  ploughing 
are  chiefly  derived  from  the  Code 
of  Agriculture. 

1.  The  depth  to  which  land 
ought  to  be  ploughed,  must  first  be 
regulated  by  the  depth  of  the  soil. 
On  these  soils,  more  especially  on 
a  rocky  substratum,  the  ploughing 
must  necessarily  be  shallow.  2. 
The  depth  ought  likewise  to  de- 
pend on  the  means  of  improving 
the  soil ; — for  where  the  land  is 
poor,  and  the  means  of  enriching 
it  is  scanty,  the  depth  of  ploughing 
ought  to  be  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  maiuire  which  can  be 
obtained,  3.  Deep  ploughing  is 
highly  advantageous  upon  every 
soil  excepting  those  where  the  sub- 
stratum is  of  an  ochry  sand.  In 
fact  such  are  scarcely  worthy  of 
being  cultivated,  unless  in  situa- 
tions where  much  alluvial  compost, 
or  short  town  manure  can  be  pro- 
cured. 4.  It  is  a  general  rule, 
never  to  plough  so  deep  as  to 
penetrate  below  the  soil  that  was 
formerly  manured  and  cultivated, 
excepting  upon  fallow,  and  then 
only  when  you  have  plenty  of  lime 
or  dung  to  add  to,  and  improve  the 
new  soil.  5.  Many  farmers  re- 
commend, when  fallowing  land,  to 
i^o  as  deep  as  possible  with  the  first 
furrow  ;  by  which  the  subsequent 


PLO 


PLO 


339 


furrows  will  be  more  easily  done, 
and  to  expose  the  soil  to  the  winter's 
frost,  and  to  the  summer's  heat : 
but  when  the  land  is  ploughed  in 
spring,  for  a  crop  of  oats,  a  strong 
soil  cannot  be  ploughed  with  safety, 
above  five  or  six  inches.  6.  Deep 
ploughing  is  advisable  on  moorish 
cold  soils,  as  it  affords  a  greater 
scope  for  the  roots  of  plants  to 
procure  nourishment,  admits  the  su- 
perabundant moisture  to  subside 
from  them,  and  prevents  the  sum- 
mer drought  from  making  any  in- 
jurious impression  on  the  growing 
crops ;  for,  on  such  land,  shallow 
ploughing  exposes  vegetation  to  be 
starved  or  drowned  in  wet  wea- 
ther, and  to  be  scorched  or  wither- 
ed in  dry.  7.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
plough  deeper,  when  the  seed  is 
sown,  than  where  there  is  a  fair 
probability  of  the  different  kinds  of 
plants  sending  their  roots  ;  and  as 
beans,  clover,  and  turnips,  the  only 
tap-rooted  kinds  usually  cultivated 
in  this  country,  seldom  send  their 
shoots  above  seven  or  eight  inches 
down  into  the  soil,  and  the  culmife- 
rous  species  not  so  far,  it  is  probable 
from  these  circumstances  that  from 
seven  to  eight  inches  may  be  deep 
enough  for  all  the  purposes  of  ordi- 
nary culture.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, ploughing  even  ten  inches  in 
the  course  of  a  rotation,  during  the 
fallow  process  is  advisable. 

"  Deep  ploughing  is  not  to  be 
recommended:  1.  When  lime  or 
marie  has  been  recently  applied, 
as  they  have  such  a  tendency  to 
sink  from  their  weight,  and  the 
moisture  they  imbibe.  2.  Where 
turnips  have  been  eaten  off  by 
sheep  on  the  land  where  they  were 


grown.  3.  When  grass  only  two  or 
three  years  old,  more  especially 
where  it  has  been  pastured  with 
sheep  is  broken  up  ;  because,  ow- 
ing to  the  extreme  condensation  of 
the  soil,  by  the  trampling  of  the 
sheep,  a  furrow,  even  of  a  moder- 
ate depth,  to  appearance,  will  make 
the  plough  penetrate  below  the 
staple  that  had  been  cleared,  by 
the  cidture  given  during  the  previ- 
ous fallow." 

The  advantages  of  deep  plough- 
ing, according  to  the  same  writer 
are,  "  1.  Bringing  up  new  mould, 
which  is  peculiarly  favourable  to 
clover,  turnips,  beans,  and  pota- 
toes ;  and  indeed  without  that  ad- 
vantage, these  crops  usually  dimin- 
ish in  quantity,  quality  and  value. 
2.  Deep  ploughing  is  likewise  of 
great  consequence  to  every  species 
of  plant,  furnishing  not  only  more 
meansofnourishment  to  their  roots, 
but,  above  all,  by  counteracting  the 
injurious  consequences  of  either 
too  wet,  or  too  dry  a  season.  This 
is  a  most  important  consideration, 
for  if  the  season  be  wet,  there  is  a 
greater  depth  of  soil  to  absorb  the 
moisture,  so  that  the  plants  are  not 
likely  to  have  their  roots  immersed 
in  water  ;  and  in  a  dry  season  it  is 
still  more  useful,  for  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  cultivated  soil,  there  is 
thus  a  reservoir  of  moisture,  which 
is  brought  up  to  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  by  the  evaporation  which 
the  heat  of  the  sun  occasions.  3. 
By  deep  ploughing  animal  and  ve- 
getable manures,  which  have  such 
a  tendency  to  rise  to  the  sur- 
face are  properly  covered.  This 
cannot  be  done  by  shallow  plough- 
ing, in  consequence  of  which  much 


340 


PLC 


FLO 


of  the  valuQofsuch  manures  is  lost. 
And  5.  By  deep  ploughing,  a  hea- 
vier crop  is  raised  than  can  be  got 
from  a  shallow  furrow.  An  intel- 
ligent farmer,  indeed,  after  point- 
ing out  that  deep  ploughing  increa- 
ses the  staple  of  the  soil,  keeps  the 
roots  of  the  corn  from  being  injured 
by  wetness,  and  also  enables  the 
crop  longer  to  resist  drought,  adds, 
"/A«re  ever  found  deep  ploughing 
attended  with  great  crops,  when 
ridges,  shallow  ploughed,  in  the 
same  field  were  but  indifferent  ;" 
Which  seems  a  decisive  proof  in 
favour  of  deep  ploughing." 

It  is  stated  in  a  communication 
for  the  American  Farmer,by  George 
W,  Jeffreys,  Esq.  of  North  Caroli- 
na, that  "  Deep  ploughing  is  be- 
coming much  more  general  every 
day,  and  this  is  greatly  facilitated  by 
the  use  of  cast-iron  mould-boards, 
which  are  now  generally  used  here. 
By  a  little  use  they  become  bright 
and  smooth,  the  obstruction  is  con- 
sequently less,  and  deep  ploughing 
is  more  easy.  The  advantages  of 
deep  ploughing  in  corn  crops  are 
very  great.  The  deeper  the  soil  is 
ploughed  the  greater  may  be  the 
quantity  of  corn  planted  on  an  acre, 
or  any  given  quantity,  and  the  crop 
thereby  greatly  increased.  At  the 
commencement  of  my  system  of 
farming,  my  corn  was  planted  about 
six  feet  by  three.  1  now  plant  it 
on  the  same  land,  five  feet  by  two, 
in  many  places  nearer,  with  two 
stalks  in  a  hill,  being  near  doubly 
as  close  as  formerly,  and  the  crops 
are  nearly  in  the  same  proportion." 
American  Farmer,  vol.  11.  p.  15. 

The  Hon.  Timothy  Pickering,in 
an  address  to  the  Essex  Agricultur- 


al Society  observes  :  I  entertain  no 
doubt  of  the  utility  of  deep  plough- 
mg ;  not  at  once,  on  our  lands  in 
general,  but  by  an  increase  of  two 
or  three  inches  at  every  annual 
ploughing,  till  the  earth  be  stirred 
and  pulverised  to  the  depth  of  ten 
or  twelve  inches. 

A  loose,  sandy  soil  may  be 
ploughed  too  much ;  see  the  arti- 
cle Sandy  Soil.  Stiff  clayey  soils 
can  hardly  be  ploughed  too  often, 
and  they  will  likewise  require  to  be 
rolled,  and  harrowed  often. 

PLOUGHING  HORIZON- 
TALLY. In  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Jefferson  to  T.  Dalton,  Esq.  pub- 
lished in  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Repository,  vol. IV.  p.  320. 
Mr.  Jefferson  observes  that  "A 
method  of  ploughing  our  hill  sides 
horizontally,  introduced  into  this 
most  hilly  part  of  our  country,  by 
Col.  J.  M,  Randolph,  my  son-in- 
law,  may  be  worth  mentioning  to 
you  ;  he  has  practised  it  a  dozen  or 
fifteen  years,  and  its  advantages 
were  so  immediately  observed, that 
it  has  already  become  very  general, 
and  has  entirely  changed  and  reno- 
vated the  face  of  our  country.  Ev- 
ery rain  before  that,  while  it  gave 
temporary  refreshment  did  perma- 
nent evil,  by  carrying  off  our  soil, 
and  fields  were  no  sooner  cleared 
than  wasted.  At  present  we  may 
say,  that  we  lose  none  of  our  soil, 
the  rain,  not  absorbed  in  the  mo- 
ment of  the  fall,  being  retained  in 
the  hollows  between  the  beds,  un- 
til it  can  be  absorbed. 

'^  Our  practice  is,  when  we  first 
enter  on  this  process  with  a  rafter 
level  of  ten  feet  span,  to  lay  off 
guide  lines  conducted  horizontally 


PLO 


POL 


341 


around  the  hill,  or  valley,  from  one 
end  to  the  other  of  the  field  and 
about  thirty  yards  apart.  The  steps 
of  the  level  on  the  ground,  are 
marked  by  a  stroke  of  the  hoe,  and 
immediately  followed  by  a  plough 
to  preserve  the  trace.  A  man  or 
a  lad  with  the  level,  and  two  small 
boys  will  do  an  acre  of  this  in 
an  hour,  and,  when  done  it  re- 
mains forever.  We  generally  le- 
vel a  field  the  year  that  it  is  put  in- 
to Indian  corn,  laying  it  in  beds  of 
six  feet  wide,  with  a  large  water 
furrow  between  the  beds,  until  all 
the  fields  have  been  once  levelled. 
The  intermediate  furrows  are  run 
by  the  eye  of  the  ploughman. 
Governed  by  these  guide  lines  the 
inequalities  of  the  declivity  in  the 
hill  will  vary  in  places  the  distance 
of  the  guide  lines,  and  occasion 
gores,  which  are  thrown  into  short 
beds.  As  in  ploughing  very  steep 
hills  horizontally,  the  common 
plough  can  scarcely  throw  the  fur- 
rows up  hill,  Col.  Randolph  has 
contrived  a  very  simple  alteration 
of  the  share,  which  throws  the  fur- 
row down  hill,  both  going  and  com- 
ing. It  is  as  if  two  shares  were 
welded  together,  and  at  a  right  an- 
gle to  each  other.  This  turns  on 
its  bar  as  on  a  pivot,  so  as  to  lay 
either  share  horizontally  ;  then  the 
other,  becoming  vertical  acts  a?  a 
mould-board.  This  is  done  by  the 
ploughman,  in  an  instant,  by  a  sin- 
gle motion  of  the  hand  at  the  end  of 
every  furrow." 

A  drawing  and  description  of  the 
rafter  level  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
ceding extract  may  be  seen  in  the 
"  American  Farmer,'''^  vgl.  I.  page 
358. 


PLUM  TREE,  Prunus.  The 
Plum  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a 
native  of  Asia,  and  the  Damascene 
to  take  its  name  from  Damascus,  a 
city  in  Syria. 

Mr.  Forsyth  reckons  more  than 
thirty  varieties  of  this  fruit,  for 
which  see  his  treatise  on  Fruit 
Trees.  The  soil  in  which  they  are 
planted  should  be  made  two  feet 
and  an  half,  or  three  feet  deep,  of 
good  light  fresh  loam.  The  trees 
should  not  be  headed  down  till  they 
begin  to  throw  out  fresh  shoots. 
Strong  trees  should  be  cut  a  foot 
from  the  ground  ;  and  those  that 
are  weak,  about  half  that  length. 
They  should  not  be  headed  down 
till  they  begin  to  bud,  and  then  cut 
as  near  the  eye  as  possible,  that 
the  young  shoot  may  cover  the  cut. 
They  should  not  be  headed  at  the 
time  of  planting,as  that  practice  oft- 
en proves  fatal  to  them.  Plum 
trees,  as  well  as  all  other  fruit 
trees, should  be  pruned  in  the  spring 
instead  of  autumn  or  winter. 

IMr.  Yates,  a  respectable  farmer 
of  Petersham,  Mass.  informs  that 
the  insects  which  occasion  black 
bunches  on  plum  trees,  are  pre- 
vented by  digging  around  the  roots 
in  the  spring,  and  putting  in  half  a 
bushel  of  ashes,  and  covering  them 
with  earth.  Also,  that  the  slug 
worm  is  destroyed  by  putting  tan- 
ners' bark  round  pear  trees  5  the 
bark  used  was  mostly  hemlock,with 
a  little  oak  bark  mixed  with  it. 

POLL  EVIL,  "an  imposthume 
on  the  poll  of  a  horse.  At  first  it 
requires  no  other  method  of  cure 
than  what  is  common  to  other 
boils,  and  inflamed  tumours.  But 
!  sometimes  it  degenerates  to  a  sin- 


342 


POL 


POL 


uous  ulcer,  through  ill  management 
or  neglect. 

"There  is  a  small  sinus  under  the 
noil  bone,  where  the  matter  is  apt 
to  lodge,  unless  care  be  taken  to 
keep  the  part  firm  with  a  bandage  : 
But  instead  of  that  the  farriers  gen- 
erally use  to  thrust  in  a  long  teat, 
which  raises  the  flesh,  and  opens  a 
way  into  the  sinus.  And  thus  an 
ulcer  is  created  where  there  needs 
be  none.  All  therefore  that  is  fur- 
ther necessary  on  this  head  is,  to 
caution  the  practitioner  against 
such  ill  methods.  And  if  the  tu- 
mour has  a  very  large  cavity,  it  is 
better  to  lay  it  open,  than  to  thrust 
foreign  substances  into  it.  And  if 
it  acquires  an  ulcerous  disposition, 
it  must  be  treated  as  such."  Gib- 
son'^.s  Farriery. 

The  following  is  extracted  from 
a  valuable  work  entitled  ''  The 
Gentleman's  NewPocket  Farrier ;" 
by  Richard  Mason,  M.  D.  publish- 
ed in  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1820. 

"  The  poll  evil,  like  the  fistula, 
proceeds  from  some  blow,  bruise, 
or  external  injury,  and  its  conse- 
quences are  much  to  be  dreaded. 
A  horse  thus  diseased  would  be 
well  sold  almost  at  any  price, though 
the  cure  is  tolerably  certain,  yet 
extremely  slow.  The  poll  evil  is 
an  abscess  or  swelling  found  in  the 
sinews,  between  the  noil  bone  and 
the  uppermost  vertebrsfe  of  the 
neck.  When  this  swelling  first 
makes  its  appearance,  bathe  it  fre- 
quently with  hot  vinegar ;  and  if  the 
hair  be  fretted  off,  with  an  oozing 
through  the  skin,make  use  of  equal 
parts  of  vinegar  and  spirits  of  wine  ; 
but  if  there  bean  itching,  T-ith  heat 
and  inflammation,    he  safest  way 


will  be  to  bleed  plentifully  and  ap- 
ply a  red  oak  poultice,  which  will 
sometimes  disperse  the  swelling, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  disease.  But 
whenever  the  tumour  is  critical, 
having  all  the  signs  of  matter,  and 
appears  not  benefitted  by  the  ap- 
plications already  recommended,  it 
will  be  advisable  to  bring  it  to  a 
head  as  speedily  as  possible,  with 
the  following  poultice  ;  corn-meal, 
marsh-mallows,  oil  turpentine  and 
hog's  lard.  When  the  tumour  be- 
comes ripe,  or  full  of  matter,  it 
may  be  either  opened  or  permit- 
ted to  break  of  itself — if  opened 
with  a  knife,  great  care  shou'd  be 
used  to  prevent  wounding  the  ten- 
dinous ligament  that  runs  along  the 
neck  under  the  mane.  When  the 
matter  appears  to  be  on  both  sides, 
the  tumours  must  be  opened  on 
both  sides,  and  the  ligament  be- 
tween remain  undivided  ;  if  the 
matter  flows  in  great  quantities,  re- 
sembling melted  glue,  and  is  of  an 
oily  consistence,  it  will  require  a 
second  incision,  especially  if  any 
cavities  are  discovered  by  the  fin- 
ger or  probe  ;  these  should  be 
opened  by  the  knife,  and  the  wound 
should  be  dressed  with  spirits  of 
turpentine,  honey,  and  tincture  of 
myrrh,  until  light  and  thick  colour- 
ed matter  is  found.  Cleanse  the 
sore  well  with  strong  soap-suds  and 
a  sponge ;  then  take  of  verdigris 
half  an  ounce,  oil  of  turpentine  four 
ounces,  of  blue  stone  two  ounces, 
of  green  copperas  half  an  ounce  ; 
mix  them  well  together,  and  hold 
them  over  a  fire  until  they  are  as 
hot  as  the  horse  can  bear  them ; 
then  pour  them  into  the  abscess, 
and  close  the  lips  by  one  or  two 


PON 


PON 


343 


stitches ;  this  is  to  remain  several 
days  without  any  other  dressing  ex- 
cept bathing  with  spirits  of  wine. 
Should  matter  flow  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  of  thin  consistency,  the 
above  application  must  be  again 
repeated  until  the  matter  decreases 
in  quantity  and  becomes  of  a  whitish 
colour  and  healthy  appearance. 

POND,  a  collection  of  still  wa- 
ter. A  mill  pool  is  so  called,thoHgh 
it  gradually  receives  water  in  one 
part,  and  discharges  it  in  another: 
So  that  it  is  not  perfectly  still  wa- 
ter. The  water  is  so  often  shifted, 
that  it  is  not  apt  to  putrefy. 

Pastures  that  are  destitute  of 
water,  should  have  artificial  ponds 
made  in  them,  for  watering  places. 
"  Observe  where  rushes,  reeds, 
flags,  and  other  aquatic  plants  grow 
spontaneously;  or  where  frogs  are 
observed  to  lie  squatted  down  close 
to  the  ground  in  order  to  receive 
its  moisture.  Or  observe  where  a 
vapour  is  frequently  seen  to  rise 
from  the  same  spot.  Some  say, 
wherever  little  swarms  of  flies  are 
seen  constantly  flying  in  the  same 
place,  and  near  the  ground,  in  the 
morning  after  sun-rise,  there  is  wa- 
ter underneath."  "  If  a  well  is 
made  in  a  sloping  ground,  and  the 
declivity  is  suflicient  to  give  it  a 
horizontal  vent,  it  will  be  worth  the 
husbandman's  while  to  dig  such  a 
passage,  and  by  means  of  pipes,  or 
any  other  conveyance,  to  carry  the 
water  across  the  light  soil,  through 
which  it  might  otherwise  sink.  The 
greatest  quantity  of  water  will  be 
obtained  in  this  manner,  because 
there  will  be  a  continual  stream." 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  making  a 
durable  pond  in  a  clayey  soil.  Let 


a  large  hollow  basin  be  made  in 
such  earth,  and  it  will  preserve  the 
water  that  falls  in  rain.  But  it  is 
apt  to  be  thick  and  dirty,  if  some 
pains  be  not  taken  to  prevent  it. 
The  declivity,  by  which  the  cattle 
enter,  should  be  paved,  and  gravel 
should  be  spread  on  the  bottom. 
Or  it  might  be  better  if  the  whole 
were  paved. 

There  are  many  large  natural 
ponds,  which  have  outlets  in  one 
part,  and  are  supplied  by  brooks  or 
rivers  in  other  parts;  but  a  greater 
number  of  smaller  ponds  which  are 
perfectly  stagnant,  unless  when 
they  are  agitated  by  winds.  Such 
ponds  as  the  latter,  in  hot  seasons, 
are  apt  to  become  putrid,  and  con- 
taminate the  air  about  them.  For 
this  reason  they  should,  if  possible, 
be  drained.  And  when  the  water 
is  not  deep,  and  an  outlet  can  be 
made  without  too  much  cost,  they 
should  be  drained  for  the  sake  of 
reclaiming  the  soil.  This  will  be 
of  great  value,  as  it  commonly  is 
found  to  be  extremely  rich,  being 
made  up  of  the  finest  particles  of 
soil,  wafted  into  them  by  winds, and 
of  decayed  vegetable  substances, 
besides  the  fine  mould  washed  into 
them  by  rains. 

Many  farms  contain  little  sunken 
spots,  which  are  most  of  the  year 
covered  with  water,  and  produce 
some  aquatic  bushes  and  weeds. 
These  are  notorious  harbours  for 
frogs  ;  and  are  therefore  called  frog 
ponds.  They  should  be  drained, 
if  it  be  practicable.  It  is  common- 
ly the  case,  however,  that  draining 
them  in  the  common  way,  by  ma- 
king an  outlet,  would  cost  more 
than  they  would  be  worth  when 


}44 


POT 


P  O  T 


drained,  because  of  the  height  of 
the  land  on  every  side.  But  in  this 
case,  if  the  banks  be  not  clay,  they 
may  be  drained  in  tlie  following 
manner. 

Take  notice  on  which  side  land 
that  is  lower  than  the  pond  is  near- 
est. On  that  side,  in  the  bank  near 
the  pond,  dig  a  knid  of  cellar,  two 
or  three  feel  deeper  than  the  sur- 
face of  the  pond  ;  do  it  in  a  dry 
se^i-^on.  If  a  hard  stratum  appear, 
dig  through  it;  and  leave  digging 
where  the  bottom  is  loose  gravel, 
or  sand.  Then  make  an  open  or 
a  covered  drain  from  the  pond  to 
the  cellar.  The  water  will  be  dis- 
charged from  the  pond,  and  soak 
into  the  earth  through  the  bottom 
of  the  cellar,  till  a  scurf  is  formed 
on  the  bottom  that  will  stop  the 
water  from  soaking  into  the  earth. 
This  scurf  should  be  broken  from 
time  to  time,  and  taken  away  with 
a  long  handled  hoe.  Or,  the  cel- 
lar may  be  filled  up  with  refuse 
stones,  wliich  I  think  is  preferable 
to  the  other  method. 

If  the  pond  should  not  then  be- 
come sufficiently  dry,  a  small  ditch 
should  be  drawn  round  it,  and  dis- 
charge itself  into  the  cellar.  The 
land  that  is  thus  gained  will  be  rich 
muck,  much  of  which  may  be  cart- 
ed away  for  manure  ;  and  common 
earth,  or  sand,  may  replace  it,  with- 
out detriment  to  the  soil. 

POTATOE,  Solanum,  a  well 
known  vegetable.  It  was  reported 
to  have  been  first  brought  to  Eu- 
rope by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  but 
the  better  opinion  is,  that  it  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  high  table  lands  of  South 
America. 

No  plant  is  so  prolific  in  varie- 


ties as  the  potatoe,  and  no  one  va- 
ries so  much  as  this  does,  in  the 
several  requisites  of  productiveness, 
and  of  excellent  esculent  qualities  5 
some  being  very  dry  and  farinace- 
ous, and  others  watery.  The  at- 
tentive and  scientific  observers  of 
Europe  have  maintained  that  the 
varieties  of  the  potatoe  soon  run 
out ;  and  they  have  gone  so  far  as 
to  assert  that  their  duration  extends 
only  to  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  af- 
ter which  period  they  degenerate 
in  quality  and  productiveness. 
This,  certainly,  is  very  much  cor- 
roborated by  the  (act,  that  not  one 
of  the  varieties,  recommended  by 
Dr.  Deane  in  his  last  edition  is  now 
even  known  in  our  country.  Since 
his  time  we  have  had  many  kinds, 
which  have  had  their  day  of  suc- 
cess, and  have  entirely  disappear- 
ed. Perhaps  there  is  no  one  fact 
better  proved  than  this.  We  shall 
quote  one  example  only.  The 
red,  or  cranberry  potatoe,  which 
20  years  since  was  thefavorite,and 
almost  the  only  one  in  the  Boston 
market,  has  entirely  disappeared. 
We  speak  from  experience,  when 
we  say  that  it  gradually  diminished 
in  its  productiveness  till  it  entirely 
disappeared. 

The  foregoing  facts  would  lead 
us  either  to  seek  new  and  improv- 
ed varieties  from  other  countries, 
or  to  endeavour,  as  the  Europeans 
do,  to  raise  them  from  the  seed  of 
the  berry. 

I  shall  here  give  the  method  of 
doing  it.  Take  the  apples  in  the 
beginning  of  October,  before  the 
frost  has  hurt  them  :  Hang  them  up 
by  the  foot  stalks  in  a  dry  closet, 
where  they  will  not  freeze  :     Let 


POT 


POT 


345 


them  hang  till  March  or  April : 
Then  maslj  the  apples,  wash  the 
seeds  fronn  the  pulp,  and  dry  them 
in  a  sunny  window.  Sow  the  seeds 
in  a  bed,  about  the  first  of  May. 
When  the  plants  are  four  or  five 
inches  high,  transplant  them  into 
ground  well  prepared,  one  or  two 
plants  in  a  hill.  They  will  produce 
full  grown  apples,  and  some  of  the 
roots  will  be  as  big  as  hens'  eggs. 
But  if  the  seeds  were  sown  in  au- 
tumn, some  of  them  would  come  up 
in  the  following  spring.  Nothing 
is  moreconimoti  than  their  appear- 
ing in  fields,  where  potatoes  have 
been  raised  the  preceding  year. 

As  potatoes  are  come  to  be  of 
more  importance  in  this  country, 
than  an}-  other  esculent  root,  and 
are  even  an  article  of  exportation, 
I  shall  be  the  more  particular  in 
pointing  out  the  best  methods  of 
cultivating  them. 

The  land  should  be  ploughed 
deep  for  this  crop  ;  because  roots 
will  commonly  grow  as  low  as  the 
soil  is  stirred,  and  no  deeper.  And 
the  more  the  ground  is  pulverised 
before  planting,  the  better  will  be 
the  crop. 

Perhaps  green  sward  ground 
ought  to  be  mentioned  here  as  an 
exception.  I  have  had  the  largest 
crops  on  such  land,  even  with  one 
ploughing,  and  that  just  before 
planting.  I  account  for  it  thus  : 
Potatoes  want  air  ;  such  land  af- 
fords it  from  the  hollows  under  the 
furrows,  in  no  small  quantity,  both 
fixed  and  putrid,  and  in  the  great- 
est abundance  towards  the  end  of 
summer,  when  they  require  the 
greatest  quantity  of  nourishment. 

No  dung  is  found  to  be  more 
44 


suitable  for  potatoes  than  hogs' 
dung,  mixed  with  a  great  deal  of 
straw,  or  other  rubbish.  This  dung 
is  late  in  fermenting,  and  therefore 
afibrds  the  roots  plenty  of  nourish- 
ment, when  they  most  need  it.  And 
as  they  want  air  and  room, rubbish, 
and  even  sticks  and  chips,  or  any 
thing  that  makes  the  ground  lie 
light  and  hollow,  encourages  their 
growth. 

But  those  roots  are  accounted 
best  for  eating,  which  are  raised 
without  dunjj.  I  once  had  a  mid- 
dlingcrop,  by  putting  a  handful  of 
old  weather  beaten  salt  hay  in  each 
hill.  New  land,  burnt,  produces 
excellent  roots,  and  a  large  crop, 
without  any  manure  but  what  is 
made  by  the  burning;  sometimes 
not  less  than  a  peck  in  a  hill. 

The  potatoe  is  so  hardy  a  plant, 
that  it  will  grow  in  any  kind  of  soil, 
and  even  with  the  poorest  culture. 
It  is  a  great  improver  of  land  ;  not 
only  by  the  rotting  of  its  succulent 
stalks,  which  should  be  buried  in 
the  soil  at,  or  immediately  after  dig- 
ging ;  but  tlie  digging  itself  is  a  fur- 
ther improvement.  A  crop  of  po- 
tatoes is  good  to  prepare  land  for 
other  crops.  It  is  not  uncommon, 
on  poor  land,  with  very  little  culti- 
vation and  without  manure,  to  ob- 
tain one  hundred  bushels  per  acre. 
But  in  Ireland,  with  deep  plough- 
ing, or  digguig,  with  manure,  four 
times  that  quantity  is  common : 
And  Mr.  Young  mentions  one  in- 
stance of  an  acre  in  England,  pro- 
ducing a  thousand  bushels.  As  they 
will  ofow  almost  any  how,  we  arc 
tempted  to  neglect  them  ;  but  no 
crop  that  I  know  of  will  better  pay 
I  for  good  cultivation. 


346 


POT 


POT 


The  first  of  May  is  perhaps  the 
right  season  for  planting  potatoes,  j 
in  a  dry  warm  soil :  But  they  will 
sometimes  produce  well,  though 
planted  at  the  last  of  June.  An 
early  crop  will  be  better  ripened, 
and  more  dry  and  mealy.  A  late 
one  is  unsolid  and  watery,  as  the 
roots  do  not  arrive  to  their  full  ma- 
turity. 

From  experiments  which  have 
been  made  since  the  time  in  which 
Mr.  Deane  wrote,  it  has  been  found 
that  whole  potatoes  are  best  for 
planting.  The  Hon.JosiahQuincy 
in  a  letter  to  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  observes  •,  "I 
had  directed  my  farmer  to  plant  a 
field  of  about  six  acres,  with  the 
large  red  potatoe,  called  the  River 
Plate  potatoe.  Being  not  pre- 
sent when  he  began  the  labour,  he 
had  planted  a  part  of  two  rows, with 
the  potatoe  whole.  Coming  upon 
the  field,  I  objected  to  the  practice 
as  wasteful,  and  directed  him  to  cut 
the  residue  of  the  potatoes,  and  to 
put  a  mark  so  as  the  place  where 
the  whole  potatoes  were  planted, 
might  be  known.  In  the  whole 
course  of  vegetation,  the  whole  po- 
tatoes had  a  decided  superiority 
over  every  other  part  of  the  field, 
in  the  vigour  and  size  of  the  tops ; 
and,  at  harvest,  in  com.paring 
these  rows  with  the  adjoining 
rows,  the  product  of  the  rows 
planted  whole  exceeded  an  equal 
extent  of  the  adjoining  rows,  plant- 
ed with  cut  potatoes,  more  than  one 
third.  There  was  notJung  in  the 
cultivation,  or  state  of  the  land, 
which  could  produce  this  differ- 
ence, except  the  circumstance  of 


the  onehaving  been  planted  whole, 
and  the  other  cut."  Mass.  Jlgr, 
Rep.  vol.  F.p.  64. 

The  shooting  parts  exist  in  a  po- 
tatoe, in  the  form  of  a  tree,  of 
which  the  stock  is  at  the  but,or  root 
end,  1  therefore  take  care  to  cut 
athwart  these  parts  as  little  as  pos- 
sible :  For  though  they  will  grovr 
any  way,  the  greater  length  of 
shooting  stem  there  is  in  a  set,  the 
more  strong  and  vigorous  will  be  its 
growth  at  tirst. 

If  dung  be  used,  it  may  bespread 
before  the  second  ploughing,or  else 
laid  under  the  sets.  The  latter  me- 
thod will  give  a  larger  crop.  Dung 
laid  under  the  sets,  will  produce 
more  than  if  laid  above  them ;  as 
Mr.  Wynn  Baker  proved  by  accu- 
rate experiments.  The  feeding 
roots  should  go  into  the  dung,  not 
directly  into  hungry  earth  below  ; 
and  those  roots  strike  downwards  ; 
and  therefore  need  some  loose  earth 
under  the  dung  to  extend  them- 
selves into. 

The  fashionable  way  of  planting 
potiitocs  in  hills,  may  be  as  good  as 
any  \n  rough  ground,  or  that  which 
is  not  well  subdued.  But  in  a  rich, 
mellow  soil,  well  pulverised,  the 
drill  method  is  to  be  preferred. 
The  setts  may  be  either  in  si:;gle 
rows,  three  feet,  or  double,  one 
foot  apart,  and  from  seven  to  nine 
inches  asunder  in  the  rows.  One 
of  my  neighbours  planted  in  his 
garden,  drills  and  rows  of  hills  al- 
ternately of  equal  length,  and  equal- 
ly manured  ;  when  he  dug  them  he 
found  the  drill  rows  produced  twice 
as  much  as  the  other.  It  is  not  more 
labour  to  lay  the  dung  in  drills, 
than  in  hills ;  and  the  labour  of  hoe- 


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347 


ing  is  not  increased.  My  trials  in 
the  drill  way,  have  produced  only 
half  as  much  again.  But  I  did  not 
put  dung  in  the  furrows,  but  always 
put  dung  in  the  hills.  My  method 
has  been,  in  dry  ground,  first  to 
plough  in  the  dung;  then  harrow  ; 
raise  the  ridges,  and  dibble  the  sets 
into  the  ridges. 

The  lazy  bed  method,  or  trench- 
ing, is  most  practised  in  Ireland.  1 
have  tried  it  several  times,  and  am 
convinced,  that  a  greater  quantity 
on  the  same  ground  may  be  raised 
in  this  way,  than  in  almost  any  oth- 
er. But  the  labour  is  so  great,  as 
it  must  be  performed  with  the 
spade,  that  1  dare  not  recommend 
it.  unless  in  particular  cases,  or  to 
those  who  have  but  little  land. 

It  is  a  good,  and  very  eflfectual 
method,  to  subdue  bad  weeds  in  the 
border  of  a  field,  which  cannot  well 
be  ploughed.  But  the  soil  should 
be  deep,  that  the  trenches  may  not 
go  into  the  under  stratum  of  hard 
earth,  nor  too  near  to  it. 

And  in  this  way  good  crops  may 
be  got  in  springy  and  miry  places, 
which  are  too  wet  for  other  tillage. 
But  the  work  must  be  begun  in  au- 
tumn. In  October,  mark  out  the 
beds,  five  feet  wide,  leaving  two 
feet  between  each  bed  for  the 
trench  :  Spread  the  dung  upon  the 
beds :  Dig  the  trenches,  and  with 
their  contents  cover  the  beds  to  the 
depth  of  about  five  inches.  In  May 
following,  dibble  the  sets  into  the 
beds,  quite  down  to  the  dung,  and 
fill  the  holes  with  earth.  Besides 
getting  a  good  crop,  the  soil  will  be 
thus  drained  and  subdued,  and  fit- 
ted for  ploughing,  and  tillage  crops. 

An  expeditious  way  of  planting 


potatoes  is  as  follows.  After  the 
ground  is  prepared,  by  ploughing 
and  harrowing,  cut  furrows  with  the 
horse  plough,  forty  inches  apart  ; 
drop  the  sets  in  the  furrows;  then  - 
pass  the  plough  along  the  back  of 
each  furrow,  which  will  throw  the 
earth  of  both  furrows  upon  the  sets  ; 
and  afterwards  level  the  ground 
with  the  back  of  a  harrow,  or  with 
a  harrow  that  has  short  tines  if  you 
will ;  but  it  is  of  no  great  conse- 
quence whether  it  be  levelled  at 
all.  Another  method  of  planting 
is,  to  plough  the  ground  plain,keep- 
ing  the  iurrows  straight  and  regu- 
lar, and  drop  sets  in  every  third  or 
fourth  furrow.  But  before  this  is 
done,  the  ground  should  be  plough- 
ed and  made  level  and  fine  with  the 
harrow. 

But  the  method  last  mentioned 
is  fit  only  for  a  dry  soil,  where  tlie 
seed  needs  to  be  laid  deep.  Where 
the  soil  is  moist,  a  better  way  would 
be  to  furrow  the  ground,  and  lay 
the  sets  on  the  surface,  close  to  the 
backs  of  the  furrows,  and  cover 
them  by  turning  another  furrow  to- 
wards each.  If  this  should  bury 
the  sets  too  deep,  the  ridges  may 
be  easily  lowered,  with  a  hoe  or  a 
rake  ;  but  I  do  not  apprehend  it 
would  be  necessary.  The  ridges 
may  remain  as  the  plough  leaves 
them. 

As  soon  as  rows  of  potatoe  plants 
are  grown  to  the  height  of  four  or 
five  inches  above  the  surface,  or 
earlier  if  the  ground  be  weedy,  the 
cultivator,  with  two  mouldboards, 
should  be  passed  between  them,  as 
deep  as  one  horse  can  draw  it.  For 
want  of  a  cultivator,  a  common 
light  plough  should  go  and  return 


348 


POT 


POT 


in  an  interval,  turning  the  earth  at 
the  first  ploughing  from,  and  then 
at  the  second  towards,  the  rows. 
After  each  ploughing  the  plants 
should  be  weeded,  and  a  littie  of 
the  fresh  earth  drawn  close  to  their 
stems,  uncovering  those  which 
char^ce  to  be  covered  by  the  culti- 
vator, or  plough.  This  operation 
should  be  repeated  three  times,  ta- 
king care  not  to  earth  the  plants  too 
much,  as  sonie  are  apt  to  do  where 
the  ground  is  light  and  mellow  :  For 
potatoes  will  not  gro.w  well  more 
than  about  five  inches  under  the 
surface,  being  too  far  removed  from 
the  influence  of  the  sun.  The 
rid?;es,  or  hills,  should  be  rather 
broad  than  steep  ;  flat  on  the  top, 
that  the  water,  which  falls  in  rain 
may  not  be  too  much  diverted  from 
the  roots. 

The  last  hoeing  should  be  finish- 
ed before  the  plants  are  in  blossom  ; 
and  before  the  branches  begin  to 
trail  upon  the  ground.  Otherwise 
a  new  set  of  roots  will  be  formed, 
too  late  to  get  their  fuil  growth, and 
which  will  rob  the  former  sets  of 
their  nourishment.  But  if  killing 
weeds  be  necessary  after  blossom- 
ing, it  may  be  done  with  the  hand 
hoe,  observing  not  to  earth  up  the 
plants  at  all. 

Cattle  should  be  kept  from  a  field 
of  potatoes,  till  the  roots  have  got 
their  full  growth,  as  carefully  as 
from  a  field  of  corn.  For  potatoes 
will  not  grow  after  the  tops  are 
browsed.  They  doubtless  receive 
as  much  of  their  nourishment 
through  the  tops,  as  almost  any 
plants. 

As  soon  as  the  tops  are  dead,  ei- 
ther by  ripeness  or  by    frost,  the 


roots  may  be  taken  up.  If  they  lie 
in  the  ground  till  they  are  soaked 
by  the  heavy  autumnal  rains,  they 
will  be  the  worse  ;  and  the  labour 
of  digging  will  be  increased.  Those 
that  do  not  much  adhere  to  the  ' 
tops,  may  be  thrown  up  by  the  cul- 
tivator, or  by  the  horse  plough, 
which  will  facilitate  the  digging. 
But  the  tops  should  be  pulled  out, 
and  the  fruit  that  comes  out  with 
them  gathered,  before  the  plough 
is  passed  under  the  rows.  Some  re- 
commend a  four  or  five  pronged 
fork,  as  the  best  instrument  to  dig 
them  with. 

There  is  no  ditfictdty  in  keeping 
them  through  the  winter,  in  a  cel- 
lar that  is  free  from  frost.  Caves, 
dug  in  a  dry  soil,  preserve  them 
very  well.  They  should  be  cover- 
ed with  two  feet  of  earth  over 
them.  If  they  are  in  danger  of 
frost  in  a  cool  cellar,  they  should 
be  covered  with  a  little  salt  hay. 
This  any  farmer  may  easily  do,  who 
has  a  maritime  situation. 

In  cellars,  they  are  more  forward 
tosproutin  the  spring,than  in  caves. 
Those  which  are  for  summer  eat- 
ing, should  be  attended  to  in  May, 
the  sprouts  rubbed  oflf.  and  put  into 
a  dry  and  dark  place  above  ground. 
A  barn  floor  is  well  adapted  for  the 
purpose.  They  do  better  than  in 
a  cellar.  They  will  thus  keep 
well  till  new  potatoes  are  grown. 
But  if  any  light  come  to  them, 
they  will  send  out  long  shoots  to- 
wards the  place  where  it  enters. 

Raw  potatoes  will  keep  swine 
alive  through  the  winter  :  But  they 
will  not  grow  much  with  this  food 
alone.  Parboiled,  they  are  an  ex- 
cellent food  for  swine,  and  will  ai- 


POT 


POT 


349 


most  fatten  them.  The  English 
farmers  parboil  them,  not  only  for 
swine,  but  for  horned  cattle.  I 
know  of  no  food  that  will  more  in- 
crease the  quantity  of  milk  in  cows  ; 
and  they  give  milk  no  ill  taste, 
whether  boiled  or  raw.  hi  either 
way  cows  are  very  fond  of  them. 
For  horses  they  should  be  boiled. 
The  largest  and  smallest,  the  irre- 
gular shaped  and  the  cut  ones, 
should  be  put  by  for  the  cattle  : 
For  middling  roots  are  best  both 
foreating  and  |  lanting.  Overgrown 
ones  are  apt  to  be  hollow  and  wat- 
ery ;  and  wounded  ones  rot,  oftener 
than  sound  ones. 

As  a  further  recommendation  of 
this  useful  root,  I  may  add,  the  fa- 
rinaceous part  of  it  makes  an  ex- 
cellent starch,  much  superior,  as 
some  say,  and  not  half  so  costly,  as 
that  made  of  wheat.  The  method 
of  making  potatoe  starch,  according 
to  Mr.  VVeston,  is  as  follows : 
"  Wash  and  pare  them,  grate  them 
upon  large  tin  graters,  and  fill  tubs 
about  half  full  with  the  pulp : 
Then  fill  them  up  with  water :  Stir 
it  well  once  a  day,  for  three  or  four 
days,  and  take  oflf  all  the  scum. 
About  the  5th  day  take  out  the 
pulp,  and  put  it  into  shallow  earth 
en  pans,  such  as  are  used  for  milk, 
as  much  as  will  cover  the  bottom 
an  inch  think,  and  put  water  upon 
it.  Every  morning  pour  off  the 
water,  break  up  the  starch,  and  add 
fresh  w^ter.  When  it  is  thus  be- 
come very  white,  leave  it  in  the 
pans  till  it  is  quite  dry,  then  put  it 
into  paper  bags,  and  put  it  in  a  dry 
place  to  keep." 

This  sort  of  starch  has  been  made 
and  used  in  my  house,   for  twenty 


or  thirty  years  past.  The  making 
of  a  quantity  that  will  serve  for  a 
year  is  always  begun  and  finished 
in  a  day  or  two.  As  soon  as  the 
starch  is  settled  to  the  bottom, 
which  it  does  in  twenty  minutes,  the 
water  is  renewed  ;  and  instead  of 
its  standing  in  tubs,  and  being  skim- 
med, we  strain  it  through  a  cloth. 
Which  of  these  methods  is  to  be 
preferred,  I  do  not  determine. 

Some  suppose  this  starch  is  apt 
to  rot  the  things  which  are  stilfened 
with  it ;  but  tliis  is  a  great  mistake. 

In  an  abstract  of  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Swedish  Academy,  the  above 
writer  found  the  followin";  account 
of  one  of  their  methods  of  using 
potatoes.  "  Mr.  Charles  Skytse 
has  proposed  to  distil  brandy  from 
j)otatoes,  in  order  to  save  the  corn, 
which  is  so  dear  in  Sweden  ;  and 
finds  by  experience,  that  an  acre  of 
land  set  with  potatoes,  will  yield  a 
much  greater  quantity  of  brandy, 
than  when  sown  with  barley."  It 
is  asserted  that  a  gallon  of  good 
strong  spirit  may  be  taken  from  six 
pecks  of  boiled  potatoes,  by  distil- 
lation. 

The  account  given  by  Dr.  An- 
derson of  his  success  in  extracting 
potatoe  spirits  is  this  :  He  boiled 
72  pounds  of  potatoes,  they  were 
then  bruised,  and  passed  through  a 
riddle  along  with  some  fresh  water. 
The  pulp  was  then  mixed  with  cold 
water,  till  the  whole  amounted  to 
about  20  gallons.  This  was  allow- 
ed to  cool,  till  it  attained. to  such  a 
temperature,  as  would  be  proper 
for  mixing  yeast  with  wort,  when 
some  yeast  was  put  to  it.  In  ten 
or  twelve  hours  the  fermentation 
began,  which  continued  very  brisk- 


350 


POT 


POT 


\y  for  as  many  hours.  After  wait- 
ing some  time,  and  in  vain  warming 
it  a  little,  with  a  view  to  renew  the 
fermentation,  he  stirred  it  briskly, 
which  renewed  the  fermentation. 
Stirring  it  daily,  the  fermentation 
went  on  for  a  fortnight,  and  then 
abated,  and  could  not  be  renewed 
by  agitation  or  otherwise.  It  was 
then  distilled  with  due  caution,care 
having  been  taken  to  stir  it  in  the 
still,  until  it  began  to  boil,  before 
the  head  of  the  still  was  applied  ; 
and  the  fire  was  afterwards  so  kept 
up  as  to  keep  it  boiling  briskly,  till 
the  whole  was  run  over.  In  con- 
sequence of  these  precautions  and 
due  rectification,  he  obtained  an 
English  gallon  of  pure  spirit,  con- 
siderably above  proof,  and  about  a 
quart  more  of  a  weaker  kind,  a 
good  deal  below  proof.  The  Dr. 
says,  it  was  in  every  respect  the 
most  agreeable  vinous  spirit  he  ever 
saw;  and  that  in  taste  it  somewhat 
resembled  fine  brandy.  According 
to  this  account,  one  acre  of  potatoes 
might  yield  300  gallons  of  good 
strong  spirit,  worth  at  least  90/. 

My  new  method  of  planting  po- 
tatoes is  this.  After  the  dung  is 
spread  and  ploughed  in,  and  the 
ground  levelled  with  the  harrow,  1 
raise  the  ridges  about  three  feet  and 
a  half  apart,  with  the  cultivator  ; 
and  then  dibble  in  the  sets  along 
the  tops  of  the  ridges,  about  seven 
or  eight  inches  apart,  laying  each 
set  about  as  low  as  the  surface  was 
before  the  ridges  were  made.  1 
have  had  a?  good  crops  in  this  way, 
as  in  any  other. 

The  method  of  raising  potatoes 
under  straw, is  very  simple  and  easy. 
Lay  the  sets  about   eight    inches 


apart  each  way,  on  any  kind  of  soil 
that  is  not  too  rich  :  Cover  them 
with  straw,  or  refuse  hay,  to  the 
depth  of  about  twelve  inches.  No- 
thing more  is  to  be  done  to  them 
till  they  are  taken  up.  They  will 
be  very  clean,  and  the  crop  consid- 
erable. 

Potatoes  may  be  spoiled  by  bad 
management  in  harvesting.  They 
should  be  dug  in  cool  overcast  wea- 
ther, gathered  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  kept  moist  with  a  quantity  of 
dirt  about  them.  If  they  are  dug 
in  warm  and  clear  weather  and  ex- 
posed to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  they 
will  sweat,  and  become  strong,  and 
in  time  will  turn  green  and  become 
poisonous. 

In  feeding  stock  with  potatoes,  it 
is  best  to  steam-boil  or  bake  them. 
Sir  John  Sinclair  asserts  that  "there 
is  something  injurious  in  the  juices 
of  the  potatoe  in  a  raw  state,  which 
cooking  eradicates  or  greatly  dis- 
pels." 

The  following  method  of  raising 
this  crop  is  pursued  in  England,and 
probably  will  answer  well  in  this 
country. 

Break  up  sward  ground  in  au- 
tumn, harrow  it  in  the  spring,  and 
spread  barn  dung,  or  other  suitable 
manure  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty 
loads  to  an  acre.  In  planting  run 
a  furrow  of  proper  depth,  and  draw 
in  the  dung  from  a  distance  of 
about  twenty-seven  inches  next  the 
furrow,  and  distribute  it  evenly 
along  its  bottom.  On  this  the  po- 
tatoes are  placed,  about  eighteen 
inches  apart  if  whole,  but  propor- 
tionally nearer  if  cut  in  pieces,and 
then  covered  by  the  next  furrow. 
Then  two  more  furrows  are  run,the 


POT 


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351 


second  of  which  is  to  be  the  bed 
for  the  next  row,  and  the  manure 
is  again  drawn  into  this,  the  seed 
placed  as  before,  and  covered  by 
the  next  furrow.  The  rows  in  this 
way  are  every  third  furrow,or  about 
twenty-seven  inchas  apt. 

When  the  plants  are  about  six  in- 
ches above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  it  should  be  harrowed 
across  the  rows,  and  the  hoe  should 
follow  to  set  the  plants  right  where 
covered,  and  drawing  some  earth 
around  them.  In  due  season,  a 
furrow,  with  a  one-horse  plough, 
should  be  run  on  each  side  of  the 
rows,  with  the  earth  thrown  up  to 
the  plants,  which  is  to  be  followed 
with  the  hoe,  which  completes  the 
tillage  of  the  plant.  If  any  weeds 
afterwards  rise,  they  should  be  cut 
up  with  a  hoe, so  as  not  to  go  to  seed. 
It  has  been  affirmed  that  plucking 
the  blossoms  from  potatoe-vines  in- 
creases the  crop.  But  Mr.  Justm 
Ely,  of  West-Springtield,  asserts 
that  no  benefit  is  derived  from  that 
process.  See  Massachusetts  ^Agri- 
cultural Repository,  vol.  IV.  p. 324. 

In  gathering  the  crop,  run  fur- 
rows on  each  side  of  the  rows  and 
then  a  pretty  deep  one  through  the 
middle,  which  turns  up  most  of  the 
roots  to  the  surface,  for  the  purpose 
of  picking  up  by  hand.  A  fork, 
with  four  prongs,  with  the  addition 
of  what  may  be  called  a  fulcrum, 
fasteiied  by  a  pivot  to  the  back  part 
of  the  handle  may  be  used  for  rai- 
sing the  potatoes  not  turned  out  by 
the  plough.  See  Farmer'' s  Assist' 
ant,  p.  301—2. 

"  In  the  report  on  the  agriculture 
of  the  county  of  Hereford  drawn  up 
for  the  British  Board  of  Agricul- 


ture, is  a  description  of  an  excel- 
lent implement,  invented  by  Mr. 
YeldalJ,  for  taking  up  potatoes, 
having  four  prongs,  on  barbs  of 
iron,  with  a  fang,  m  the  form  of  a 
double  mould-board,  drawn  by 
three  horses  or  four  oxen.  It  en- 
ters the  ground,  under  the  bed  of 
potatoes,  and  throws  the  whole  to 
the  surface."  Domestic  Encyclo- 
pedia, 

Fowls  of  every  sort  may  be  pro- 
fitably fed  on  boiled  potatoes  and 
meal  mixed.  A  little  alum,  Arme- 
nian bole,  or  other  astringent  sub- 
stance, has  been  recommended  to 
mix  with  potatoes  given  to  hogs  to 
stop  their  tendency  to  purge. 

Potatoes  may  be  preserved  al- 
most any  length  of  time  by  slicing 
and  drying  them  in  an  oven  or 
kiln. 

"  To  boil  Potatoes — Put  them  in 
cold  water  with  the  top  of  the  pot 
loosely  on.  Let  them  boil  gradu- 
ally in  water  that  will  just  keep 
them  covered  ;  'when  the  water  has 
boiled,  put  on  the  cover  close,  and 
continue  boiling  them  for  some  time 
longer,  till  they  are  soft.  Pour  off 
the  water  and  let  the  potatoes  drain 
in  a  cullender.  Then  put  them  in 
the  pot  again  without  water,  and 
drive  off  the  moisture  till  they  split. 
Domestic  Encyclopedia. 

Payson  Williams,  Esq.  of  Fitch- 
burgh,  Mass.  received  a  premium 
from  liie  Mass.  Agr.  Society  for  the 
best  crop  of  potatoes  raised  in 
1820,  being  six  hundred  and  four- 
teen bushels  on  an  acre. 

PoTATOE,  Sweet,  Convolvulus 
Batata.  The  following  is  the  me- 
thod used  by  Mr.  Joseph  Cooper, 
of  New-Jersey,  for  cultivating  this 
root. 


352 


POU 


PRO 


He  plants  his  seed-potatoes  in  a 
hot-bed,  and  cuts  off  the  sprouts, 
and  plants  them  in  their  destined 
spots  in  the  field,  three  or  four 
sprouts  in  a  hill.  In  this  way  po- 
tatoes are  raised  earlier,  much  seed 
is  saved,  and  much  trouble  of  weed- 
ing is  avoided  ;  for  the  sprouts 
grow  so  fast,  that  they  sufibcate 
weeds,  &;c. 

The  sweet  potatoe  grows  best  in 
a  mellow  sandy  soil,  and  the  richer 
the  soil  the  better  the  crop. 

"  Sweet  potatoes,  especially 
those  with  red  skins,  yield  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  farinaceous 
matter,  which  forms  a  fine  nutri- 
tious jelly,  when  mixed  with  water. 
Bowen^s  patent  sago  is  this  pow- 
der, which  was  for  a  long  time  pre- 
pared by  the  above  person,  at  Sa- 
vannah, in  Georgia,  chiefly  for  the 
British  army.  The  process  was 
similar  to  that  which  is  known  in 
Europe,  for  procuring  the  flour  of 
the  common  polatoe,  viz.  grating 
the  clean  roots,  washing  the  mass 
through  brasssieves  of  different  siz- 
es, and  collecting  the  flour  at  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel  which  receives 
the  fluid;  finally  drying  it  in  pans 
either  in  the  sun  or  by  a  tire." 
Domestic  Encyclopedia. 

J.  Lowell,  Esq.  and  some  others 
have  succeeded  in  raising  this  root 
for  several  years,  in  Massachusetts. 
See  Agr.  Rep.  vol.  VI.  p.  265. 

POULTRY,  all  kinds  of  tame 
birds,  as  hens,  geese,  ducks,  tur- 
keys, &c. 

These  may  be  considered  as  part 
of  a  husbandman's  stock  :  But  the 
keeping  of  great  numbers  of  dung- 
hill fowls  will  not  turn  to  his  advan- 
tage ;  as  it  is  certain  they  will  nev- 


er indemnify  him  for  the  corn  and 
grain  that  are  requisite  for  their 
support.  Yet  on  a  farm  a  few  of 
them  may  be  useful,  to  pick  up 
what  would  otherwise  be  lost.  And 
in  this  view  they  seem  to  be  protit- 
able  only  part  of  the  year.  If  con- 
fined they  will  not  prosper,  though 
they  have  a  yard  of  some  extent  ; 
if  not  confined  they  will  be  mischie- 
vous to  the  garden  and  field. 

Poultry  are  most  easily  fattened 
when  kept  in  a  dark  place.  They 
should  be  furnished  with  gravel,  but 
no  water.  Barley  meal  is  said  to 
be  their  best  food,  which  should  be 
mixed  so  thin  with  water  as  to  serve 
them  for  drink.  Their  thirst  indu- 
ces them  to  eat  more  than  they  oth- 
erwise would,  in  order  to  extract 
the  water,  which  is  in  their  food. 
This  should  not  be  put  in  troughs, 
but  laid  on  a  board,  which  should 
be  washed  every  time  fresh  food  is 
put  upon  it.  F^oul  and  heated  wa- 
ter, says  the  Domestic  Encyclope- 
dia, is  the  sole  cause  of  the  pip. 

Hens,  which  do  not  lay  in  the 
winter,  should  have  access  to  slack- 
ed lime,  pounded  bones,  or  oyster 
shells,  as  something  of  the  kind  is 
necessary  to  form  their  shells, which 
are  composed  of  the  phosphate  of 
lime.  VV'iien  corn  is  given  to  fowls 
it  should  be  crushed,  or  soaked  in 
water. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer  is  of  opinion,  from  ac- 
tual experiment,  that  pot-liquor  is 
a  cure  for  t!ic/^y)  in  poultry,  vol. 
I.  p.  412. 

PRONG  IIOE,  a  hoe  with  prongs 
instead  of  a  blade.  Four  or  five 
prongri  are  found  best.  It  is  easily 
struck  into  the  ground  ;  and  as  the 


QUA 


QUI 


353 


tines  are  six  or  seven  inches  long, 
it  will  stir  tlie  ground  to  the  same 
depth  that  a  plough  does.  It  is 
useful  ill  taking  up  all  roots. 

PUMPKINS.  Pumpkins  will 
grow  on  any  kuid  of  soil  which  is 
proper  for  hoed  crops,  but  the  land 
cannot  easil)  be  made  too  rich  for 
them.  The  '-^  Farmer'' s  Assistant'''' 
thinks  they  will  grow  better,  when 
planted  by  themselves,  than  when 
raised,  as  usual  together  with  Indi- 
an corn.  The  hills  in  such  case 
should  stand  about  seven  feet  apart 
each  way,  and  a  number  of  seeds 
should  be  planted  in  each  hill,  to 
make  an  allowance  for  what  may 
be  destroyed  by  insects. 

A  new  and  very  large  species  of 
pumpkin  has  lately  been  introdu- 
ced into  this  country,  of  which  it  is 
said  more  than  five  hundred  pounds 
can  be  raised  from  a  single  seed. 
But  these  large  sorts  are  not  so 
profitable  as  the  common  ones. 
They  are  more  tender,  and  will 
not  keep  so  well. 

"Pumpkins  are  excellent  for  fat- 
ting horseh.  They,  however,  do 
not  relish  them  at  first ;  and  there- 
fore must  be  kept  from  feeding,  till 
they  are  hungry,  before  the  pump- 
kins are  offered  to  them  ;  and  let  a 
little  salt  be  first  sprinkled  on  this 
food ;  when  they  will  soon  grow 
fond  of  it,  and  eat  it  readily  with- 
out salt."     Farmer's  Jissistant. 

Q. 

QUAKING  MEADOW,  or 
MARISH,  low  boggy  land,  that 
shakes  and  settles  under  any  one  in 
passing  over  it. 

It  has  a  sward  that  is  tough,being 
45 


a  web  of  the  roots  of  strong  grass- 
es ;  but  the  mud  under  the  sward 
is  very  soft  and  yielding. 

Such  places  should  be  drained 
when  it  can  be  done  without  too 
nmch  expense.  For  its  natural 
proGuce  consists  of  the  vi'orst  water 
grasses,  cranberries,  &c.  but  the 
soil  is  always  deep,  and  rich.  See 
the  article  Draining. 

Mr.  Eliot  drained  such  a  piece  of 
ground,  and  soon  made  it  fit  for 
tillage. 

QUINCE  TREE,  Pyrus  Cydo- 
7tia,  a  small  fruit  tree,  bearing  a 
large  yellow  fruit,  useful  in  cookery 
and  medicine,  but  not  fit  to  eat 
raw. 

It  is  easy  to  propagate  the  trees 
by  suckeis,  layers  or  cuttings,  but 
they  require  a  moi^tsoil.  The  cut- 
tings should  be  planted  early  in  au- 
tumn. The  trees  require  very  lit- 
tle pruning;  the  principal  thirsg  is, 
to  keep  the  stenis  clear  of  suckers, 
and  thin  the  branches  where  they 
cross  each  other.  Upright  luxuri- 
ant shoots  in  the  top  should  also  be 
taken  out,  that  the  trees  may  not 
have  too  much  wood,  which  is  bad 
for  all  sorts  of  fruit  trees. 

Quince  trees  are  highly  esteem- 
ed as  stocks  on  which  pears  may 
with  great  advantage  be  grafted  or 
budded.  This  operation  greatly 
improves  the  taste  and  flavour  of 
these  pears,  which  arrive  at  matu- 
rity in  the  summer  and  autumn  ; 
but  it  is  by  no  means  proper  for 
winter  fruit,  which  is  thus  render- 
ed hard  and  stony.  This  fruit  is 
generally  boiled  and  eaten  with  su- 
gar, in^.which  form  it  may  also  be 
usefully  employed  in  cases  of  dy- 
sentery.    Five  gallons  of  the  juice 


354 


RAD 


RAD 


of  quinces,  mixed  with  twenty -five 
pounds  of  sugar,  and  fermented, 
make  a  delicious  wine.  Domestic 
Encyclopedia. 

QUINCUNX  ORDER,  accor- 
ding to  Mr.  Miller,  is  applied  to  a 
plantation  of  trees,  disposed  origi- 
ginally  in  a  square,  consisting  of 
four  trees,  one  at  each  corner,  and 
a  fifth  in  the  middle ;  which  dispo- 
sition, repeated  again  and  again, 
forms  a  regular  grove,  wood,or  wil- 
derness ;  and, when  viewed  oblique- 
ly, presents  straight  rows  of  trees, 
and  parallel  alleys  between  them. 

QUlTCtl  GRASS,  otherwise 
called  Couch  Grass.  The  only  ef- 
fectual way  of  extirpating  this  grass 
is  by  horse  and  hand  rakes,  and 
burning  it. 

R. 

RACK,  a  frame  made  to  hold 
fodder  for  cattle,  to  prevent  their 
trampling  it  under  foot,  and  wasting 
it. 

Those  racks  which  are  under 
cover,  as  in  sheep  houses,  horse  sta- 
bles, &LC.  may  be  constructed  of  al- 
most any  kind  of  wood  ;  but  those 
which  stand  abroad  should  be  of 
such  timber  as  lasts  long  in  the 
weather.  The  rails  may  be  larch, 
or  white  cedar,  and  the  cross  sticks 
white  oak.  Such  a  one  will  en- 
dure the  weather  many  years. 

RADISH,  Raphanus,  a  pleasant 
root,  which  has  an  attenuating  vir- 
tue, and  is  a  good  antiscorbutic. 

I  have  had  better  success  with 
those  sown  as  late  as  June  or  July, 
than  with  those  sown  in  the  spring. 
The  earliest  are  apt  to  be  destroy- 
ed, or  greatly  injured,  by  the  white 


maggots ;  to  which  sea  water  is  an 
antidote  ;  but  with  respect  to  this 
root  not  quite  effectual. 

To  have  a  constant  succession  of 
radishes  at  table,  the  seeds  should 
be  sown  once  a  fortnight,  from  April 
to  August.  But  in  midsummer  they 
sooner  grow  sticky  and  strong, than 
in  spring  or  fall.  They  must  there- 
fore be  eaten  while  they  are  young. 
I  have  had  better  success  with  those 
sown  in  August,  than  in  any  other 
month.  In  hot  houses  they  may  be 
raised  any  month  in  the  year.  Or 
those  raised  in  autuinn  may  be  kept 
in  dry  sand,  til  for  eating  in  the 
winter. 

As  radishes  are  uncertain  in  their 
growth,  the  best  method  is  to  put 
in  the  seeds  between  rows  of  other 
plants  ;  and  they  are  so  soon  pul- 
led up,  that  they  will  not  incom- 
mode the  plants  among  which  they 
grow. 

Radishes  that  are  for  seed  re- 
quire much  room,  as  they  grow  to 
a  large  size.  For  this  purpose  some 
of  the  most  thrifty  ones  should  be 
left  standing  ;  or  else  be  transplant- 
ed to  a  place  where  each  shall  have 
as  much  room  as  near  a  yard 
square.  The  ripeness  of  the  seed 
is  known  by  the  pods  turning  brown. 
For  this  purpose  the  seeds  must  be 
sown  early  in  the  spring,  because 
they  ripen  slowly. 

"  This  root  being  liable  to  be 
eaten  by  worms,  the  following  me- 
thod is  recommended  for  raising 
them :  Take  equal  quantities  of 
buck-wheat  bran,  and  fresh  horse 
dung,  and  mix  them  well  and  plen- 
tifully in  Uie  ground  by  digging. 
Suddenly  after  this  a  great  fermen- 
tation will  be  produced,  and  num- 


RAI 


R  A  1 


355 


bers  of  toad-stools  will  start  up  in 
forty  eight  hours.  Diy;  the  ground 
over  again  and  sow  the  seed,  and 
the  radishes  will  grow  with  great 
rapidity,  and  be  free  from  the  at- 
tacks of  insects.  They  will  grow 
uncommonly  large.  Buck-wheat 
bran  is  an  excellent  manure  of  it- 
self."    Farmer'^s  Assistant. 

RAIN,  condensed  vapour,  which 
falls  in  drops,  and  waters  the  earth. 
This  is  of  more  advantage  to  the 
husbandman  than  all  his  labour  and 
care.  No  kind  or  degree  of  cul- 
ture will  secure  a  crop,if  the  ground 
do  not  receive  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  moisture  from  the  clouds  ; 
for  if  the  earth  be  not  frequently 
moistened,  the  food  of  plants  in  it 
will  become  tixed  ;  and  there  will 
be  no  fermentation  in  the  soil  ;  so 
that  the  roots  of  plants  cannot  re- 
ceive any  nourishment.  Was  it 
not  for  the  falling  of  dews  the  want 
of  rain  would  be  much  oftener  de- 
structive to  plants  than  it  is.  Dews 
are  often  great  in  a  dry  season  ;  and 
from  dews  plants  receive  a  consid- 
erable part  of  their  nourishment. 

The  due  quantity  of  moisture 
might  indeed  be  supplied  by  water- 
ing by  hand,  as  long  as  wells,springs 
and  rivers  were  not  dried  up.  But 
the  labour  of  doing  it  would  be 
worth  more  than  all  the  crop.  Nei- 
ther would  artificial  watering  have 
so  good  an  effect  as  rain, on  account 
of  the  inferior  quality  of  the  water 
for  this  use,  and  the  mode  of  apply- 
ing it.  The  gentlest  rains  are  gen- 
erally most  conducive  to  the  growth 
of  plants,  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
soil,  as  all  parts  are  more  equally 
soaked ;  and  cloudy  weather,which 
most    commonly  happens    before 


rain,  helps  to  predispose  the  earth, 
and  its  vegetables,  to  receive  the 
greater  advantage  from  the  water 
that  falls.  It  is  also  believed  the 
electric  fluid,  which  is  conducted 
to  the  earth  by  rains,  conduces 
much  to  the  invigoration  of  plants. 

Rain  not  only  gives  fluidity  and 
motion  to  the  food  of  plants  con- 
tained in  the  soil,  but  contains  in  it- 
self more  or  less  of  the  ingredients 
of  it.  The  atmosphere  contains 
abundance  of  saline,  earthy  and 
oleaginous  particles;  so  that  rain 
water  cannot  fail  of  being  impreg- 
nated with  them. 

It  has  been  proved  by  a  variety 
of  experiments,  that  a  much  great- 
er quantity  of  rain  falls  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  than  at  the  top 
of  a  house,  or  other  building ; 
which  may  be  partly  owing  to  the 
vapour  contained  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  atmosphere,  which  is  joined 
to  the  drops  in  their  descent. 

Perhaps  the  action  of  the  sun's 
heat  is  proportionably  greater  in 
vallies  than  on  summits  of  hills  ;  if 
so, there  is  a  happy  balance  between 
heat  and  rain  on  all  parts  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth.  Though  it  is  oft- 
en regretted  that  low  hollows  are 
overcharged  with  water,  it  is  com- 
monly soon  exhausted  by  the  heat 
ofthe  sun  in  summer,  which  is  much 
greater  in  vallies  than  on  hills. 

It  may  be  asked,  would  it  not 
have  been  better,  if  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  rain  had  fallen  on  hills 
than  on  vallies  ?  But  they  need  it 
not  so  much,  because  ofthe  great- 
er coolness  of  the  air  on  hills. 
More  ofthe  fine  mould  would  have 
been  washed  down  into  the  hollows, 
and  deeper  channels  would  have 


356 


R  A  T 


RIC 


been  made  in  the  soil  hy  the  run- 
ning of  water,  which  would  have 
been  considerable  inconveniences. 

The  quantity  of  water  that  falls 
in  a  year  may  be  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty  inches.  If  the  whole  were 
to  fall  at  once,  destructive  deluges 
would  be  experienced, and  droughts 
equally  destructive.  It  is  the  fre- 
quency of  rains  that  renders  the 
earth  fruitful.  To  some  soils,  as 
stiff  clays  and  loose  sands,  frequent 
rains  are  more  needful  than  to  oth- 
ers. The  former  imbibes  the  water 
too  slowly  ;  the  latter  parts  with  it 
too  speedily.  These  two  kinds  of 
soil,  therefore,  need  the  most  fre- 
quent showers. 

In  some  years  the  rains  are  so 
ordered,  as  to  make  the  seasons 
most  fruitful.  A  moderate  quanti- 
ty in  each  week  through  the  sum- 
mer will  be  apt  to  supply  so  much 
moisture,  and  keep  up  such  a  de- 
gree of  fermentation  in  the  soil,  as 
is  most  conducive  to  the  progress 
of  vegetation. 

Farmers  in  this  climate  generally 
wish  for  but  little  rain  in  April,  and 
for  much  in  May  and  part  of  June; 
then  less  in  hay  time,  and  English 
harvest.  But  as  it  is  not  left  to  us 
to  order  this  matter,  we  should  en- 
deavour to  accommodate  ourselves 
to  the  seasons ;  and  to  assist  nature 
whenever  we  have  opportunity  for 
doing  it,  draining  land  which  is  too 
wet,  watering  that  which  is  too  dry, 
and  applying  more  manures  to  dry 
soils,  which  will  make  them  more 
retentive  of  water. 

RATS,  a  mischievous  kind  of 
vermin  too  well  known  to  the 
farmer.  No  walls  that  I  know  of 
have  been  found  to  be  sufficient 
barriers  against  them. 


The  same  poison  which  I  pre- 
scribed for  mice,  will  well  serve  to 
destroy  these  animals.  But  the  best 
way  is  to  catch  them  in  a  cage  made 
of  wire,  in  a  cubical  form,  enclo- 
sed m  a  wooden  box.  Each  side  of 
the  cage  should  bt;  a  plane  of  about 
fifteen  inches  square. 

Take  one  quart  of  oat  meal,  four 
drops  of  oil  of  rhodium,  one  grain  of 
musk,  two  nuis  of  nux  vomica  pow- 
dered ;  mix  the  whole  together, 
and  place  it  where  the  rats  fre- 
quent ;  continue  to  do  so  while  they 
eat  it,and  it  will  soon  destroy  them  : 
Or,  take  equal  quantities  of  un- 
slacked  lime,  and  powdered  oat- 
meal;  mix  them  by  Stirling,  with- 
out adding  any  liquid,  and  place  a 
small  quantity  in  any  place  fre- 
quented by  rats.  I  hey  will  ea- 
gerly swallow  the  preparation,  be- 
come thirsty,  and  the  water  which 
they  drink  will  cause  the  lime  to 
swell,  and  thus  destroy  them. 

RICE,  or  Oryza,  is  a  genus  of 
plants  consisting  of  several  species, 
which,  however,  ma)  be  divided  in- 
totwo varieties,  viz.  Mountain-rice, 
which  grows  on  dry  elevated  soils, 
and  Marsh-rice  sown  in  low  swampy 
districts.  According  to  the  Domes- 
tic Encyclopedia,  Mr.  Bordley 
raised  the  former  kind  of  rice  on 
dry  sandy  land  at  Annapolis,  in  Ma- 
ryland. It  is  not  impossible  but 
this  plant  may  be  gradually  intro- 
duced into  the  northern  States,  and 
made  to  grow  on  dry  and  elevated 
ground.  This  is  a  great  desidera* 
tum,  as  rice  is  the  cheapest  nutri- 
ment known  ;  containing,  it  is  said, 
96  parts  in  100  of  nutritive  matter. 

''  The  following  directions  re- 
specting the  water  culture  of  rice- 


RIC 


ROL 


357 


are  furnished  by  one  of  the  most 
successful  cultivators  of  that  article 
in  the  State  of  South-Carolina. 

"  Begin  to  plant  about  25th  of 
March,  and  trench  shallow  and 
wide,  and  scatter  the  seed  in  the 
row  ;  make  72  or  73  rows  in  a  task, 
and  sow  two  bushels  to  an  acre. 

"1st.  Hoe  about  the  end  of  April, or 
beginning  of  May,  when  the  rice  is  in 
its  fourth  leaf;  then  flood,and  clear 
the  field  of  trash.  If  the  planting 
be  late,  and  you  are  likely  to  be  in 
grass,  flood  before  hoeing  ;  but  hoe- 
ing first  is  preferable.  The  best 
depth  to  flood  is  three  or  four  inch- 
es. It  is  a  good  mark  to  see  the 
tops  of  the  rice  just  out  of  the  wa- 
ter ;  the  deep  places  are  not  to  be 
regarded  ;  the  rice  will  grow  through 
in  three  or  four  days.  Observe  to 
make  a  notch  on  the  frame  of  the 
trunk,  when  the  water  is  of  a  pro- 
per depth  •,  if  the  rains  raise  the 
water  above  the  notch,  or  it  leaks 
out,  add  or  let  off  accordingly.  This 
is  done  by  putting  a  small  stick  in 
the  door  of  the  trunk,  about  an  inch 
in  diameter;  if  scum  or  froth  ap- 
pear in  eight  or  ten  days,  freshen 
the  water,  take  off  the  trunk  doors, 
run  off  the  water  with  one  ebb,  and 
take  in  the  next  ^ooc/ ;  then  regu- 
late as  before.  Keep  the  water  on 
about  fifteen  or  seventeen  days,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  weath- 
er ;  that  is,  if  a  hot  sun,  fifteen  days, 
if  cool  and  cloudy,  seventeen  days, 
counting  from  the  day  the  field  is 
flooded;  then  leak  oft" with  a  small 
stick  for  two  days,  then  run  ofl'the 
whole,  and  keep  the  field  dry.  In 
four  or  five  days  after,  hoe  the  se- 
cond time,  stir  the  ground,  whether 
clean  or  not,  and  comb  up  the  fal- 


len rice  with  the  fingers.  Keep 
dry,  and  hoe  through  the  field  Hoe 
the  third  time  and  pick  clean.  This 
will  be  about  the  beginning  of  July. 
Then  flood  as  you  hoe.  Let  the 
water  be  the  same  depth  as  before. 
If  any  grass  has  escaped,  it  must  be 
picked  in  the  water  after  it  shoots 
out  'I'his  is  called  the  fourth  hoe- 
ing, but  the  hoe  is  never  used  ex- 
cept for  some  high  places,  or  to 
clean  the  dams.  If  the  rice  is  flag- 
gy and  likel)  to  lodge,  flood  deep  to 
support  it,  and  keep  it  on  until  fit 
to  harvest."  Domestic  Encyclope- 
dia, vol.  —  p.  175.  3d  edition. 

REED,  Arundo,  "  the  name  of 
an  aquatic  plant,  infesting  low 
grounds.  The  best  method  of  de- 
stroying them,  is  by  draining  the 
land.  Ashes  and  soot  will  kill 
them.  So  will  ploughing  the  land, 
and  laying  it  in  high  ridges.  They 
always  indicate  a  good  soil."  Com- 
plete Farmer. 

RIDGLING,a  male  animal, half 
castrated.  A  horse  of  this  kind  is 
as  troublesome  as  a  stallion,  or  more 
so  ;  but  is  not  fit  to  be  depended  on 
as  one.  A  ridgling  hog  will  never 
be  fat,  nor  grow  so  large  as  a  bar- 
row, till  his  castration  be  complet- 
ed ;  as  it  may  be  by  making  an 
opening  in  the  belly,  when  the  case 
is  the  most  difiicult.  They  should 
bo  either  killed  young,or  complete- 
ly castrated.  The  flesh  of  a  young 
ridgling  pig  is  good  ;  but  that  of  an 
old  one  disagreeable. 

ROLLER,  a  cylindrical  instru- 
ment to  pass  over  lands,  to  answer 
several  good  purposes  in  husban- 
dry. 

Those  rollers  which  are  cut  out 
of  free  stone,  being  heavier  than 


358 


ROL 


ROL 


wooden  ones,  are  best  to  smooth, 
and  harden,  the  alleys  in  gardens, 
walks,  &c.  But  wooden  ones  an- 
swer better  in  tillage,  when  they 
are  sufliciently  large.  A  roller  for 
field  husbandry  should  be  five  or  six 
feet  long  ;  so  that  it  may  perform 
much  in  a  short  time,  being  drawn 
by  a  horse  or  a  yoke  of  oxen,  for  ei- 
ther of  which  it  may  be  easily  har- 
liessed.  It  should  be  made  perfect- 
ly round  and  smooth,  that  it  may  be 
drawn  the  more  easily,  and  press 
the  ground  the  more  equally  m  all 
parts.  And  it  should  be  from  eigh- 
teen to  twenty-four  inches  diameter. 
Being  large,  the  pressure  will  be 
greater ;  and  the  surface  will  be  left 
the  more  level. 

A  spiky  roller,  or  a  roller  filled 
with  spikes,  six  or  seven  inches 
long,  sharp  pointed  at  the  outer 
ends,  is  sometimes  used  in  the  old 
countries,  to  pulverise  cloddy  land 
in  tillage,  or  to  brake  and  open  the 
sward  of  grass  land  when  it  is  bound, 
and  too  compact.  Aftergrass  land 
is  so  broken,a  top  dressing  will  have 
the  better  effect.  A  roller  is  some- 
times armed  with  circular  knives, 
four  or  five  inches  broad,  put  on  in 
the  manner  of  hoops,  the  edges  at 
right  angles  with  the  axis  of  the  rol- 
ler, twenty  inches  from  each  other, 
They  use  these  instruments  to  cut 
the  sward  into  strips,  in  order  to 
cut  up  the  turfs  with  a  sharp  ironed 
plough  for  burn  beating.  This  man- 
ner  of  doing  the  work,  is  far  less  ex- 
pensive than  cutting  up  tlie  turfs 
with  the  beating  axe.  But  the 
sward  of  land  to  which  this  instru- 
ment is  applied,  ouglit  to  be  ex- 
tremely level,  and  free  from  stones 
and  strong  roots. 


Sir  John  Sinclair  has  the  follow- 
ing remarks  on  this  subject.  "The 
roller  is  the  most  useful  implement, 
for  breaking  hard  clods  expeditious- 
ly, and  smoothing  the  surface  of 
land  when  in  tillage,  ever  yet  in- 
vented. It  is  likewise  of  use  to 
grass  lands  laid  down  for  hay  ;  and 
heavy  rollers  would  prevent  those 
ant  hills,  by  which  so  many  pastures 
are  deformed.  Rollers  are  made 
of  various  substances  ;  as  wood, 
freestone,  granite,  or  cast  iron  ;  but 
on  the  whole  the  two  latter  are  to 
be  preferred.  It  is  of  importance 
that  the  weight  of  the  roller  should 
be  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of 
the  surface  on  which  it  rests,  and 
the  nature  of  the  land  on  which  it 
is  to  be  employed.  The  best  plan 
is  that  of  having  two  rollers,  each 
about  two  feet  and  a  half  in  length, 
and  both  placed  in  one  frame,  so  as 
to  roll  clear  of  one  another.  This 
is  the  most  suitable  both  for  corn 
crops  and  sown  grass,  as  it  neither 
tears  up  the  tender  soil,  nor  injures 
the  young  plants.  Besides  the  la- 
bour in  turning  is  much  less  severe 
on  the  frame,  and  on  the  cattle. 
Every  farm  ought  to  be  provided 
with  rollers  of  different  diameters 
and  weights,  so  as  to  suit  the  seve- 
ral purposes  to  which  they  are  des- 
tined; those  of  a  small  diameter  are 
generally  applied  to  land  in  tillage  ; 
and  those  of  a  large  diameter,  with 
double  shafts  to  grass  lands.  Heavy 
rollers  are  of  great  use  for  destroy- 
ing worms,  slugs,  and  other  vermin 
in  the  soil."     Code  of  Agriculture. 

ROLLING,  smoothing  and  mo- 
derately hardening  the  surface  of 
land,  by  drawing  a  roller  over  it. 

The  rolling  of  land    in    tillage 


ROL 


ROL 


359 


should  be  done  only  in  dry  weath- 
er; never,  when  the  soil  is  so  wet 
as  lo  stick  to  the  roller. 

No  soil  will  admit  of  rolling  that 
is  very  uneven,  or  much  rocky  or 
stony.  But  small  round  pebbles  in 
a  mellow  soil,  well  pulverised, need 
not  prevent  rolling:  For  the  roller 
will  press  them  all  into  the  soil. 
Land  that  is  apt  to  have  a  stiff  crust 
formed  upon  it,  by  lying  only  a  few 
weeks,  I  think  should  not  be  rolled  ; 
because  it  will  cause  the  crust  to 
be  the  more  hard  and  stiff.  But  the 
advantages  of  rolling  in  a  light  and 
rich  soil  are  so  great,  that  it  is  pity 
that  the  practice  of  it  is  so  general- 
ly laid  aside  in  this  country. 

Rolling,  after  sowing  and  har- 
rowing, will  cause  the  mould  to 
enclose  the  seeds  ;  much  of  which, 
otherwise,  lying  in  cavities  that 
soon  become  dry,  is  apt  to  fail  of 
vegetating. 

Rolling  also  fills  up  ten  thousand 
little  cells,  which,  when  left  open, 
are  haunts  and  harbours  for  flies 
and  other  noxious  insects  ;  besides, 
it  has  the  advantage  of  destroying 
some  kinds  of  insects  in  the  opera- 
tion. It  is  peculiarly  beneficial  on 
this  account  to  a  crop  of  turnips. 
And  some  recommend  passing  the 
roller  over  turnip  ground,  not  only 
when  the  seed  is  newly  sown,  but 
after  the  plants  are  up. 

When  a  clay  soil  is  sown,  rolling 
bteaks  many  lumps,  or  hard  clods, 
which  have  escaped  the  plough  and 
the  harrow.  But  an  over  light  soil, 
which  is  apt  to  dry  too  fast,  needs 
rolling  more  than  any  other.  It 
serves  to  prevent  the  evaporation 
of  moisture,  by  making  it  less  po- 
rous. 


Some  of  the  European  farmers 
prefer  rolliiig  after  the  grain  has 
risen  to  the  height  of  four  or  five 
inches.  But  of  the  utility  of  this 
we  are  not  yet  convinced  by  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  trials. 

In  all  kinds  of  soil  that  are  laid 
down  to  grass,  rolling  is  necessary, 
to  la)'  the  surface  so  smooth  and 
even  as  to  facilitate  mowing  and  ra- 
king. And  those  kinds  of  sowed 
corn  which  are  to  be  cut  with  the 
scythe,  and  raked,  should  be  rolled, 
that  loss  may  be  prevented  in  har- 
vesting. VVithout  it,  a  crop  of  bar- 
ley cannot  be  well  taken  up  clean 
with  a  rake,  especially  when  the 
corn  is  short  and  small,  as  I  have 
often  found  to  my  loss.  Some  wri- 
ters on  husbandry  think  a  crop  of 
barley,  in  particular,  will  be  consi- 
derably larger  for  rolling  it,  as  it  is 
a  dry  seed,  that  needs  to  be  well 
enclosed  with  mould,  in  order  to  its 
vegetating.  Lands  that  are  in  grass, 
may  be  kept  even  by  a  yearly  rol- 
ling, which  will  press  down  mole 
hills  and  other  unevennesses,  and 
cause  the  grass  to  grow  thicker.  It 
will  also  be  an  advantage  to  be  able 
to  mow  it  the  more  closely. 

"An  intelligent  farmer  maintains 
that  if  draining  is  the  first, manuring 
the  second, and  cultivation thethird, 
rolling  ought  to  be  considered  as 
the  fourth  principal  operation  in  the 
process  of  agriculture.  Its  impor- 
tance indeed,  is  every  day  becom- 
ing more  apparent,  and  new  advan- 
tages are  derived  from  its  use  both 
on  arable  and  on  grass  lands. 

'•  Wheat  should  always  be  rolled 
in  the  spring,  after  frosts,as  it  makes 
the  soil  adhere  more  closely  to  the 
roots  of  the  plants,  encourages  ve- 


J60 


ROL 


ROO 


getation,  and  strengthens  the  stems, 
and  renders  the  grain  more  perfect. 
When  any  crop  of  grain  is  sown 
with  artiticial  grasses,  rolhng  is  par- 
ticular!) necessary,  to  make  an 
even  surface,  bruising  all  clods, and 
pressing  down  any  stones,  it  may 
not  be  thought  necessary  to  carry 
off,  to  facilitate  the  future  operation 
of  the  scythe.  Oats  in  a  light  soil, 
may  be  rolled  to  advantage,  imme- 
diately after  the  seed  is  sown,  un- 
less the  soil  is  so  wet  as  to  cling  to 
the  roller.  After  turnips  are  sown 
in  drills,  they  ought  immediately  fo 
be  rolled ;  to  make  the  soil  com- 
pact, and  to  promote  their  speedy 
germination.  Not  only  for  turnips, 
but  for  all  other  crops,  rolling  du- 
ring the  night  is  found  to  be  an  ef- 
ficient means  of  destroying  slugs, 
snails,  the  wire-worm,  and  other 
vermin,  so  destructive  to  young 
plants.  Flax  ought  to  be  rolled  im- 
mediately after  sowing  ;  it  makes 
the  seed  vegetate  equally,  and  pre- 
vents after  growth  ;  the  bad  effects 
of  v/hich  are  visible  in  every  step 
o[  the  process  of  dressing  flax. 

'•The  other  advantages  in  rolling 
arable  land  are,  that  it  renders  a 
loose  soil  more  compact  and  solid. 
This  encourages  the  growth  of 
plants,  by  pressing  the  soil  to  their 
roots.  It  likewise  keeps  in  moist- 
ure and  prevents  drought  from  pen- 
etrating. When  the  soil  is  worked 
up  lightly,  moisture  either  filters 
through  it  too  quickly,  or  is  too 
easily  evaporated.  In  a  dry  sea- 
son this  may  occasion  a  very  mate- 
rial difference  in  the  crop,  more  es- 
pecially in  a  light  soil.  Roiling  is 
executed  to  most  advantage,  across 
the  direction  of  the  ridges,  because 


more  adapted  to  ensure  full  benefit 
to  the  furrows, which  otherwise  may 
not  be  properly  gone  over." 

ROO  rS,  the  parts  of  plants  that 
are  under  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
which  imbibe  the  nutritious  juice  of 
the  earth,  which  feeds  and  increa- 
ses the  plants. 

Botanists  distinguish  roots  into 
divers  sorts,  according  to  their  dif- 
ferent forms.  But  the  only  distinc- 
tion to  which  the  husbandman  needs 
to  give  his  attention,  is,  to  consider 
roots  as  of  the  tap,  bulbous,  or  fi- 
brous kind.  Of  the  first  kind  are 
the  carrot,  parsnep,  beet,  &lc.  of 
the  second,  the  potatoe,  onion,  tur- 
nip, and  several  others ;  of  the  last, 
wheat  and  other  kinds  of  grain,  and 
many  grasses. 

But  still  there  are,  perhaps,  but 
few  plants  which  have  only  one  of 
these  kinds  of  roots,  though  the 
form  that  is  most  obvious  is  the 
one  which  gives  the  name  to 
the  root.  Carrots,  and  other 
tap  rooted  plants,  send  out  hori- 
zontal fibres  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. Trees  in  general  have  both 
tap  and  fibrous  roots.  A  turnip  has 
the  three  kinds  of  roots,  having  a 
bulb,  a  tap,  and  many  lateral  fibres 
from  the  tap. 

Mr.  Mill?,  on  this  subject  says, 
the  roots  that  proceed  immediately 
from  the  seed,  are  always  of  the 
carrot  or  tap  kind.  Tap  roots 
strike  down  perpendicularly  into 
the  earth,  till  it  becomes  too  hard 
to  admit  of  their  farther  passage  ; 
but  when  the  soil  is  deep,and  easily- 
pierced, they  penetrate  sometimes 
to  the  depth  of  several  yards,  un- 
less they  are  cut  or  broken  ;  in 
which  case  they  alter  their  direc- 


ROO 


ROO 


361 


lion.  This  is  freqiu-ntly  observed  ; 
particular!}'  in  plants  raised  in  wa- 
ter only.  The  tap  roots  shoot  out 
branches  which  extend  horizon- 
tall)'  ;  and  these  brandies  are 
stronger,  in  (iroportion  a«  they  are 
nearer  to  the  surface  of  that  layer 
of  earth,  which  is  stirred  by  the 
plough  or  spade. 

These  are  the  roots  which  we 
callitig  creeping  or  fibrous.  They 
extend  sometimes  to  a  considera- 
ble distance  from  the  plant  that 
produced  them  ;  but  then  they  be- 
come so  tninute,  that  the  naked 
eye  can  no  longer  trace  them  ;  es- 
pecially when  they  have  taken  the 
tincture  of  the  earth  that  surrounds 
them,  as  they  generally  do. 

A  carrot,  for  an  example,  which 
seems  to  have  only  one  great  root, 
furnished  with  some  fibres,  pushes 
its  roots,  according  to  Mr.  Tull,  to 
a  considerable  distance  ;  but  they 
grow  so  very  slender,  that  they 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  the 
earth  that  covers  them,  without 
great  attention.  The  case  is  the 
same  with  almost  all  plants. 

To  convince  the  reader  of  this, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  shew  how 
far  the  roots  of  plants  can  extend 
in  ground  that  is  well  loosened,  he 
recommends  the  experiment  which 
I  have  mentioned  under  the  article. 
Pasture  of  Plants,  which  see. 

The  .  following  instances,  sa)s 
M.  Duhamel,  shew  what  effort 
trees  will  make,  to  find  a  proper 
soil  for  the  extension  of  their 
roots.  On  examining  those  of  a 
hedge,  at  the  side  of  which  a  ditch 
had  been  dug,  it  appeared,  that 
after  passing  underneath  the  ditch, 
they  reascendedj  and  spread  them- 
46 


selves  in  the  ploughed  earth  on 
tlie  other  side. 

He  made  the  same  observation 
on  a  row  of  elms,  which  were  very 
near  benig  killed  by  the  digging  of 
a  deep  ditch  pretty  near  them,  in 
order  to  prevent  their  roots  from 
damaging  an  adjacent  piece  of 
groinid.  The  elms  shot  out  fresh 
roots  in  the  loose  mould  that  drop- 
ped into  the  ditch  ;  these  roots  re- 
ascended  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ditch,  and  spread  in  the  ploughed 
ground,  and  the  elms  soon  recover- 
ed their  former  vigour. 

He  likewise  observed,  that  on 
digging  a  trench  at  a  small  distance 
from  a  young  elm,  and  filling  it 
with  good  mould,  the  roots  of  that 
elm  took  their  direction  towards 
the  trench,  and  grew  to  a  great 
length  in  it. 

These  observations  prove  that 
horizontal  roots  extend  far,  espe- 
cially in  loose  mould  :  And  as  a 
plant  thrives  in  proportion  to  the 
length  of  its  roofs,  Mr.  Tull  justly 
infers  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 
earth  in  tillage  in  a  light  state, 
that  the  roots  may  easily  penetrate 
it. 

A  root  that  has  been  cut  or  bro- 
ken, never  grows  longer,  but  soon 
produces  several  new  roots,  all  of 
which  gather  the  proper  food  of 
the  plant.  Its  means  of  subsistence 
are  therefore  increased,  by  the 
breaking  of  its  roots,  in  digging  or 
ploughing,  rather  than  otherwise. 
In  the  horse-hoeing  husbandry 
many  of  the  fibrous  roots  of  the 
growing  plant*  are  undoubtedly 
cut  off  by  the  plough.  But  it  oc- 
casions the  multiplying  of  the  roots, 
and  consequently  the  greater  nour- 
ishment of  the  plants. 


362 


ROT 


ROT 


A  writer  in  (lie  Mas«5achiJsetts 
Agricultural  Repository,  Vol.  V.. 
page  326.,  recommend?  the  field 
culture  of  roots  for  the  consunjp 
tion  of  stock,  and  as  the  priticipnl 
dependence  of  the  farmer  for  if>^ 
w'ii.ter's  support.  He  remark^, 
that  '  the  connexion  of  root  culti- 
vation with  a  prosperous  agricul- 
ture is  not  a  recent  discovery,  a! 
though  it  is  the  great  hoast  of  the 
farming  interest  of  England  aiul 
Sco'land.  ,  More  than  tifty  yeai- 
ago.  a  Dutch  farmer  asserted  (n 
Jo-:eph  Marshall,  an  intcllitient 
Englishman,  at  that  time  tra\  elhnt', 
through  the  northern  kingdoms  oi 
Europe  for  agrindtural  informa 
tiot),  ''that  the  foundation  of  ail 
good  agriculture  was  tlie  raisin^^ 
roofs  as  the  winter  food  for  cattle.'' 
The  reason  is  obvious.  By  (his 
system  the  greatest  quantity  of 
food  is  raised  u[)on  the  smallesi 
extent  of  land  with  the  least  labour. 
Wiiat  other  cultivation  can  enable 
a  farmer  to  raise  fifty,  sixty,  and 
even  one  hundred  tons  of  food  of 
an  excellent  quality  upon  a  single 
acre  ? 

ROT,  a  disease  in  sheep,  simi- 
lar to  a  pulmonary  consumption  in 
men.  A  writer  in  the  Scots  Far- 
mer thinks  that  if  the  disease  have 
not  proceeded  far,  the  animals  may 
be  cured  by  feeding  on  turnips. 
But  this  is  rather  to  be  doubted. 
It  IS  said  to  be  caused  by  keeping 
them  in  a  pasture  that  is  too  moist, 
producing  rank  atid  watery  grasses. 
The  raging  of  this  distemper  in  a 
flock,  is  stopped  by  removing  them 
to  a  dry  situation  :  But  the  indi- 
viduals which  are  deeply  seiz<'d 
with  it,  are  seldom  cured.     Cough 


is  a  constant  symptom.  The  lungs 
decay,  and  the  whole  body  droops 
and  languishes,  in  the  same  manner 
as  persons  in  a  hectic.  The  sick 
of  the  flock  should  be  removed  from 
the  sound  sheep,  that  the  infection 
may  spread  no  further  among  the 
Hock.      See  Slipep. 

ROTATION  of  CROPS,  a 
eourse  of  ditftM'ent  crops  in  succes- 
sion, on  the  same  piece  of  ground. 

The  matter  has  not  yet  been 
sufBciently  attended  to  b}  New 
Ef  gland  Farmers.  This  a[)pears 
by  their  often  being  necessitated 
(o  lay  their  tillage  lands  waste  for 
a  considerable  number  of  years, 
'hat  they  may  get  recruited.  Ttie 
expense  of  recruiting  worn  out 
'and  is  so  great,  that  such  a  course 
:»f  crops  ought  to  be  preferred  as 
(he  soil  will  bear  without  material 
nijury,  or  without  being  too  much 
exhausted.  And,  when  other  things 
are  equal,  such  a  course  should  be 
adopted  as  requires  the  least  la- 
bour, or  cost  of  manures  and  culti- 
vation. When  a  course  is  well 
ehosen,  it  may  be  repeated  on  the 
same  spot  perpetually,  without 
damage  to  the  soil. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected,  that  the 
best  rules  concerning  this  matter 
can  be  established,  but  Irom  the 
experience  of  many  years  For 
though  it  may  be  easy  to  compare 
the  respective  advantages  of  difTe- 
rent  courses,  in  a  few  years,  so  as 
to  find  which  is  more  productive  ; 
it  will  take  a  much  longer  time  to 
determine  wbiich  course  will  be 
best  on  the  whole.  For  the  state 
of  the  soil,  at  the  end  of  a  long 
eourse,  is  to  be  taken  into  the  ac- 
count.    And  it  is  to  be  remember- 


ROT 


ROT 


363 


ed  that  a  course  that  is  suitable 
for  one  soil,  may  not  be  so  for  ano- 
ther. 

In  countries  where  a  spirited  at- 
tention to  agriculture  has  lor  a  long 
time  subsisted,  one  would  expect, 
that  people  have  nfiost  probably 
adopted  the  best  courses.  It  is 
not  amiss,  then-fore,  to  observe 
what  courses  they  generally  prefer 
in  Biitai.j  and  Ireland,  taking  care 
not  to  go  into  a  rash  and  inconsi- 
derate imitation  of  them,  without 
making  allowance  for  local  differ- 
ences, (fee. 

A  cornmon  course  in  Ireland  is, 
turnips,  barley,  clover,  wheat :  or, 
potatoes,  barley,  clover,  wheat. 

From  the  account  that  Mr. 
Young  gives  of  the  courses  in  dif- 
ferent places,  wiiich  he  passed 
through  in  his  northern  tour,  the 
following  things  are  observable. 
That  where  they  do  not  fallow, 
green  and  white  crops  follow  each 
other  alternately;  and  thit  wheat 
follows  clover  oftener  than  any 
other  crop  :  That  where  fallowing 
is  practised,  wlieat  is  nest,  and 
after  it  sometimes  another  white 
crop;  but  not  generally.  It  ought 
to  be  never. 

The  courses  of  crops  in  Ireland, 
will  furnish  nearly  the  same  obser- 
vations. 

The  judicious  farmer  knows, 
that  some  regard  must  be  had  to 
the  nature  of  the  soil  in  a  course  oi 
crops.  Those  crops  wliich  require 
a  liyht  soil,  should  tn  .ke  no  part  of 
the  course  in  a  stitf  one,  and  vice 
versa. 

But  supposing  the  European 
courses  to  be  the  best  that  can  be. 
some  variation  is  surely  to  be  made 


in  this  country  ;  what  that  varia- 
tion is,  experience  must  discover. 
Not  only  our  climates,  but  also 
our  crops  are  ddferent.  We  raise 
some  crops  that  they  do  not,  and 
not  all  that  they  do  raise.  But  a 
rule  that  is  fit  to  be  extended  to  all 
countries,  is,  that  two  impoverish- 
ing crops  should  seldom,  or  never, 
succeed  each  other  in  a  course. 
And  it  is  certain,  that  white  or  grain 
crops  in  general,  are  apt  to  impover- 
ish the  soil,  as  they  continue  to  draw 
nourishment  from  the  earth,  for 
some  time  after  the  leaves  are 
dead,  and  cease  to  receive  nour- 
ishment from  the  air.  And  all 
plants  that  bear  an  oily  seed,  rob 
the  soil  of  nuich  of  its  vegetable 
food  :  Such  are  flax  and  hemp,  sup- 
posing them  to  continue  in  the 
soil  till  (he  seed  is  ripe. 

Reasoning  from  experience  and 
observation,  I  am  led  to  believe, 
that  the  following  are  as  good 
courses,  as  may  be  expected  to  be 
introiiuced  in  this  country.  On 
light  wartn  soils,  the  hist  year, 
corn  dunged,  pease,  or  potatoes  : 
2d  year,  rye,  barley,  or  buck  wheat : 
the  3d,  and  4th,  clover:  the  3th, 
wheat :  the  6th,  and  7th,  clover. 
On  cold  and  stiff  soils,  first,  oats  or 
potatoes :  2d,  potatoes  well  dunged : 
3d,  flax,  or  wheat :  4th,  grass,  and 
so  on  till  it  needs  to  be  broken  up 
again.  Though  these  may  serve 
tor  general  rules,  yet  as  there  is  a 
great  variet}  in  soils,  and  some  far- 
mers car;  obtain  manure  in  greater 
plenty  than  others,  each  farmer 
must  ei'.deavour  to  accommodate 
his  courses  to  his  soil  and  other 
circumstances. 

The  writer  of  a  "  Treatise  on 


364 


ROT 


ROW 


Agriculture,"  originally  published 
ii»  tlie  Albany  Argus,  recommends 
the  following  rotations  of  crops  as 
bcft  adapted  to  the  northern  parts 
of  the  Ufuted  States. 

"  Meditm)  course  m  sandy  soils  : 
1st  year,  potatoes  dunged ;  2d. 
rye,  with  turnips  after  harvest, 
consumed  on  the  fields;  3d.  oats 
arid  clover,  or  barley,  and  clover; 
4th,  clover;  5fh,  wheat,  with  tur- 
nips after  harvest  consumtd  on  the 
field  ;  and  6lh,  pease,  or  lupins, 
or  lentils.  We  have  by  thiscoursf 
eight  crops  in  nix  years,  and  five 
of  ihfse  ameliorating  crops. 

"  Medium  course  iii  loamy  soils  : 
1st  year,  potatoes  dunged ;  'id 
year  wheat,  with  turnips  as  in  the 
preceding-  course;  3d  )ear,  Indian 
Cora  and  pumpkins ;  4th  year, 
wheat  and  turnips  as  before.  Ir, 
this  course  we  have  nine  crops  ir< 
six  years — five  of  which  are  amc 
liorating  crops.     And 

"  Medium  course  in  clay  soils  : 
first  year,    oats  with  clover;    2d. 
clover;    3d,    wheat;    4th,     bean^ 
dunged  ;  5lh,  wheat;  6th,  the  yel 
low  vetchlirig." 

An  able  writer  in  the  Massacbu 
setts  Agricultural  Repository.  Vol. 
V.  p.  334,  recommends  the  follow- 
ing rotation  of  crops,  as  best  adapt- 
ed to  the  general  state  of  agricul- 
ture in  Massachusetts  ;  viz. 

1st  year.  After  breaking  up 
the  sward,  oats,  sown  thick,  to  bt 
cut  for"  fodder. 

2d  year.  Potatoes  or  Indian 
corn  or  both. 

3d  year.  Carrots  or  turnips  or 
both. 

4th  year.  Barley  or  wheat,  sown 
with  clover  and  herds'-grass  or  red 
top. 


5th  year.     Clover  mowed. 

6th  year.  Herds'-grass  and  clo- 
ver. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  sixth  year 
land  to  be  broken  up,  and  on  the 
•-eventh  year  the  same  rotation  re- 
commences. See  Indian  Corn  and 
Flax, 

ROWEL,  a  kind  of  issue,  or  ar- 
trticial  wound,  made  in  the  skin  of 
a  horse,  by  drawing  a  skein  of  silk, 
thiv-ad  or  hair,  through  the  nape  of 
the  neck,  or  some  other  part,  an- 
swerirrg  to  what  surgeons  call  a 
seton. 

Horses  are  rowelled  for  inward 
strains,  especially  about  the  shoul- 
ders or  hips,  or  for  hard  swellings 
that  are  not  easily  dissolved.  The 
rowel  may  be  made  in  almost  any 
[)art,  and  should  always  be  not  far 
from  the  diseased  part,  and  about 
a  hand  breadth  beneath  it.  The 
two  ends  of  the  rowel  should  be 
tied  together,  that  it  may  not  come 
out,  and  be  smeared  with  lard,  or 
fresh  butter,  before  it  is  put  in. 
Afterwards,  it  should  be  daily 
smeared  again,  and  drawn  back- 
wards and  forwards,  that  the  putrid 
matter  may  discharge  itself. 

What  are  called  rowels  by  the 
English  Farriers  are  made  as  fol- 
lows :  An  incision  is  made  through 
the  skin,  about  three  eighths  of  an 
inch  long.  Then  the  skin  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  flesh  with  the  finger, 
or  with  the  end  of  a  blunt  horn,  as 
far  as  the  finger  will  easily  reach. 
Into  this  a  piece  of  leather  made 
very  thin,  and  round  shaped,  is  in- 
tr'oduced,  about  the  size  of  a  crown 
i>iece,  having  a  large  roimd  hole  in 
the  middle  of  it.  Previous  to  in- 
troducing the  leather,  it  is  covered 


RUN 


RUN 


365 


with  lint  or  tow,  and  clipped  in 
some  digestive  ointment.  Also  a 
pledgit  of  tow,  dipped  in  the  same 
ointment,  is  put  in  the  orifice,  to 
keep  out  the  cold  air.  See  Clark'' s 
Farriery, 

RUNNET,  or  RENNET,  an 
acid  juice,  contained  in  the  maw 
of  a  calf  that  has  ted  on  nothing 
but  milk.  When  the  rennet  is  to 
be  preserved  for  use,  the  calf  should 
be  killed  soon  after  he  has  sucked  ; 
for  then  the  curd  is  entire  and  un- 
digested. 

Dair)^  women  usually  preserve 
the  maw,  and  the  curd  contained 
in  it,  after  salting  them  ;  and  then 
by  steeping  this  bag  and  curd, 
make  a  rennet  to  turn  their  milk 
for  making  cheese.  But  a  method 
which  seems  to  be  more  simple, 
and  is  equally  good  in  every  re- 
spect, is,  to  throw  away  the  curd, 
and  after  steeping  it  in  very  strong 
pickle,  stretch  out  the  maw  upon 
a  slender  bow  inserted  into  it, 
which  will  soon  be  very  dry,  and 
keep  well  for  a  long  time.  Take 
an  inch  or  two  of  the  maw  thus 
dried,  and  steep  it  over  night  in  a 
few  spoonfuls  of  warm  water ; 
which  water  serves  full  as  well  as 
if  the  curd  had  been  preserved, 
for  turning  the  milk.  It  is  said 
that  one  inch  will  serve  for  the  milk 
of  five  cows. 

In  the  Bath  papers,  Mr.  Hazard 
gives  the  following  receipt  for 
making  rennet :  "  When  the  raw 
skin  is  well  prepared  and  fit  for 
the  purpose,  three  pints  of  soft  wa- 
ter, clean  and  sweet,  should  be 
mixed  with  salt,  wherein  should  be 
put  sweet  brier,  rose  leaver  and 
flowers,  cinnamon,   mace,  cloves, 


and  almost  every  sort  of  spice  ;  and 
if  these  are  put  into  two  quarts  of 
water,  they  must  boil  gently,  till 
the  liquor  is  reduced  to  three  pints, 
and  care  should  be  taken  that  this 
liquor  is  not  smoked.  It  should  be 
strained  clear  from  the  spices,  &;c. 
and  when  found  to  be  not  warmer, 
than  milk  from  the  cow,  it  should 
be  poured  upon  the  cell  or  maw  ; 
a  lemon  may  be  sliced  into  it,  when 
it  may  remain  a  day  or  two  ;  after 
which  it  should  be  strained  again, 
and  put  into  a  bottle,  where,  if 
well  corked,  it  will  keep  good  for 
twelve  months.  It  will  smell  like 
a  perfume ;  and  a  small  quantity 
of  it  will  turn  the  milk,  and  give 
the  cheese  a  pleasing  flavour." 
He  adds,  "  If  the  maw  be  salted 
and  dried  for  a  week  or  two  near 
the  fire,  it  will  do  for  the  purpose 
again  almost  as  well  as  before." 
Another  receipt  is  as  follows  :  After 
the  maw  has  been  well  cleaned 
and  salted,  and  dried  upon  sticks 
or  splints,  take  boiled  water  two 
quarts,  made  into  brine  that  will 
bear  an  egg,  let  it  be  blood  warm, 
put  in  the  maw,  either  cut  or 
whole  ;  let  it  steep  twenty-four 
hours,  and  it  will  be  fit  for  use» 
About  a  tea  cup  full  will  turn  the 
milk  of  ten  cows.  It  should  be 
kept  in  glass  bottles,  well  corked. 
An  ingenious  correspondent,  who 
has  made  strict  inquiry  into  this 
subject,  recommends  the  following 
method  of  preparing  a  rennet, 
which  he  has  found  to  be  better 
than  any  other.  "  Throw  away  the 
natural  curd,  which  is  apt  to  taint, 
and  give  the  bag  a  bad  smell :  Then 
make  an  artificial  curd,  or  rather 
butter,  of  new  cream,  of  sufiicient 


366 


RUS 


RYE 


quantity  to  (ill  the  bag.  Add  three 
nen  laid  eggs  well  l)eaten,  one  nut- 
meg grated  line,  or  any  other  good 
spice  :  Mix  them  well  together, 
With  three  tea  cup  fulls  of  fine  salt : 
Fill  the  rennet  bag  with  this  sub- 
stance :  Tie  up  the  mouth :  Lay  it 
under  a  strong  brine  for  three  da\s, 
turning  it  over  daily  :  Then  hang 
it  up  in  a  cool  and  dry  place  for 
six  weeks,  and  it  will  be  fit  for  use. 
When  it  is  used,  take  with  a  spoon 
out  of  the  bag,  a  sufficient  quantit) 
of  this  artifitial  butyrous  curd  foi 
the  cheese  you  purpose  to  make  : 
Dissolve  it  in  a  small  quantity  of 
Warm  water,  and  then  use  it  in  the 
same  manner,  as  other  rennet  is 
mixed  with  the  milk  for  its  coagu- 
lation." 

Whatever  kind  of  rennet  the 
dairy  woman  chooses  to  prepare, 
she  should  keep  it  in  mind,  that 
this  animal  acid  is  extremely  apt 
to  turn  rancid  and  putrefy,  and  take 
care  to  apply  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  salt  to  preserve  it  in  its  best 
state,  it  should  be  as  much  salted 
as  possible.  The  strongest  kind  of 
salt  should  be  used.  For  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  rank  and  putrid  taste, 
■which  is  so  often  in  cheeses  made 
in  this  country,  is  owing  to  a  putri- 
dity in  the  rennet. 

RUSH,  Juncus,  a  troublesome 
sort  of  plant,  commonly  found  grow- 
ing in  wet  and  nnry  land. 

"  Rushes  always  indicate  a  good 
soil.  They  may  be  destroyed  by 
lime,  even  after  it  has  been  slaked, 
by  sea  coal  ashes,  or  by  draining 
the  land.  Rushes  thrive  most  in 
land  that  is  too  cold  and  moist  for 
most  other  plants.  Aslies,  and 
other   warm  manures  of   various 


kinds,  laid  on  plentifully,  will  keep 
down  the  rushes  for  a  time  :  But  to 
eradicate  them  perfectly,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  drain  the  land." — Com- 
plete Farmer, 

RUST,  dark  spots,  of  the  colour 
of  the  rust  on  iron,  that  appear  on 
the  stems  and  leaves  of  blighted 
grain.     Seethe  article  Mildew. 

Some  sorts  of  gra.'>s  are  also  sub- 
ject to  the  same  distemper. 

RYE,  or  RIE,  Secule,  a  well 
known  grain,  that  is  much  cultivat- 
ed in  this  country. 

Though  rye  by  itself  makes  a 
dark  coloured,  cbmmy,  and  unsa- 
voury kuid  of  bread,  it  is  better  to 
mix  with  Indian  meal  in  bread, 
than  any  other  kind  of  English 
grain  ;  and  for  this  reason,  our  far- 
mer? are  the  more  fond  of  culti- 
vating it. 

Rye  is  as  liable  to  suffer  by  rust, 
as  wheat ;  but  it  is  seldom  known 
to  be  smutty.  It  is,  however, 
sometimes  hurt  by  a  distemper 
called  the  Spur.     See  that  article. 

Mr.  Miller  thinks  there  is  but 
one  sort  of  rye,  though  distinguish- 
ed by  farmers,  into  winter  and 
spring  rye.  The  winter  rye  is 
larger  and  heavier  than  the  other, 
nn6  is  comtnonly  more  profitable  to 
the  farip.er.  I  his  is  sown  in  au- 
tumn, at  the  same  time  as  wheat. 
The  spring  rye  should  be  sowed  as 
early  in  the  spring,  as  the  ground 
will  admit  of  it. 

Some  sow  their  winter  rye  at 
the  last  hoeing  of  Indian  corn,  and 
hoe  it  in.  This  is  a  good  practice, 
when  it  is  sown  on  flat  land,  or  on  a 
rich  or  heavy  soil,  where  grain  is 
apt  to  sutler  by  the  frost  of  wmter. 
For  the  plants  of  rye  will  be  mostly 


RYE 


RYE 


367 


on  the  corn  hills,  and  so  escape  in- 
jury from  frost :  At  least  the)  will 
most  commonly  escape,  or  so  many 
of  them  as  are  necessary  to  give  a 
good  crop.  The  plants  that  are 
killed  will  be  those  in  the  low 
spaces  between  the  hills. 

Sandy  and  gravelly  soils  are  most 
suitable  for  rye.  It  commonly 
prospers  much  l)etter  on  such,  than 
on  richer  soils  :  The  principal  rea- 
son of  which  may  be  its  ripening 
earlier,  and  so  escaping  the  blight. 
Weak  land  has  strength  enough  to 
produce  rye,  and  it  does  not  ex- 
haust the  soil  so  much  as  other 
corn. 

I  have  known  the  same  spot 
produce  twenty  crops  of  this  grain 
in  succession,  (excepting  that  it 
was  planted  with  Indian  corn  once 
or  twice,  to  subdue  the  weeds)  the 
crops  yearly  increasing,  instead  of 
diminishing.  The  right  method  is, 
to  plough  in  the  stubble  as  soon  as 
the  crop  is  off;  and  in  a  fortnight 
or  three  weeks,  according  as  wea- 
ther and  circumstances  favour, 
cross  plough  the  ground,  and  sow 
the  seed.  The  stubble,  so  early 
buried  in  the  soil,  serves  as  a  ma- 
nure.    It  will  need  no  dung. 

It  is  said  by  some  writers,  that 
sowing  rye  two  or  three  years  on 
a  warm  dry  soil,  it  will  be  forward- 
ed, so  as  to  ripen  a  month  earlier 
than  that  which  has  been  long  cul- 
tivated in  other  soils.  This  ought 
to  be  attended  to  by  farmers  in 
this  country,  where  grain  that 
ripens  late,  is  so  apt  to  be  blasted. 
But  this  observation,  possibly,  may 
not  be  founded  in  truth. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  be  sow- 
ed, is  recommended  by  some,  to  be 


two  bushels  per  acre.  But  when 
the  grain  is  small,  five  or  six  pecks 
fnay  be  a  sufhcient  quantity.  For 
the  smaller  the  gram  the  greater 
the  number  of  seeds. 

The  sign.ij  of  ripeness  arc,  the 
yellow  colour  of  the  straw,  the 
hanging  of  the  ears,  and  the  hard- 
ness of  the  grain.  But  some  choo>e 
to  cut  it  when  in  the  n.ilk,  because 
the  flour  will  be  whiter.  The 
quantity,  however,  will  be  less,  un- 
less it  lie  a  good  while  on  the 
ground  to  ripen,  whirh  it  ma}  safe- 
ly do  in  good  weather,  if  care  be 
taken  to  keep  the  top  ends  from 
the  ground.  Winter  rye  is  s(jnie 
times  fit  to  harvest  by  the  middle 
of  July  even  in  the  northern  parts 
of  New-England  :  Spring  rye  is  al- 
ways later. 

Some  recommend  sowing  winter 
rye  for  grazing  and  fodder.  It  af- 
fords very  early  feed  for  cattle  in 
the  spring.  Or  it  may  be  mowed 
for  hay  two  or  three  times  in  a 
summer.  In  countries  that  are  dry, 
and  do  not  naturally  produce  much 
grass,  this  may  be  considered  as  a 
good  piece  of  husbandry. 

Spring  rye  may  be  sowed  very 
late  in  the  fall  at  first,  and  a  little 
earlier  each  succeeding  year,  until 
it  may  even  be  sown  the  May  pre- 
ceding the  year  in  which  it  is  har- 
vested, and  used  the  first  season  for 
pasturing  or  mowing.  And  winter 
rye  may  be  sowed  later  and  later 
each  fall,  and  at  length  sowed  in 
the  spring,  when  it  will  become 
Spring  lye. 

The  Farmer^s  Assistant  recom- 
mends sowing  winter  rye  and 
spring  rye  alternately,  in  order  that 
the  ground  might  every  other  year 


368 


RYK 


S  AI 


be  benefitted  by  the  application  of 
gypsum.  "The  growing  crop  of 
rye,"  says  the  author  of  that  work, 
"  receives  no  benefit  from  the  ap- 
plication of  this  manure  ;  but  it 
quickly  covers  the  ground  vrith  a 
fine  sward  of  white  clover;  and  as 
soon  as  ground  is  thus  swarded,  it 
is  in  good  condition  for  bearing 
any  crop.  Let  the  gypsum,  there- 
fore, be  sown  in  the  spring,  on  the 
growing  crop  of  winter  rye ;  and 
by  the  middle  of  October  follow- 
ing, the  ground  will  be  covered 
with  white  clover;  turn  this  sward 
over  in  the  latter  end  of  the  fall, 
and  in  the  spring  sow  a  crop  of 
spring-rye  ;  and,  as  soon  as  that  is 
taken  off,  turn  the  ground  over 
again  for  a  crop  of  winter- rye  ;  and 
in  the  spring  repeat  the  process  of 
manuring  with  gypsum  as  before, 
for  a  crop  of  spring- rye,  and  thus 
proceed  with  these  crops  alternate- 

"  In  such  a  mode  of  culture,  how- 
ever, particular  attention  should 
be  paid  to  turning  under  the  stub- 
ble of  the  crop  of  spring-rye  as 
quick  as  possible,  in  order  that  the 
seeds  of  the  growing  weeds  be  pre- 
vented from  ripening,  as  well  as 
for  enabling  other  seeds,  which 
may  be  buried  in  the  soil  to  vege- 
tate, and  thus  be  destroyed  by  the 
after-ploughing  and  harrowing  for 
putting  in  the  next  crop. 

"  Where  winter  rye  is  early 
sown,  a  bushel  to  the  acre  is  pro- 
bably sufficient;  but  for  spring- 
rye,  a  bushel  and  a  half  to  the  acre, 
or  perhaps  more  should  be  sown." 

It  has  been  said  that  a  peck  of 
oats,  sowed  with  a  bushel  of  spring- 
rye,  will  prevent  its  blasting.     It 


is  easily  separated  by  winnow- 
ing. 

Mr.  Gardner  Whiting,  of  Charles- 
town,  Massachusetts,  raised  in  the 
year  1820,  on  one  acre  of  land,  on 
Bunker  Hill,  forty-eight  bushels 
and  four  quarts  of  rye. 

RYE  GRASS,  Lolium,  a  sort 
of  grass  propagated  in  England  for 
hay,  sometimes  called  Ray  grass. 

This  grass  is  in  good  esteem  in 
England,  and  has  been  but  little 
cultivated  in  this  country,  as  we 
believe  chiefly  from  the  circum- 
stance of  its  seeds  not  being  for 
sale  with  us.  We  know  one,  and 
it  is  the  only  instance  in  which  the 
experiment  has  been  extensively 
tried.  In  this  the  ray-grass  was 
sowed  alone,  and  the  field  has  con- 
tinued for  fifteen  years  to  yield  an 
ample  crop  of  excellent  grass.  See 
Grasses. 


S. 


SAINFOIN,  Hedysarum  Ono- 
brychis.  This  is  a  species  of  grass 
which  will  grow  on  dry  and  strong 
soils,  which  are  unfit  for  other  cul- 
tivation, and  will  produce  a  ton  of 
hay  to  an  acre,  besides  after  growth, 
on  poor  and  shallow  soils.  It  is  an 
early  grass,  and  therefore  useful 
for  soiling,  for  which  purpose  it 
may  be  used  for  the  fore  part  of 
the  season  and  mowed  the  latter 
part.  It  will  yield  good  crops  for 
ten  or  fifteen  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  it  affords  an  ex- 
cellent pasture  for  sheep.  The 
hay,  it  is  said,  will  fatten  horses 
without  oats.  It  increases  the 
quantity  of  milk  in  cows,  and  im- 


SAL 


S  4L 


369 


proves  the  quality  of  the  butter. 
It  should  be  sown  early  in  the 
spring,  either  by  drilling  it  in  rows 
two  teet  asunder,  or  broadcast. 
By  the  former  nnethod  half  a  bushel 
of  seed  is  sufficient  to  stock  an 
acre  ;  and  at  least  four  bushels  are 
required  for  the  latter.  During 
the  first  season  of  its  growth,  no 
cattle  should  be  allowed  to  feed 
upon  it,  nor  should  sheep  be  per- 
mitted to  graze  upon  it  the  second 
season.  At  the  end  of  five  or  six 
years  it  will  require  dung,  gypsum, 
or  composts  of  any  kind,  used  lor 
other  grasses.* 

SALT.  Salt  is  one  of  the  es- 
sential ingredients  of  the  nourish- 
ment of  plants ;  and  some  kind  of 
salt  is  contained  in  every  plant. 

Salt  is  of  essential  importance  to 
the  farmer  as  a  manure.  It  may  be 
applied  to  the  soil,  either  by  itself, 
or  mixed  and  dissolved  in  compost. 
In  the  latter  method,  I  have  found 
it  to  be  a  great  fertilizer  of  land. 

But  if  salt  be  applied  unmixed 
and  undissolved,  it  will  endanger 
the  existence  of  tender  plants. 

In  June,  1 786,  1  salted  one  bed 
of  my  onions,  one  bed  of  my  car- 
rots, and  one  bed  of  my  early  tur- 
nips ;  laying  the  salt  under  the  sur- 
face, in  the  centres  of  the  intervals, 
between  the  rows;  at  some  distance, 
perhaps  six  inches,  from  the  plants, 
that  the  salt  might  have  time  to  be 
dissolved,  and  altered,  before  the 
fibrous  roots  should  reach  it.  The 
cariots  of  the  salted  bed,  evidently 

*  Sainfoin  will  not  answer  in  Massachu- 
setts, nor,  we  suspect,  in  any  of  tiie  New- 
England  States.  It  is  too  apt  to  be  winter 
killed. 


grew  much  larger  and  better  than 
the  rest  of  the  carrots  ;  but  I  could 
not  perceive  that  the  salt  was  at 
all  beneficial  to  the  onions,  or  to 
the  turnips. 

According  to  Mr.  Ford's  experi- 
ment in  salting  flax  ground,  salt 
seems  to  be  highly  beneficial  to 
that  crop.  He  spreads  the  salt 
over  the  ground,  at  the  time  of 
sowing  the  seed;  and  thinks  that 
the  quantity  of  salt  should  be  dou- 
ble that  of  the  seed.  From  three 
acres  in  flax  salted,  he  had  fifty 
bushels  of  seed,  and  an  excellent 
crop  of  flax.  It  was  thought  that 
the  advantage  of  salting  appean  d 
more  in  the  seed  than  in  the  hnrJe. 

Mr.  Eliot  speaks  of  five  bushels 
of  salt  being  applied  to  one  acre  of 
iiax,  which  is  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion, and  that  it  had  an  extra- 
ordinary efff^ct :  And  also  of  a  '  rop 
of  wheat  being  increased  by  salt. 

Salt  is  esteemed  more  efficacious 
when  mixed  in  composts  than  when 
applied  to  the  soil  in  its  crude  state. 
All  the  salts  will  operate  as  ma- 
nures, but  if  too  much  common  salt 
be  applied  to  lands  at  once  it  will 
prove  injurious,  for  awhile  at  least, 
''  Salt,"  says  Sir  John  Sinclair,  ''  is 
particularly  useful  when  mixed 
with  a  dunghill,  or  strewed  over 
farm-yard  manures,  at  the  time 
they  are  carried  to  the  field."  A 
mixture  of  soot  and  salt  is  recom- 
mended by  the  same  writer,  as 
preferable  to  any  other  manure. 
Salt  is  likewise  of  use  in  prevent- 
ing mildew.     See  Mildew. 

It  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  prac- 
tice to  keep  salt  under  cover  in 
such  a  situation  that  cattle  or  sheep 
may  have  recourse  to  it  at  plea- 


370 


SAL 


SAL 


sure.  Those  cattle,  however, 
which  have  not  been  accuston\ed 
to  so  free  an  use  of  salt  should  be 
brought  to  it  by  degrees. 

Upon  the  occasion  of  an  appli- 
cation by  the  landed  interest  to  the 
British  parliament  in  1817  for  a 
reduction  of  the  excise  duties  on 
salt,  on  the  ground  of  its  great  va- 
lue as  a  manure,  a  committee  of 
puiliament  was  appointed  to  take 
evidence  in  the  case  ;  and  the  re- 
srlt  of  that  evidence  seems  to  esta- 
blish, beyond  all  doubt,  the  great 
benefit  of  salt  as  a  manure.  It  is 
still  a  question,  whether  the  price 
in  this  country  will  permit  its  use 
to  a  great  extent.  We  shall,  how- 
ever, state  some  of  the  most  inter- 
esting parts  of  the  evidence.  Of 
course,  in  a  work  like  this,  we  can 
give  only  a  brief  abstract. 

The  late  Mr.  Hitt,  well  known 
for  his  treatise  on  fruit  trees,  de- 
clares it  to  be  of  great  use  in  de- 
stroying insects  which  affect  them. 
He  found  also  that  water  impreg- 
nated with  salt,  in  the  proportion 
of  one  ounce  to  a  gallon  of  water, 
produced  a  visible  effect  on  grass 
land,  materially  improving  it. 

Dr.  Holland,  in  his  survey  of 
the  county  of  Cheshire,  states, 
its  advantage  to  rushy  meadow 
land,  applied  at  the  rate  of  eight 
bushels  to  the  acre.  It  killed  the 
rushy  growth  in  April ;  but  the 
latter  end  of  May,  a  flourishing  crop 
of  rich  grass  made  its  appearance. 

Lord  Erskine,  the  present  dis- 
tinguished orator,  also  speaks  of 
salt,  as  a  manure,  in  j^trong  terms. 
There  is  an  abundance  ofevidence 
furnished,  as  to  the  utility  of  salt 
for  cattle  ;  but  this  is  so  universally  ' 


known  and  practised  in  this  coun- 
try, that  it  cannot  be  necessary  to 
say  any  thing  more,  than  that,  we 
fear,  a  misplaced  economy  pre- 
vents as  free  an  use  of  it,  as  would 
be  desirable.  The  earl  of  Dun- 
donald,  in  his  evidence  before  a 
committee  of  the  house  of  com- 
mons in  ISOl,  speaking  of  its  use 
as  a  manure,  said,  that  when  the 
benefit  of  salt  and  saline  substances 
as  manures  should  be  fully  under- 
stood, the  consumption  of  it  for 
these  purposes  would  amount  to 
five  times  the  quantity  consumed 
in  Britain  for  all  other  purposes. 

Its  use  was  known  to  the  ancient 
Romans.  Pliny  speaks  of  it  as  fa- 
vourable to  cattle.  Lord  Bacon 
mentions  sea  sand  as  an  excellent 
manure  on  account  of  its  salt. 

In  more  modern  times,  the  tes- 
timony has  multiplied  to  an  extent, 
which  could  not  be  given  in  a  work 
like  this.  In  proportion  as  the 
science  of  agriculture  has  improv- 
ed, the  sentiment  of  the  value  of 
salt  as  a  manure  has  gained  ground. 
Mr.  Hollinshead,  in  a  work  printed 
in  1802,  declares  salt  to  be  the 
cheapest  best,  and  most  durable 
manure  ever  used.  It  is  admitted, 
however,  by  all,  that,  used  in  ex- 
cess, it  is  fatal  to  all  vegetation. 
The  corrector  of  this  article  used 
it  on  grass  land  in  Roxbury  at  the 
rate  of  a  bushel  per  acre,  and  it 
did  not  affect  the  vegetation  inju- 
riously. He  intends  to  extend  its 
use,  being  satisfied  of  its  salutary 
effects.  On  asparagus,  its  effects 
he  proved  this  year  to  be  very 
useful.  That  plant,  however,  grows 
in  and  near  salt  marshes. 

It  is  affirmed  to  be  an  admirable 


SAL 


SAL 


371 


manure  for  onions.  For  meadow 
lands,  six  bushels  per  acre  is  re- 
commended to  be  sown  as  soon 
as  the  grass  is  off.  By  meadow 
lands,  the  English  writers  mean  all 
grass  lands,  whether  upland  or  low- 
land. 

This  is  not  one  tenth  part  of  the 
whole  mass  of  evidence  on  the  sub- 
ject, yet  we  are  constrained  to  say, 
that  there  is  a  defect,  to  wit,  that  of 
a  well  conducted  course  of  experi- 
ments on  the  principles,  on  which 
all  modern  philosophy  reposes. 
Facts,  not  insulated  ones,  but  a 
mass  of  them  in  continuity,  should 
be  collected.  Trials  on  all  soils, 
and  for  several  years,  should  be 
made.  And  we  hope  our  country 
will  have  the  honour,  as  with 
respect  to  gypsum  or  plaster  of 
Paris,  of  leading  the  way  to  an  ex- 
tensive use  of  this  natural  product. 
Though  costly,  the  quantity  re- 
quired is  so  small,  as  to  amount 
to  less  than  many  other  manures  in 

lie  111  SI  1  USP* 

SALTING  of  MEAT,  the  me- 
thod of  preventing  its  corruption 
for  a  long  time,  by  the  application 
of  common  salt,  &c. 

As  farmers  are  most  commonly 
too  far  distant  from  market  places. 
to  be  supplied  from  them  with 
fresh  meat,  and  as  it  is  most  con- 
venient for  them  to  kill  only  at 
certain  seasons,  they  ought  to  be 
well  acquainted  with  the  best  me- 1 
thods  of  keeping  meat  in  good  or- 
der, by  salting. 

The  common  method  of  pre- 
serving pork,  reserving  the  lean 
parts  for  use  in  the  cold  season, 
and  applying  a  large  quantity  of 
salt  to  the  fat.  is  perhaps  as  erood 


as  any  can  be.  But  beef  is  greatly 
injured, and  rendered  unwholesome 
by  a  severe  salting. 

A  good  method  of  preserving 
beef,  which  I  have  known  to  be 
practised  for  several  years  past,  is 
as  follows :  For  a  barrel  of  beef  of 
the  common  size,  reduce  to  pow- 
der in  a  mortar  four  quarts  of  com- 
mon salt;  then  eight  ounces  of 
salt  petre,  and  five  pounds  of  browa 
sugar.  Let  the  sail  be  well  rubbed 
into  the  pieces,  pack  them  close  in 
the  barrel,  and  sprinkle  the  salt- 
petre and  sugar  evenly  over  each 
layer.  No  water  at  all  is  to  be 
applied.  The  juices  of  the  meat, 
if  well  packed,  will  form  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  brine  ;  and  the 
beef  will  keep  sweet  and  good 
through  the  following  summer, 
supposing  it  killed  and  packed  in 
the  beginning  of  winter,  or  late  in 
autumn  ;  and  will  not  be  too  salt 
to  be  palatable.  Draining  off  the 
brine  and  purifying  it  by  boiling 
and  scumming,  with  the  addition 
of  a  little  salt  in  the  beginning  of 
summer,  and  returning  the  brine 
upon  the  meat,  will  be  a  real  im- 
provement. 

Dr.  Anderson  recommends  a 
similar  method  for  preserving  but- 
ter. Take  of  sugar  one  pait,  of 
nitre  one  part,  and  of  the  best  Spa- 
nish great  salt  two  parls.  Beat  the 
whole  into  a  fine  powder,  mix  them 
well  together,  and  put  them  by  for 
use.  One  ounce  of  this  is  to  be 
thoroughly  mixed  with  a  poutid  of 
butter,  as  soon  as  it  is  freed  from 
the  milk,  and  then  immediately 
put  into  the  vessel  designed  to 
hold  it.  After  which  it  must  be 
pressed  so  close  as  to  have  no  air 


37:2 


S  A^ 


SAN 


holes  ;  and  then  so  clo?e'y  coverod 
that  no  air  can  come  to  it.  If  all 
this  is  done,  he  thinks  the  but- 
ter may  be  kept  perfectly  sound 
and  good  for  many  years.  For  he 
has  seen  it  at  two  years  old,  in 
every  respect  as  sweet  and  sound 
as  when  oidy  a  month  old. 

The  following  receipt  for  pick 
hue  beef  has  been  highly  recom- 
mer  ;ed. 

For  an  hundred  pounds  of  beef, 
take  sixteen  pounds  of  bay  or  fine 
salt,  two  pounds  brown  sugar,  four 
and  an  half  gallons  water,  and  six 
ounces  salt  petre. 

The  salt,  sugar,  and  water  should 
be  put  into  a  brass  or  copper  ket- 
tle over  a  fire.  Stir  the  salt  often, 
and  continue  stirring  it  until  the 
salt  has  ail  dissolved,  and  thi^scum 
has  done  rising.  Take  off  the 
scum  as  it  rises.  After  this  add 
the  saltpetre.  Let  the  pickle 
stand  till  it  is  about  cold,  or  blood 
warm.  Have  the  beef  cut  in 
smallish  pieces,  and  packed  pretty 
close,  free  from  any  bloody  pieces. 
Add  the  pickle  and  cover  it  tight 
from  the  air.  Should  there  be  any 
appearance  of  mould  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  pickle,  at  any  time,  add 
a  handful  or  two  of  fresh  salt. 

SAND,  is  described  as  a  genus 
of  fossils,  found  in  minute  concre- 
tions, forming  together  a  kind  of 
powder,  the  genuine  particles  of 
which  are  all  of  a  tendency  to  one 
particular  shape,  and  appear  regu- 
lar, though  more  or  less  complete, 
concretions ;  not  to  be  dissolved, 
or  disunited  by  water,  or  forming 
into  a  coherent  inass  by  it,  but  re- 
taining thf-iir  figure  in  it :  transpa- 
rent, vitrifiaDle   by  extreme  heat, 


and  not  dissoluble  in,  or  efferves- 
cn.g  with  acids. 

"  These  are  subject  to  be  vari- 
ously blended  and  intermixed,pither 
with  homogene  or  heterogene  par- 
ticles, particularly  with  flakes  of 
talc  ;  and,  according  to  these,  and 
their  different  colours,  are  to  be 
subdivided  into  different  kinds,  as 
red,  white,  &ic. 

"  As  to  sand,  its  use  is  to  make 
the  clayey  earth  fertile,  and  fit  to 
feed  vegetables :  For  such  earth 
alone,  we  find,  is  liable  to  coalesce, 
and  gather  into  a  hard  coherent 
mass,  as  is  apparent  in  mere  clay. 
The  earth  thus  embodied,  and  as  it 
were,  glued  together,  is  no  ways 
disposed  to  nourish  vegetables. 
But  if  with  such  earth,  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  sand  be  intermixed,  it 
will  keep  the  pores  of  the  earth 
open,  and  the  earth  itself  loose  and 
incompact  ;  and  by  that  means 
give  room  for  the  juices  to  ascend, 
and  for  plants  to  be  nourished 
thereby. 

"  Thus  a  vegetable,  planted,  ei- 
ther in  sand  alone,  or  in  a  fat 
glebe,  or  earth  alone,  receives  no 
growth  or  increment  at  all,  but  is 
either  starved  or  suffocated  :  But 
mix  the  two,  and  the  mass  becomes 
fertile.  In  effect,  by  means  of 
sand,  the  earth  is  rendered,  in 
some  manner,  organical :  Pores 
and  interstices  being  hereby  main- 
tained, something  analogous  to 
vessels,  by  which  the  juices  may 
be  conveyed,  prepared,  digested, 
circulated,  and  at  length  ex<  erned, 
and  thrown  off  into  the  roots  of 
plants. 

"Grounds  that  are  sandy  and 
gravelly,    easily  admit   both  heat 


SAJ^f 


SAN 


373 


and  moisture :  But  then  they  are 
liable  to  these  inconveniences,  that 
they  let  them  pass  too  soon,  and 
so  contract  no  ligature,  or  else  re- 
tain it  too  long,  especially  where 
there  is  a  clay  bottom  :  And  by 
that  means  it  cither  parches  or 
chills  too  much,  and  produces  no- 
thing but  moss  and  cankerous  in- 
firmities. But  if  the  sand  happens 
to  have  a  surface  of  good  mould, 
and  a  bottom  of  gravel,  or  loose 
stone,  though  it  do  not  hold  water, 
it  may  produce  a  forward  sweet 
grass ;  and  though  it  may  be  sub- 
ject to  burn,  yet  it  quickly  reco- 
vers with  the  least  rain. 

"  Sea  sand  is  accounted  a  very 
good  compost  for  stift  ground  :  For 
it  eflfect?  these  two  things ;  it  makes 
way  for  the  tree  or  seed  to  root  in 
stifT grounds,  and  makes  a  fume  to 
feed  it. 

"  Sand  indeed  is  apt  to  push  the 
plants  that  grow  upon  it,  early  in 
the  spring,  and  make  them  germi- 
nate near  a  month  sooner  than 
those  that  grow  upon  clay,  because 
the  salts  in  the  sand  are  at  full 
liberty  to  be  raised,  and  put  into 
motion,  upon  the  least  approach 
of  the  warmth  of  the  sun.  But 
then,  as  they  are  hasty,  they  are 
soon  exhaled  and  lost. 

"  The  best  sand,  for  the  farmer's 
use,  is  that  which  is  washed  by  rain 
from  roads,  or  hills,  ot  that  taken 
from  the  beds  of  rivers.  The  com- 
mon sand,  that  is  dug  in  pits,  never 
answers  nearly  so  well.  Sand 
mixed  with  dung,  is  much  better 
than  laid  on  alone  :  And  a  very 
fine  manure  is  made,  by  covering 
the  bottom  of  sheep  folds  with  se- 
veral loads  of  sand  every  week, 


which  are  to  be  taken  away,  and 
laid  on  cold  stiff  lands,  impregnat- 
ed as  they  are,  with  the  dung  and 
urine  of  sheep. 

"  Besides  clay  land,  there  is  ano- 
ther sort  of  ground  very  improvea- 
ble  by  sand.  This  is  that  sort  of 
black  foggy  land,  on  which  bushes 
and  sedge  grow  naturally,  and 
which  they  cut  into  turf  in  some 
places.  Six  hundred  loads  of  sand, 
being  laid  on  an  acre  of  this  land, 
meliorate  it  so  much,  that  it  will 
yield  good  crops  of  oats,  &:c.  though 
before,  it  would  have  produced 
scarce  any  thing.  If  after  this  crop 
is  taken  off,  the  land  be  well  dung- 
ed, and  laid  down  for  grass,  it 
will  yield  a  large  crop  of  sweet 
hay. 

"  Sea  sand,  which  is  thrown  up 
in  creeks  and  other  places,  is  by- 
much  the  richest  of  all  sand  for 
manuring  the  earth :  Partly  its  salt- 
ness,  and  partly  the  fat  and  unctu- 
ous filth  that  is  mixed  among  it, 
give  it  this  great  virtue.  In  the 
western  parts  of  England,  that  lie 
upon  the  sea  coast,  they  make  great 
advantage  of  it.  The  fragments  of 
sea  shells  also,  which  always  abound 
in  this  sand,  add  to  its  virtues : 
And  it  is  always  the  more  esteem- 
ed by  the  farmers,  the  more  of 
these  fragments  are  among  it. 

"  Sea  sand  is  best,  which  is  taken 
up  from  under  the  water,  or  from 
sand  banks  which  are  covered  by 
every  tide.  The  smallest  grained 
sand,  is  the  most  sudden  in  its  ope- 
ration, and  is  therefore  best  tor  the 
tenant,  who  is  only  to  take  three 
or  four  crops :  But  the  coarse, 
or  large  grained  sand,  is  much  bet- 
ter  for  the  landlord,  as  the  good  it 


374 


SAN 


SAN 


does  lasts  many  years." — Complete 
Farmer, 

Sand  entirely  changes  the  nature 
of  a  clayey  soil ;  so  that  it  will 
scarcely  ever  become  so  compact, 
as  it  was  before  sanding.  Nor  is 
any  other  manure  so  good  as  sand, 
to  loosen  and  soften  it.  No  other 
will  have  so  lasting  an  effect.  From 
being  the  least  productive,  a  soil  of 
clay,  by  sanding,  comes  to  be  the 
most  fruitful  of  any,  when  it  is  suf- 
ficiently sanded  ;  for  it  has  more  of 
the  food  of  plants  in  it  than  any 
other  soil,  wanting  only  to  have  its 
cohesion  sufficiently  broken,  to 
give  a  free  passage  to  the  roots  of 
vegetables.  For  this  purpose,  a 
very  small  dressing  of  sand  will  not 
seem  to  produce  any  effect.  A 
layer  of  two  and  a  half  or  three  in- 
ches will  not  be  too  much  for  land 
in  tillage,  if  it  be  a  stiff  clay. 

The  benefit  of  sanding  does  not 
appear  so  much  the  first  year  or 
two  as  afterwards :  For  the  oftener 
the  land  is  tilled,  the  more  tho- 
roughly is  the  sand  mixed  with  the 
clay ;  by  which  the  vegetable  pas- 
ture is  more  and  more  increased. 

But  sand  laid  upon  clay  land  in 
grass,  will  have  a  great  effect,  with- 
out mixing  it  with  the  soil.  I  have 
known  half  an  acre  of  clay  land 
laid  to  grass,  which  became  so 
bound  and  stiff,  as  to  produce  only 
two  or  three  cocks  at  a  mowing, 
with  a  mixture  of  low  moss  and 
other  trash.  The  owner,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1783,  with  one  yoke  of  oxen, 
carted  on  eighty  loads  of  yellow 
sand  from  the  road,  which  was 
about  equal  to  forty  carts  full ;  le- 
velled it  with  a  harrow,  and  threw 
in  some  hay  seed.     The  following 


year  it  produced  ten  hundred 
weight  of  good  hay  :  Last  year  it 
produced  twenty  hundred  ;  and  it 
is  expect. -d,  that  about  (hirty  hun- 
dred will  be  the  weight  of  the  crop 
in  <he  present  year,  1786.  The 
sand  not  oi)]y  added  warmth  to  the 
soil,  but  prevented  the  clay  from 
becoming  so  dry  and  hard  as  to 
prevent  the  roots  of"  the  grass  from 
extending  themselves  in  it. 

SANDY  SOIL,  a  soil  in  which 
sand  is  the  predominant  ingredi- 
ent. 

It  is  seldom  found  unmixed  with 
oth;;r  ingredients.  Wherever  it  is 
so,  it  is  extremely  barren,  and  of 
little  or  no  value.  It  will  scarcely 
produce  weeds. 

Some  barren  sands  consist  of 
very  fine  particles,  and  have  no 
sward  over  them.  The  wind  drives 
them  before  it,  and  makes  what 
are  called  sand  jloods,  which  bury 
the  neighbouring  lands  and  fences. 
The  fences  near  them  should  be 
tall  hedges  to  abate  the  force  of 
winds :  And  trees  which  require 
but  little  nourishment  from  the 
earth,  should  be  planted  in  these 
sands,  that  a  sward  may  be  obtain- 
ed upon  them.     See  Locust  Tree. 

When  a  sandy  soil  is  used  in  til- 
lage, it  should  be  for  those  crops 
which  require  the  most  heat,  and 
are  least  apt  to  suffer  by  drought ; 
as  maize,  tobacco,  rye,  pease,  &c. 

The  best  manures  for  a  sandy 
soil,  are  marie,  cow  dung,  and 
swines'  dung  ;  mud  from  flats, 
swamps,  ponds,  rivers,  &c. 

Clay  is  as  beneficial  to  a  sandy, 
as  sand  is  to  a  clayey  soil.  A 
dressing  of  clay  two  or  three  inches 
thick,  laid  on  a  sandy  soil,  and  well 


SAN 


SCR 


375 


mixed,  tvil!  make  it  fruitful  for 
many  years  after,  as  I  have  foun;- 
by  experience.  It  brings  the  soil 
to  the  right  consistence,  renders  it 
less  porous,  and  causes  it  to  retain 
its  moisture.  At  the  same  time  it 
is  more  retentive  of  manures  ap- 
plied to  It  :  Perhaps  the  benefit  re- 
ceived ^rom  the  clay  will  never  be 
wholly  lost.  Though  the  clay  is 
continually  sinking  further  into  the 
earth,  by  means  of  every  rain,  deep 
ploughing  will  return  it  to  the  sur- 
face ;  so  much  of  it  at  least  as  is 
necessary.  And  repeated  dress- 
ings of  clay  may  be  needed. 

"  Rich  sandy  soils,  under  a  re- 
gular course  of  husbandry,  are  in- 
valuable. They  are  cultivated  at 
a  moderate  expense  ;  and  at  all 
seasons,  have  a  dry  soundness,  ac- 
companied by  moisture,  which  se- 
cures excellent  crops,  even  in  the 
driest  summers. 

"  The  management  of  sandy 
land,  according  to  the  system  adopt- 
ed by  the  celebrated  Ducket  of 
Petersham  and  Esher,  in  Surrey, 
has  been  strongly  recommended  by 
an  eminent  author.  It  was  found- 
ed on  three  principles:—!.  Plough- 
ing very  deep  :  a  due  degree  of 
moisture  was  thus  preserved  in  his 
light  land,  by  means  of  which  his 
crops  were  flourishing  in  seasons 
of  drought,  which  destroyed  those 
of  his  neighbours.  2.  Ploughing 
seldom,  but  effectually,  by  a  trench 
plough,  or  what  he  called  a  skim- 
coulter  plough,  with  which  he  bu- 
ried the  weeds  that  grew  on  the 
surface  ;  he  has  been  known  to  put 
in  seven  crops  with  only  four 
ploughings :  and  3.  Occasionally 
raising  a  crop  of  turnips  the  same 


season,  after  a  crop  of  wheat  or  of 
jiulse.'" — Code  of  JigricuUnre. 

SAP,  the  fluid  contained  in 
plants,  which  is  drawn  from  the 
earth  and  atmosphere,  by  which 
plants  are  nourished,  augmented, 
and  rendered  fruitful.  It  answers 
the  same  purposes  as  the  blood 
and  other  circulating  juices  in  ani- 
mals. It  conveys  nourishment  to 
all  the  parts. 

In  all  plants  there  exists  a  system 
of  tubes  or  vessels,  which  in  one 
extremity  terminate  in  roots,  and 
at  the  other  in  leaves.  It  is  by 
the  capillary  action  of  the  roots 
that  fluid  matter  is  taken  up  from 
the  soil.  The  sap,  in  passing  up- 
wards becomes  denser,  and  more 
fitted  to  deposit  solid  matter;  it  is 
modified  by  exposure  to  heat,  light, 
and  air  in  the  leaves  ;  descends 
through  the  bark ;  in  its  progress 
produces  new  organized  matter; 
and  is  thus  in  its  vernal  and  autum- 
nal flow  the  cause  of  the  formation 
of  new  parts,  and  of  the  more  per- 
fect evolution  of  parts  already 
formed." — Jlgricultural  Chemis- 
try. 

SCRATCHES,  or  Seienders,  a 
disorder  between  the  hinder  pas- 
tern joints  and  hoofs  of  horses, 
consisting  of  cracks  and  soreness, 
with  suppuration.  It  is  trouble- 
some commonly  in  the  winter  sea- 
son only. 

"  Nothing  tends  so  much  to  pre- 
vent grease  and  swelling  of  the 
legs,  as  frequent  hand-rubbing,  and 
washing  the  heels  carefully  with 
soap  suds,  as  soon  as  a  horse  comes 
in  from  exercise.  In  inveterate 
cases,  where  the  disease  appears 
to  have  become  habitual  in  some 


376 


SEA 


SEA 


degree,  a  run  at  grass  is  the  only 
remedy ;  if  a  dry  pasture  be 
procured  where  a  horse  can  be 
sheltered  in  bad  weather,  and  fed 
with  hay  and  oats,  it  will  be  found 
extremely  convenient,  as  in  such 
circumstances  he  may  perform  his 
usual  labour,  and  at  the  same  time 
be  kept  free  from  the  complaint." 
—  The  Complete  Farrier. 

SEA  WATER,  this  fluid,  besides 
water  and  parti;,  les  of  common 
salt,  contains,  according  to  Dr. 
Russel's  account,  sulphur,  nitre 
and  oil. 

As  it  undoubtedly  contains  much 
of  the  essence  of  animal  and  vege- 
table substances,  by  means  of  the 
perishing  and  consuming  of  both  in 
it,  it  is  fitter  than  mere  salt  to  be 
used  as  a  manure,  whether  by  it- 
self, or  in  compost. 

In  the  year  1786,  one  hundred 
hills  of  potatoes  near  the  shore 
were  watered  with  sea  water, 
about  two  quarts  on  a  hill,  being 
one  hour's  work  of  a  man.  The 
crop  was  half  as  much  again,  as  in 
the  same  number  of  hills  adjoining. 
The  water  was  applied  to  the  soil 
ijust  after  planting  the  sets,  which  I 
suppose  to  be  the  best  time  for 
doing  it,  as  there  can  be  no  danger 
of  burning  the  young  shoots,  and  as 
the  salt  will  be  mixed  with  rain  and 
the  moisture  of  the  earth,  before 
shoots  are  produced. 

In  the  year  1787,  alternate  rows 
were  watered  in  the  same  manner 
with  sea  water.  The  result  of  this 
experiment  was  uncertain  ;  be- 
cause by  ploughing  otF  and  on  al- 
ternately between  the  rows,  the 
earth  of  the  watered  and  unwater 
^A  rows  was  blended  together.  But 


altogether,  a  good  crop  was  "ob= 
tained. 

The  same  year  a  piece  of  flax 
was,  in  the  month  of  June,  very 
short  and  yellow  on  one  side  of  the 
piece  ;  but  of  a  good  colour  on  the 
other,  and  much  taller:  This  in- 
duced the  owner  to  water  the  poor 
side  from  the  sea.  In  ten  days  it 
was  equal  in  length  and  colour 
with  that  on  the  other  side,  though 
very  little  rain  fell  in  the  time. 
At  puJling.  the  watered  side  was 
evidently  better  grown  than  the 
other.  This  was  a  sufficient  de^ 
monstration  of  the  advantage  of 
sea  water,  when  the  land  lies  ad- 
joining to  the  sea  shore ;  so  that 
the  labour  of  applying  it  is  incon- 
siderable. 

The  above  experiments  were 
made  in  a  clayey  soil. 

In  a  sandy  soil,  the  same  year, 
watering  the  ground  where  French 
turnips  were  just  sown,  had  an  ex- 
cellent effect.  Though  it  was  a 
spot  where  the  turnips  had  been 
destroyed  by  insects,  several  years 
successively,  they  generally  escap- 
ed this  year.  Not  more  than  one 
pailful  was  applied  to  a  drill  row 
two  rods  in  length,  wetting  the 
ground  over  the  seeds,  soon  after 
sowing. 

Salt  water  applied  to  tender 
plants,  most  commonly  proves  too 
strong  for  them,  if  applied  when 
the  ground  is  dry.  But  if  it  be 
wet,  the  strength  of  the  water  is 
abated  by  mixing  with  the  juices 
in  the  soil,  before  it  is  taken  up  by 
the  roots,  and  thus  it  is  rendered 
ituiocent  and  safe,  as  I  have  foimd 
by  experience.  The  seeds  bear 
the  application  of  the  sea-water, 
better  than  the  young  plants  do. 


SEA 


SEE 


377 


"  Sea  water  might  be  carried 
from  the  sea  some  distance  on  the 
land,  to  advantage,  in  the  following 
manner: — Take  a  one  horse  cart, 
and  suspend  a  tight  box,  rightly 
shaped,  under  the  axletree ;  the 
box  having  a  valve  in  the  under- 
side ;  drive  the  cart  into  the  water, 
and  the  valve  opens,  and  lets  that 
fluid  inio  the  box;  and,  when  the 
cart  is  driven  out,  the  valve  closes 
and  holds  the  water. 

"  When  the  cart  is  driven  out  to 
the  ground  on  which  the  water  is 
to  be  spread,  this  operation  may 
be  performed  in  the  manner  we 
shall  next  describe  :  A  tube  is  to 
be  provided,  say,  twelve  feet  in 
length,  with  small  holes  bored  into 
it  at  the  distance  of  six  inches  apart, 
and  the  ends  of  the  tube  closed; 
attach  this  to  the  under  side  of  the 
box,  crosswavs,  at  either  end,  so  as 
to  be  out  of  ihe  way  of  the  wheels 
of  the  cart. 

"  When  you  come  to  where  the 
water  is  to  be  spread,  it  is  to  be  Kt 
out  of  the  box  into  the  tube,  by  an 
aperture  for  the  purpose;  and  as 
the  cart  moves  along,  the  water  runs 
out  of  each  of  the  small  holes  in  the 
tube,  and  thus  sprinkles  over  a 
piece  of  ground  of  twelve  feet  wide, 
till  the  whole  is  exhausted. 

"  With  the  next  load ;  begin 
where  the  water  ceased  runiiinji 
before,  and  thus  continue  the  wa- 
tered strip  across  the  (ield.  Then 
take  another  strip  of  twelve  feet 
wide,  adjoining  that  already  water- 
ed, aixi  thus  proceed  till  the  wliole 
has  been  gone  over. 

"  In  this  way  a  man  would  carry 
out.  say,  forty  cart  load*  a  day.  at 
the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  or  iialf 
1R 


that  number  if  a  mile;  as  but  little 
time  need  be  spent,  either  in  load- 
ing or  unloading.  About  ten  loads 
of  a  hundred  gallons  each  would 
probably  be  suffiiient  for  an  acre 
at  any  one  time." — Farmer^s  As' 
sislnnt. 

SEEDS  of  Vegetables,  "their 
last  product,  by  which  their  species 
are  propagated  ;  being  frequently 
all  the  fruit  of  a  plant,  but  some- 
times only  a  part  nicluded  in  the 
fruit. 

"  Every  seed  contains  a  plant  in 
embr}o.  The  erribrto,  which  is 
the  whole  future  plant  in  minia- 
ture, is  called  the  germ  or  bud  ; 
and  is  rooted  in  the  cotyledon,  or 
placenta,  which  makes  its  involu- 
crum,  or  cover.  The  cotyledon 
is  always  double  ;  and  in  the  mid- 
dle, or  connrion  centre  of  the  two, 
is  a  point  or  speck,  viz.  the  em- 
bryo plantule,  which  being  acted 
on  by  the  warmth  of  the  sun  and 
of  the  earth,  begins  to  protrude  its 
radicle,  or  root,  downwards,  and 
soon  after,  its  plumula,  or  bud,  up- 
wards ;  and  as  the  requi-ite  heat 
continues,  it  draws  nourishment  by 
the  root,  and  so  continues  to  unfold 
itself  and  grow. 

'^  The  two  cotyledons  of  a  seed, 
are  a  case  to  the  little  embryo 
plant ;  covering  it  up,  and  shelter- 
ing it  from  injuries,  and  feeding  it 
from  its  own  pioper  substance ; 
which  the  plantule  receives  and 
draws  to  itself  by  an  infinite  num- 
ber of  little  filaments,  which  it 
sends  into  the  body  of  the  placen- 
ta. 

"  The  cotyledons  for  the  most 
part  abound  with  a  balsam  dispo3= 
ed  in  proper  cells :  and  this  seems 


378 


SEE 


SEE 


to  be  oil  brought  to  its  greatest 
perfection,  while  it  remains  tumid, 
and  lodged  in  these  repositories. 
One  part  of  the  composition  of  this 
balsam  is  oily  and  tenacious,  and 
serves  to  defend  the  embryo  from 
any  extraneous  moisture  ;  and,  by 
its  viscidity,  to  entangle  and  retain 
the  fine,  pure,  volatile  spirit,  which 
is  the  ultimate  production  of  the 
plant.  This  oil  is  never  observed 
to  enter  into  the  vessels  of  the  em- 
bryo, which  are  too  fine  to  admit 
so  thick  a  fluid.  The  spirit,  how- 
ever, being  quickened  by  an  active 
power,  may  possibly  breathe  a  vital 
principle  into  the  juices  that  nour- 
ish the  embryo,  and  stamp  upon  it 
the  character  that  distinguishes  the 
family  ;  after  which,  every  thing  is 
changed  into  the  proper  nature  of 
that  particular  plant. 

"  Now  when  the  seed  is  commit- 
ted to  the  earth,  the  placenta  still 
adheres  to  the  embr}'0  for  some 
time,  and  guards  it  from  the  access 
of  noxious  colds,  &;c.  and  even 
prepares  and  purifies  the  cruder 
juice  which  the  young  plant  is  to  re- 
ceive from  the  earth,  by  straining 
it  through  its  own  body.  This  it 
continues  to  do,  till  the  embr}o 
plant  being  a  little  enured  to  its. 
new  element,  and  its  root  tolerabiv 
fixed  in  the  ground,  and  fit  to  ab- 
sorb the  juice  thereof,  it  then  per- 
ishes, and  the  plant  may  be  said  to 
be  delivered;  so  that  nature  ob- 
serves the  same  method  in  plants. 
as  in  animals  in  the  mother's 
womb. 

"  Many  sorts  of  seeds  will  con 
tinue  good  for  several  years,  antl 
retain    their     vegetative    fMCuh)  : 
whereas  others  will  not  grow  after 


they  are  one  year  old  :  This  differ- 
ence is  in  a  great  measure  owing 
to  their  abounding  more  or  less 
with  oil ;  as  also  to  the  nature  of 
the  oil,  and  the  texture  of  their 
outward  covering.  All  seeds  re- 
quire some  share  of  fresh  air,  to 
keep  the  germen  in  a  healthy  state  ; 
and  where  the  air  is  absolutely  ex- 
cluded, the  vegetative  quality  of  the 
seeds  will  be  soon  lost.  But  seeds 
will  be  longest  of  all  preserved  in 
the  earth,  provided  they  are  buried 
so  deep  as  to  be  beyond  the  influ- 
ence of  the  sun  and  showers ;  since 
they  have  been  found  to  lie  thus 
buried  twenty  or  thirty  years,  and 
yet  vegetate  as  well  as  new  seeds. 
How  the  vegetative  life  is  so  long 
preserved,  by  burying  them  so 
deep,  is  very  difficult  to  explain  5 
but  as  the  fact  is  very  well  known, 
it  accounts  for  the  production  of 
plants  out  of  earth  taken  from  the 
bottom  of  vaults,  houses,  &:c. 

"  In  the  common  method  of  sow- 
ing seeds,  there  are  many  kinds 
which  require  lo  be  sown  soon 
after  they  are  ripe  ;  and  there  are 
many  others  which  lie  in  the  ground 
a  year,  sometimes  two  or  three 
years,  before  the  plant  comes  up  : 
Hence,  when  seeds  brought  from 
distant  countries  are  sown,  the 
ground  should  not  be  disturbed,  at 
least  for  two  years,  for  fear  of  de- 
stroying the  young  plants. 

"■  As  to  the  method  of  preserv- 
ing seeds,  the  dry  kinds  are  best 
kept  in  their  pods  or  outer  cover- 
ings ;  but  the  seeds  of  all  soft  fruits, 
as  cucumbers,  melons,  &c.  must  be 
cleansed  from  the  pulp  and  muci- 
lage which  surround  them  ;  other- 
wise the  rotting  of  these  parts  wili 
corrupt  the  seeds. 


SEE 


SH  A 


379 


'"'■  When  seeds  are  gathered,  it 
rshould  always  be  done  in  dry  wea- 
ther ;  and  then  they  should  be 
hung  up  in  bags  in  a  dry  room,  so 
as  not  to  deprive  them  of  air." — 
Dictionary  of  Arts. 

"  The  seeds  of  plants  exalted  by 
cultivation  always  furnish  large 
and  improved  varieties ;  but  the 
flavour,  and  even  the  colour  of  the 
fruit,  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  acci 
dent.  Thus  a  hundred  seeds  of 
the  golden  pippin  will  all  produce 
fine  large-leaved  apple  trees,  bear- 
ing fruit  of  considerable  size  ;  but 
the  tastes  and  colours  of  the  apples 
from  each  will  be  different,  and 
none  will  be  the  same  in  kind  as 
those  of  the  pippin  itself.  Some 
will  be  sweet,  some  sour,  some 
bitter,  some  mawkish,  some  aro- 
matic, some  yellow,  some  green, 
some  red,  some  streaked.  All  the 
apples  will,  however,  be  more  per- 
fect than  those  from  the  seeds  of 
the  crab,  which  produce  trees  all 
of  the  same  kind,  and  all  bearing 
sour  and  diminutive  fruit." — Agri- 
cultural Chemistry, 

It  has  been  recommended  when 
seeds  are  intended  to  be  sent  a 
great  distance,  or  it  is  wished  to 
preserve  them  a  long  time,  to  wrap 
them  in  absorbent  paper,  and  sur- 
round them  by  moist  brown  sugar. 

Mr.  Humboldt  has  found,  that 
seeds,  which  do  not  commonly 
germinate,  become  capable  of  ger- 
minating when  immersed  in  oxyge- 
nated muriatic  acid  gas  mixed  with 
water.  If  the  liquid  be  a  little  warm- 
ed, it  will  quicken  the  vegetation 
of  seeds  surprisingly.  Cresses  thus 
treated  exhibited  germs  in  three 
hours.  Seeds  which  were  more  than 


an  hundred  years  old,  were  also 
made  to  vegetate  by  those  means. 

Old  seeds  may  likewise  be  made 
to  germinate  by  immersing  them 
in  water  nearly  boiling  hot  for 
about  half  a  minute,  and  cooling 
them  suddenly  by  exposure  to  a\r. 
But  if  such  seeds  are  sown  when 
the  earth  is  cold,  they  will  rot  in 
the  ground. 

SEEDING,  the  same  as  sowing 
of  seed.     See  the  article  Sowing* 

SEEDLING,  a  root  that  springs 
from  seed  sown.  The  name  is  appli- 
ed also  to  the  tender  tops  of  plants 
(hat  have  newly  come  from  seed. 
The  little  plants  are  thus  distin- 
guished from  cuttings,  layers,  and 
slips. 

SEMINATION,  the  manner  in 
which  plants  shed  and  disperse 
their  seeds. 

Some  seeds  are  so  heavy,  that 
they  fall  directly  to  the  ground  ; 
others  are  furnished  with  a  pap- 
pus, or  down,  that  they  may,  by 
means  tliereof,  be  dispersed  by  the 
wind;  and  others  again  are  con- 
tained in  elastic  capsules,  which, 
bursting  open  with  considerable 
force,  dart  or  throw  out  the  seeds 
to  ditTerent  distances.  Some  of  the 
second  sort  are  wafted  over  vast 
tracts  of  land,  or  even  carried  to 
remote  counlries.  The  weed  that 
is  peculiar  to  burnt  land,  and  is 
called  fire  weed,  has  such  a  kind  of 
seed:  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
that  we  see  it  grow  in  burnt  places, 
many  miles  from  where  it  has 
grown  before. 

SHADE,  a  shelter  or  defence 
against  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Cattle 
need  not  only  to  be  sheltered 
against  cold  and  wet  weather  in 


380 


SHE 


S  II  E 


other  seasons,  but  against  lieat  in 
summer.  Therefore  the  pastures 
in  which  they  feed,  should  have 
trees  in  them,  that  they  may  repair 
to  their  shadow  in  the  hottest  hours. 
Clumps  are  preferable  to  single 
trees,  as  they  not  only  afford  a  cool 
shade,  but  may  screen  the  cattle 
from  the  violence  of  rain  and 
storms,  some  of  which  happen  in 
the  time  of  ^razirig. 

SHED,  a  slight  roof  or  cover- 
ing, of  boards  or  other  materials, 
for  temporary  purposes.  Where 
boards  are  not  easily  obtained,  sheds 
may  be  covered  with  straw,  which 
will  last  a  few  years ;  or  with  the 
bark  of  trees,  which  wdl  be  far 
more  durable. 

SHEEP,  a  well  known  tame 
animal. 

They  multiply  fast ;  they  are 
subject  to  but  tew  diseases  ni  this 
coujitry ;  their  llesh  is  excellent 
food,  and  their  wool  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  this  natson  ;  in  which 
the  woollen  manufactory  ought  to 
be  encouraged,  and  ma)  be  carried 
on  to  great  advaritage. 

Mortimer  says,  "  The  farmer 
should  always  buy  his  sheep  from 
a  worse  land  than  his  own,  and 
th»*y  should  be  big  boned,  and  have 
a  long  greasy  wool. 

"  For  the  choice  of  sheep  to 
breed,  the  ram  must  be  young, 
and  his  skin  of  the  same  colour 
with  his  wool ;  for  the  lambs  will 
be  of  the  same  colour  with  his 
skin.  Those  ewes  which  have  no 
horns,  are  found  to  be  the  best 
breeders." 

The  farmers  of  Europe  know 
how  to  distinguish  the  age  ofshee}; 
by  their  teeth.     When  a  sheep  is 


one  sheer,  as  they  express  it,  that 
is,  has  been  sheared  but  once,  or 
is  in  its  second  year,  it  has  two 
broad  teeth  before  :  When  it  is 
two  shear,  it  will  have  four  :  When 
three,  six  :  When  four  shear,  or  in 
its  fifth  year,  it  will  have  eight 
teetli  before.  After  this,  their 
mouths  begin  to  break. 

"  The  fat  pastures  breed  straight 
tall  sheep,  and  the  barren  hills 
square  and  short  ones.  But  the 
best  sheep  of  all,  are  those  bred 
upon  new  ploughed  land,  the  rea- 
son of  which  may  be  easily  guessed, 
as  such  land  is  commonly  the  most 
free  from  bad  grasses. 

"  All  wet  and  moist  lands  are 
bad  for  sheep,  especially  such  as 
ate  subject  to  be  overflowed,  and 
to  have  sand  and  dirt  left  on  them. 
The  salt  marslies  are  ai.  exception 
from  this  general  rule  :  For  their 
saltiiess  makes  amends  for  their 
moisture;  any  thing  salt,  by  reason 
of  t'lS  drying  quality,  being  of  great 
advantaue  to  sheep.  'Vhe  best 
time  for  sheep  to  yean,  which  go 
twenty  weeks  with  lamb,  is  in 
April,  unless  the  owner  has  any 
forward  grass,  or  turnips.  Ewes 
that  are  big,  should  be  kept  but 
bare  ;  for  it  is  dangerous  for  them 
to  he  fat  at  the  time  of  their  bring- 
ing; forth  their  young.  They  may 
be  well  fed,  indeed,  like  cows,  a 
fortnight  beforehand,  to  put  them 
in  heart." 

M.  Buffon  says,  "  One  ram  will 
be  sufficient  for  twenty-five  or 
iliirty  ewes ;  but  that  he  should  be 
nmarkable  for  strength  and  come- 
liness :  That  those  which  have  no 
iiornsare  very  indifferent:  That  the 
head  of  a  ram  should  be  large  and 


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Unck,  the  forehead  broad,  the  eyes 
Jarge  and  black,  the  tiose  short,  the 
neck  thick,  the  body  long,  the  back 
and  rump  broad,  ttte  teslicles  large, 
and  the  tail  long  :  That  the  beet 
are  white,  with  a  large  quantity  of 
wool  on  the  bell),  tail,  head  and 
ears,  down  to  the  eyes :  That  the 
best  sheep  for  propagation,  are 
those  which  have  most  wool,  and 
that  close,  long,  silky  and  white  ; 
especially  if,  at  the  same  time, 
they  have  a  large  body,  a  thick 
neck,  and  are  light  footed." 

He  says,  "  that  ewes  fatten  very 
fast  during  their  pregnancy;  that 
as  they  often  hurt  themselves,  and 
frequently  miscarry,  so  they  some- 
times become  barren  ;  and  that  it 
is  not  very  extraordinary  for  them 
to  bring  forth  monstrous  produc- 
tions. But  when  properly  tended, 
they  are  capable  of  yeaning  during 
the  whole  of  their  life,  or  to  the 
age  of  ten  or  twelve  years.  But 
most  commonly  when  they  come 
to  be  seven  or  eight  years  old, 
they  begin  to  break,,  and  become 
sickly  ;  and  that  a  ram  is  no  longer 
fit  for  propagation  after  eight  years, 
at  which  time  he  should  be  knit, 
and  fattened  with  the  old  sheep." 

According  to  the  same  writer, 
"sheep  should  in  the  summer  be 
turned  out  early  in  the  morning  to 
feed  ;  and  in  four  or  tive  hours, 
after  watering,  be  brought  back  to 
the  fold,  or  to  some  shady  place. 
At  four  o'clock,  P.M.  they  should 
be  turned  to  their  pasture  again, 
and  continue  there  till  evening; 
and  were  it  not  for  the  danger  of 
wolves,  they  should  pass  the  night 
in  the  open  air,  which  would  ren- 
der them    more  vigorous,  clean, 


and  healthy.  As  the  too  great  heat 
of  the  sun  is  hurtful  to  tticm,  shady 
pastures  are  host  for  them  ;  or  else 
to  drive  them  to  a  place  with  a 
western  descent  in  ihe  morning, 
and  the  contrary  towards  evening." 
That  their  wool  may  be  saved) 
they  should  not  be  pastured  in 
bu.^hy  places,  or  where  there  are 
briars.  Sheep  are  often"  thus  de- 
prived of  most  of  their  fleeces  ; 
which  besides  the  loss  of  the  wfiol, 
is  very  hurltul  to  the  animals,  wlien 
the  weather  is  not  warm. 

The  above  writer  directs,  "  (hat 
every  year  a  flock  ol  sheep  shoiiid 
be  examined,  in  order  to  tine!  out 
such  as  begin  to  grow  old,  and 
ouyht  to  be  turned  ofl'for  fattening. 
As  they  require  a  particular  ma- 
nagement, so  they  should  be  put  in 
a  flock  by  themselves.  They 
should  feed  while  the  grass  is  mois- 
tened with  dew  in  the  morning. 
Salt  should  be  given  them  to  excite 
thirst,  as  the  more  they  drink,  the 
faster  they  will  grow  fat.  But  to 
complete  their  fattening,  and  make 
their  flesh  tirm  and  solid,  they 
should  have  some  corn  or  grain 
given  them."  They  may  be  fat- 
tened in  the  winter;  but  it  is  com- 
monly too  expensive,  as  they  will 
require  a  good  deal  of  richer  food 
than  hay.  When  sheep  are  once 
become  fat,  they  should  be  killed  ; 
for  it  is  said  they  cannot  be  made 
fat  a  second  time.  The  teeth  of 
ewes  begin  to  decay  at  five,  those 
of  wethers  at  seven,  and  those  of 
rams  not  until  eight. 

We  shear  our  sheep  in  general 
too  early  in  this  country.  In  Eng- 
land, where  the  spring  is  more  for- 
ward than  in  this  country,  the  ap- 


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proved  time  of  shearing  is  from 
the  middle  to  the  latter  end  of 
June.  They  should  be  washed  in 
a  warm  lime.  After  this  the_y 
should  run  three  or  four  days  in  a 
clean  pasture,  before  they  are 
shorn.  It  is  good  for  thnm  to  have 
time  to  sweat  a  little  in  their  wool, 
after  washing. 

In  shearing,  great  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  wound,  prick,  or  cut 
their  skins  with  the  shears.  In 
England,  after  shearing,  the  far- 
mers smear  their  sheep  with  a 
mixture  of  tar  and  fresh  butler. 
This  not  only  cures  any  little 
wounds  that  may  chance  to  get  in 
shearing,  but  is  supposed  to  fortif) 
their  bodies  against  cold,  and  cause 
their  wool  to  grow  again  the  soon- 
er. 

If  any  cold  rain  happens  soon 
after  shearing,  the  sheep  should  be 
put  up  in  a  warm  house.  For  if 
they  be  left  abroad,  it  is  apt  to  be 
fatal  to  them. 

But  Mr.  Young  thinks  they  are 
so  apt  to  be  hurt  by  being  kepi 
very  warm,  that  they  should  never 
be  confined  to  a  house,  but  always 
have  the  door  open,  that  they  ma) 
be  in  the  house  or  the  yard  as  they 
choose.  They  will  undoubtedly 
prefer  the  warmer  place  when 
they  are  newly  shorn,  if  the  air  be 
colder  than  common.  Small  flocks 
commonly  prosper  better  than 
large  ones,  as  they  are  not  often  so 
overheated  by  crowding  each  other. 

In  France,  fifteen  pounds  of  salt 
per  annum  are  allowed  to  a  sheep, 
and  fifty  for  each  head  of  cattle. 
The  truth  is,  that  in  the  inland 
parts  of  this  country,  both  sorts 
should  have  salt  often,  and  be  al- 


lowed to  cat  as  much  as  they 
please,  their  health  requires  it,  and 
tliey  will  pay  well  for  it  to  the 
owner. 

Some  are  fond  of  having  black 
sheep  in  their  flock.  But  their 
wool  is  seldom  so  fine,  or  so  strong, 
as  that  of  white  ones.  Nor  is  the 
wool  ever  a  perfectly  good  black, 
and  it  is  found  difficult  to  give  it 
any  good  durable  colour  by  dying. 

There  are  a  great  many  varie- 
ties of  sheep  with  differences  more 
or  less  marked.  To  give  even  an 
abridged  account  of  all  the  kinds 
described  in  foreign  publications 
would  require  a  volume.  In  Eng- 
land, the  principal  division  of 
sheep  is  into  the  long  wool,  and 
the  SHORT  WOOL  kinds.  Among 
those  bearing  long  wool,  are  the 
Teeswater,  the  Lincolnshire,  the 
South  Dozens,  the  Bakewell  or 
Dishky  breeds,  &c.  &c.  The  ori- 
gin of  the  last  mentioned  breed  of 
sheep  is  thus  described  by  an  Eng- 
lish writer. 

"  Mr.  Balcewell  selected  from 
his  own  flock,  and  from  the  flocks 
of  others  those  sheep  to  breed  from, 
which  possessed  in  the  greatest 
degree  that  perfection  of  form  he 
was  desirous  to  retain  and  perpetu- 
ate. By  judiciously  crossing  them, 
and  selecting  the  most  perfect  of 
their  progeny,  he  at  length  suc- 
ceeded in  forming  the  breed,  which 
has  been  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  the  New  Leicester,  or  Dishley 
breed ;  and  having  attained  his 
object,  he  carefully  guarded  against 
any  future  intermixtures  with  other 
breeds.  This  breed  exceeds  all 
others  in  its  propensity  to  fatten ; 
and  by  crossing  by  rams  with  this 


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breed,  a  very  considerable  portion 
of  the  long-wooled  sheep  in  Eng- 
land have  been  greatly  improved 
in  this  respect. 

"  The  peculiar  characters  of 
these  sheep  have  been  well  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Culley,  an  eminent 
grazier  in  Northumberland,  who 
introduced  the  breed  into  that  part 
of  England.  I'he  Dishley  breed 
are  distinguished  from  other  long- 
wooled  breeds  by  their  fine  lively 
eyes,  clean  heads,  straight,  broad, 
flat  backs,  round  (barrel  like)  bo- 
dies, very  fine  small  bones,  thin 
pelts,  and  inclination  to  fat  at  an 
early  age.  The  last  property  is 
probably  owing  to  the  before  spe- 
cified qualities,  which,  from  obser- 
vation and  experience,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  extend  generally 
through  every  species  of  domestic 
quadrupeds.  The  Dishley  breed 
is  not  only  peculiar  for  the  mutton 
being  fat,  but  also  for  the  fineness 
of  the  gvain :  the  flavour  is  supe- 
rior to  the  mutton  of  most  other 
long-wooled  breeds.  The  weight 
of  the  carcase  may  be  stated  in 
general;  ewes  three  or  four  years 
old  from  eighteen  to  twenty-six 
pounds  per  quarter;  wethers,  two 
years  old  from  twenty  to  thirty 
pounds." 

Among  the  shurtwooled  sheep, 
the  English  possess,  besides  the 
Merino  breed,  the  Ryeland,  the 
Shropshire,  the  Shetland,  the  Dor- 
set, Wilts,  he.  &c.  Merino  sheep 
were  first  introduced  into  Great 
Britain  in  the  year  1787;  and  al- 
though it  was  formerly  a  general 
opinion,  that  the  excellence  of 
their  fleece  depended  in  a  great 
degree    upon    the  temperature  of 


the  Spanish  climate,  it  has  been 
ascertained  that  the  fineness  of  the 
Spanish  wool  is  not  impaired  by 
breeding  the  sheep  in  England, 
France,  Saxony,  Hungary,  &c. 

Mr.  Custis,  of  Virginia,  is  rear- 
ing a  new  breed  of  sheep,  which 
he  calls  the  Arlington  sheep,  with 
long  wooled  fleeces  for  worsted 
manufactures.  They  are  a  mix- 
ture of  the  Bakevvell  breed  with  a 
ram  from  Persia,  imported  by 
General  Washington. 

The  common  practice  of  smear- 
ing the  bodies  of  sheep  with  a  mix- 
ture of  tar  and  fresh  butter  or 
other  oily  substance  is  not  approv- 
ed of  by  IV]  r.  Luccock,  an  English 
writer,  who  says,  "  The  oil  which 
the  mixture  contains  is  most  cer- 
tainly useful,  but  the  tar,  a  dirty 
and  tenacious  substance,  adheres 
to  the  wool  so  closely  as  frequent- 
ly to  corrode  the  hair,  rendering 
the  part  to  whicli  it  was  immedi- 
ately aj)plied  thin,  rough  and  weak. 
When  atfected  by  the  filthy  cus- 
tom of  smearing,  the  pile  is  less 
capable  of  acquiring  the  softer  and 
more  delicate  tints,  which  it  is  so 
often  desirable  to  communicate  to 
the  diflferent  articles  of  the  woollen 
manufacture.  A  portion  of  that 
dirt,  which  it  obstinately  retains 
through  every  previous  process,  is 
dissolved  among  the  ingredients  of 
the  dying  vat,  and  disqualifies 
them  from  communicating  that 
vivid  lustre,  which  they  would 
have  afforded  to  a  purer  wool, 
even  though  tlie  artist  supply  his 
pans  with  a  much  larger  proportion 
of  the  colouring  materials.  In  the 
subsequent  processes  of  the  manu- 
facture, this  filthy  staple  produces 


384 


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much  greater  inconvenience,  and 
is  Sdbject  to  more  considerable 
waste  than  the  purer  pile,  even 
though  we  make  every  reasonable 
a!!o>:vance  for  the  weight  ot  dirt 
which  it  obviously  contains  ;  in  the 
jcnney  and  the  loom,  the  m. chine? 
emplo}ed  in  spinning  and  wcavuig 
it,  more  dexterity  and  patience  are 
required  of  tlte  work  peoph;,  and 
the  cloth  which  it  produces  is  in- 
ferior in  its  quahty,  and  smaller  in 
its  quantity  than  might  have  been 
obtained  from  the  same  pile  in  a 
pure  state.  These  objections  to 
tar,  when  it  is  applied  to  wool  as  a 
substitute  for  the  yolk  of  the  sheep 
are  collected  chiefly  fiom  the  clo- 
thiers' account  of  it,  and  appear 
ab(uidar)tly  sufficient  to  prompt  him 
to  require  a  less  perfucious  mix- 
ture. The  only  circumstance, 
which  can  be  mcniioncd  as  a  coun- 
terbalance to  these  objections,  is 
the  consistency  which  it  gives  to 
oil  or  other  greasy  substances,  with 
which  it  is  mingled,  whereby  they 
are  retained  among  the  pile,  al- 
though exposed  to  the  heat  of  the 
animal  and  (he  detersive  influence 
of  the  rain.  But  if  it  be  desirable 
in  all  substitutes  of  this  kind  to 
imitate  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
combinations  of  nature,  we  should 
apply  to  the  growing  pile  a  thick 
coating  of  soap  in  all  cases  where 
the  sheep  is  incapable  from  the 
peculiarity  of  its  constitution  of 
yielding  a  suflicient  qujiitity  of 
yolk  to  secure  a  valuable  fleece." 
Luccodc^s  Essar/  on  Wool,  1312. 
Large  numbers  of  sheep  should 
not  be  penned  together  during 
shearing,  nor  should  their  bigs  be 
tied  together  in  that  process. 


The  wool  of  yearling  sheep 
should  be  kept  by  itself;  because 
it  IS  said  to  make  the  cloth  shrink 
unequally,  if  mixed  with  the  wool 
of  older  sheep.  The  fleeces  may 
be  sorted  at  shearing  time,  makuig 
separate  parcels  of  the  thighs,  the 
bell\,  the  back,  and  sides.  Wool 
should  not  be  kept  long  without 
wjishing,  as  in  that  case  it  is  liable 
to  ferment  and  spoil  in  hot  wea- 
ther. After  shearing,  the  horned 
sheep  should  be  examined  to  see 
that  the  horns  do  not  press  on  the 
scull,  or  endanger  the  eyes.  In 
S!'ch  case  they  should  be  sawed 
off.  tar  applied  to  the  stums,  and  a 
double  linen  cloth  tied  over  them 
to  keep  ofl'  flies.  At  this  time 
lambs  should  be  docked,  castrated 
and  marked. 

When  evi'es  are  intended  to  be 
fatted,  the  lambs  must  be  weaned 
early,  and  then  if  the  ewes  take  the 
ram  again,  they  will  fatten  the 
better.  Lambs  thus  weaned  should 
be  put  in  a  pasture  of  young  and 
tender  grass  out  of  the  hearing  of 
their  dams,  and  an  old  wether  or 
ewe  should  be  put  with  them.  The 
ewes  should  be  milked  every  day 
or  two  for  the  first  week,  till  their 
milk  dries  up. 

Lambs  should  be  shorn  the  first 
year.  Laiiibs,  which  do  not  come 
until  the  snow  be  gone,  are  most 
easily  reared.  The  rams  should, 
therefore,  be  kept  from  the  ewes 
till  about  five  mouths  previous  to 
the  time  the  ground  is  generally 
bare  in  the  sprmg. 

In  Spain  twenty  five  ewes  are 
allowed  to  a  ram.  Mr.  Living- 
ston, of  New- York,  (who  has  writ- 
ten an  excellent  treatise  on  sheep. 


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from  which  many  of  these  direc- 
tioDS  are  abridged)  thinks  fort} 
ewes  are  not  too  many  for  one 
ram  :  and  says  that  instances  are 
not  unfrequcnt,  where  one  ram 
has  served  double  ai»d  even  treble 
that  number.  If  the  ram,  how- 
ever, be  not  well  kept,  where  so 
many  ewes  are  allowed,  he  will  be 
in  danger  of  being  injured. 

Sheep  need  no  water  in  the  sum- 
mer, as  they  feed  when  the  dew  is 
on.  In  winter  they  should  have 
access  to  it.  When  sheep  have 
colds  and  discharge  mucus  from 
the  nose,  good  feeding,  together 
with  pine  boughs,  given  them  oc- 
casionally, will  cure  them  ;  or  tar 
spread  over  a  board,  over  which  a 
little  fine  salt  is  strewed,  will  in- 
duce sheep  to  lick  up  the  tar, 
and  this  will  cure  a  cold. 

If  sheep  are  fed  with  a  little  In- 
dian corn,  about  half  a  gill  a  day 
to  each,  it  will  keep  them  in  good 
heart,  prevent  the  wool  from  fall- 
ing off,  and  enable  the  ewes  to 
rear  their  young  much  better. 
They  should  have  the  best  of  hay 
through  the  winter,  and  red  clover 
is  esteemed  the  best.  About  a 
peck  of  salt  applied  to  every  ton 
of  hay  is  recommended.  The  rack 
in  which  the  hay  is  put  should  be 
upright,  so  that  in  feeding  the 
seeds,  chaff,  &;c.  may  not  fall  into 
the  wool  about  their  necks.  Un- 
der the  rack  should  be  a  trough 
for  catching  the  seeds  of  the  hay, 
and  feeding  the  sheep. 

Sheep  should  have  a  yard  by 
themselves,  which  should  be  spa- 
cious in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  the  flock.  They  should  have  a 
shelter,  close  over  head,  but  not  so 
49 


close  at  the.  sides  as  to  preclude 
the  free  circulaiion  of  air.  It 
should  be  so  large  as  not  to  cause 
the  sheep  to  be  crowded.  It  should 
contain  some  small  apartments  in 
which  to  keep  the  ewes  a  few  days- 
previous  to,  and  after  they  have 
lambs.  These  should  be  fed  dur- 
ing this  time  with  succulent  food, 
and  their  apartments  kept  well-lit- 
tered. The  fence  round  the  sheep 
yard  should  be  such  as  to  keep  out 
dogs.  If  the  flock  he  large,  the 
wethers  should  be  kept  by  them- 
selves. They  do  not  require  so 
good  keeping  as  the  ewes  and 
young  sheep. 

Flocks  of  sheep  thrive  the  bet- 
ter for  being  changed  frequently, 
and  those  will  be  most  benefited 
which  are  taken  from  poor  and  put 
into  rich  pastures.  Their  pastures 
should  be  clear  of  weeds,  briars 
and  burrs.  Clover  gives  the  best 
pasture  for  sheep.  There  is  a 
species  of  laurel  which  is  poisonous 
to  sheep. 

Mr.  L.  Hommedieu  says,  that  an 
ointment  made  of  gunpowder  and 
brimstone,  finely  powdered  and 
mixed  with  currier's  oil,  and  ap- 
plied to  the  throats  of  she  p.  will 
prevent  wolves  from  killing  them. 
This  must  be  renewed  as  often  as 
the  ointment  loses  its  moisture, 
which  may  be  four  or  five  times  in 
a  season. 

Merino  sheep  are  the  most  pro- 
fitable. Mr.  Livingston,  m  de- 
scribing the  result  of  his  sheep 
shearing  in  1808,  says,  that  from 
twenty  nine  common  sheep  he  had 
upwards  of  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen pounds,  which  he  sold  at 
thirty-seven  and  an  half  cents  a 


386 


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SH  E 


pound.  This,  allowing  one  dollar 
and  lifty  cenls  for  the  expense  of 
keeping  each  sheep  for  a  )ear,  fell 
short  three  cents  on  eacli  fleece  of 
paying  for  their  keeping. 

Eighty-three  half-blooded  ewes 
gave  upwards  of  three  hundred  atid 
ninety-three  pounds ;  and  forty- 
seven  half-blooded  wethers  gave 
upwards  of  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  pounds.  'J'his  wool  sold  for 
seventy-five  cents  a  pound.  Clear 
profits  on  the  fleece  of  each  ewe 
two  dollars  and  three  cents  5  on 
the  fleece  of  each  wether,  two  dol- 
lars and  fifty  five  cents. 

Thirty  three  fourth-blooded  ewes 
gave  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  pounds  ;  and  three  wethers 
of  the  same  blood  gave  upwaids  of 
sixteen  pounds.  This  wool  sold 
for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
a  pound.  Clear  profits  on  the 
fleece  of  each  ewe  four  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents ;  on  the  fleece 
of  each  wether,  two  dollars  and 
twenty-five  cents. 

Seven  full-bred  ewes  gave  up- 
wards of  thirty-six  pounds ;  and 
one  ram,  fourteen  months  old,  gave 
upwards  of  nine  pounds.  This 
wool  sold  at  two  dollars  a  pound. 
Clear  profits  on  the  fleece  of  each 
ewe,  eight  dollars  ai:d  seventy- 
five  cents ;  on  the  ram,  seventeen 
dollars  and  twenty-five  cents.  This 
wool  was  all  sold  at  the  above 
prices,  without  being  washed. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that 
these  sheep  are  as  profitable  for 
fattiiig  as  for  their  wool,  as  they 
become  fat  with  a  less  quatitity  of 
food,  in  j^roportion  to  their  bulk, 
than  any  other  kind. 

Mr.     Livingston     recommends 


flic  engrafting  of  a  Merino  stock 
upon  our  common  ewes,  to  in- 
crease the  size  of  the  breed  ;  and 
in  the  selection  of  the  ewes  to  take 
those  which  are  at  least  three 
years  old,  as  large  as  can  be  ob- 
tained of  the  sort,  with  the  belly 
large  and  well  covered  with  wool ; 
chine  and  loin  broad,  breast  deep, 
buttocks  full,  the  eyes  lively,  the 
bag  hicge  and  the  teats  long,  with 
little  hair  on  the  hinder  parts. 

!Mr.  Livinjjston  thitdcs  the  wool 
of  his  Merino  sheep,  which  he  has 
raised  in  this  country,  finer  than 
that  of  (hose  imported.  They  will 
endure  the  rigour  of  our  winters, 
and  are  successfully  raised  in  Swe- 
den, where  the  climate  is  mucli 
colder  than  ours.  He  says,  that 
"  like  all  other  sheep,  they  will  be 
found  the  better  for  good  keeping  ; 
yet  they  will  not  sutler  more  than 
others  from  neglect ;  and  that  they 
will  in  every  mixed  flock  be  found 
amongst  the  most  thrifty  in  the  se- 
verest  weather. 

The  ram,  when  put  to  the  ewes, 
should  be  better  fed  than  usual. 
A  slice  or  two  of  bread,  made  of 
Indian  corn  meal,  may  be  given 
him  by  hand  two  or  three  times  a 
day.  When  the  ewes  are  not 
suckling  lambs,  they  may,  at  any 
time,  be  made  to  take  the  ram  by 
feeding  them  with  a  little  Indian 
corn. 

After  Merino  wool  has  been  sort- 
ed, and  is  to  be  manufactured  in 
the  family,  let  it  be  covered  with 
soft  water,  mixed  with  one- third 
urine,  and  stand  fifteen  hours  or 
longer,  if  the  weather  be  cold.  A 
cauldron  is  then  to  be  put  on  the 
fire  with  some  soft  water,  and  let 


SHE 


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387 


iwo-thirds  of  that  which  covers  the 
fleeces,  be  added  to  it.  When  so 
hot  as  that  the  hand  cannot  bear 
it,  take  out  the  \vool,  put  it  in 
a  basket,  put  the  basket  in  the 
cauldron,  and  there  wash  the  wool 
by  pressing,  without  any  wringing 
oi'  it,  and  then  cleanse  it  in  running 
water.  If  the  water  in  the  caul- 
dron become  too  dirty,  take  more 
from  that  in  which  it  was  first 
soaked. 

Dry  the  wool  in  the  shade ;  not 
in  the  sun  ;  let  it  then  be  beaten 
with  a  rod,  which  takes  out  all 
seeds,  &c.  and  softens  it ;  then  pick 
it,  by  opening  it  lengthwise  care- 
fully, and  card  it  with  cotton,  not 
with  wool-cards.  Carding  ma- 
chines are  not  to  be  used  for  this 
wool,  unless  particularly  fitted  for 
it. 

The  above  is  the  European  me- 
thod of  managing  this  wool  before 
carding,  &c.  but  Mr.  Livingston 
thinks  that  if  the  wool  be  carefully 
picked  and  carded,  so  as  to  get  out 
mo.«t  of  the  dirt,  and  woven  in  this 
way,  that  it  will  answer  without 
washing;  in  which  case  less  oil  or 
grease  will  be  necessary. 

We  shall  here  mention  some  of 
the  most  common  diseases  to  which 
sheep  are  liable,  v.  ith  the  most  ap- 
proved remedies. 

Rot. — For  a  description  of  this 
disease,  see  the  article  Rot  in  its 
alphabetical  order.  We  shall  here 
add  somer^'hat  respecting  its  cure, 
"  Miller  recommends  parsley  as 
being  eminently  serviceable.  Mr. 
Rice  recommends  every  farmer 
to  remove  hi;;  sheep,  in  wet  and 
warm  seasons,  from  such  lands  as 
ue  liaWe  to  occasion  the  rot;  !>'it 


if  this  be  impracticable,  he  pre- 
scribes a  spoonful  of  common  salt 
for  each,  together  with  a  similar 
quantity  of  flour,  ili  a  pint  of  water, 
once  or  twice  a  week,  by  way  of 
preventive:  and  if  the  disorder  be 
in  an  incipient  state,  a  similar  dose 
administered  four  or  five  succes- 
sive ntornings,  will,  in  his  opinion, 
probably  effect  a  cure  ;  as  the  ad- 
dition of  the  flour  and  water  not 
only  abates  the  pungency  of  the 
salt,  but  also  disposes  it  to  mix 
more  gradually,  though  at  the  same 
time  more  cflicaciously  with  the 
chyle.  Dr.  Darwin,  however, 
thinks  the  salt  would  be  more  ser- 
viceable, if  it  were  combined  into 
a  ball  with  about  sixty  grains  of  iron 
filings,  by  means  of  flour,  and  in- 
troduced into  the  sheep's  throat 
every  morning  for  one  week.  See 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  IV.  p.  69. 

The  following  recipe  for  the  rot 
in  sheep  is  from  Young's  Annals, 
Vol.  XI 11.  p.  209.  "  Give  to  each 
sheep  one  spoonful  of  spirits  of 
turpentine,  mixed  with  two  of  wa- 
ter, after  fasting  twelve  hours — let 
them  have  three  doses,  staying 
six  days  between  each  dose  ;  this 
is  said  to  have  been  used  with  suc- 
cess, even  in  cases  where  the  fleece 
has  been  nearly  gone,  and  the  throat 
terribly  swelled." 

Scab, — '•  This  appears  by  the 
sheep  rubbing  the  part  affected, 
and  pulling  out  the  wool  in  that 
part  with  their  teeth,  or  by  loose 
locks  of  wool  rising  on  their  backs 
and  shoulders. 

"  The  sheep  infected  is  first  to 
be  taken  from  the  flock,  and  put 
bv  Itself-  nntl  then  the  part  alFect- 


o88 


SHE 


SHE 


ed  is  to  have  the  wool  taken  oflj  as 
far  as  the  skin  feels  hard  to  the 
finger,  washed  with  soap  suds  and 
rubbed  hard  with  a  shoe-brush,  so 
as  to  cleanse  and  break  the  scab. 
Then  anoint  it  with  a  decoction  ol 
tobacco-water,  mixed  with  the 
third  of  lie  of  wood  ashes,  as  much 
grease  as  this  lie  will  dissolve,  a 
small  quantity  of  tar,  and  about  an 
eighth  of  the  whole  mass  of  the 
spirits  of  turpentine.  This  oint- 
m^-nt  is  to  be  rubbed  on  the  part 
aflfected,  and  for  some  liftle  dis- 
tance round  it,  at  three  different 
times,  with  an  interval  of  three 
days  after  each  washing.  With 
timely  precautions  this  will  alwa}s  I 
be  found  sufficient. 

Sir  Joseph  Banks,  in  a  commu 
nication  to  the  Society  for  the  EiU- 
couragement  of  Arts,  directs  for 
this  disorder,  pure  quicksilver,  one 
pound  ;  Venice  turpentine,  and 
common  oil  of  turpentine  half  a 
pound  each  ;  and  of  hog's  lard  four 
pounds,  to  be  triturated  in  a  mor- 
tar, till  the  mercury  be  completely 
incorporated  with  the  ingredients. 

The  method  of  using  this  oint- 
ment is  as  follows.  The  head  of 
the  sheep  must  (irst  be  rubbed  ; 
after  which  a  furrow  is  to  be  drawn 
with  the  finger,  from  the  region 
between  the  ears,  along  the  back 
to  the  point  of  the  tail,  so  as  (o  di- 
vide the  wool  till  the  skin  be  ex- 
posed to  the  touch.  Next,  the 
finger,  being  slightly  dipped  in  the 
prf^paration,  should  be  drawn  along 
the  skin.  Similar  lines  should  far- 
ther be  opened  down  the  shoul- 
ders and  thighs,  as  far  as  the  wool 
extends  ;  and,  if  the  animal  be  con- 
siderably infected,  two  other  fur- 


rows are  directed  to  be  traced, 
parallel  to  that  on  the  back,  and 
one  should  likewise  be  drawn 
downwards,  on  each  side  between 
the  fore  and  hind  legs. 

After  this  application  the  sheep 
may  be  turned  among  the  flock 
without  any  danger  of  the  infec- 
tion's being  communicated.  Ano- 
ther remedy  is  an  ointment  com- 
posed of  three  parts  grease,  and 
one  of  spirits  of  turpentine. 

Tick, — Ticks  may  be  destroyed 
by  oil,  a  strong  decoction  of  tobac- 
co, or  by  tobacco  smoke.  The 
smoke  may  be  taken  into  the  bel- 
lows, the  wool  opened,  the  smoke 
blown  in,  and  the  wool  closed.. 
This  should  be  repeated  at  proper 
distances  over  every  part  of  the 
body.  A  still  easier  method,  though 
perhaps  not  so  immediately  effica- 
cious is  to  part  the  wool  of  the 
animal  on  each  side  of  its  spine, 
from  its  head  to  its  tail,  and  drop 
some  Scotch  snuff  in  the  openmg. 

Staggers. — "  This  is  a  species  of 
apoplexy,  arising  from  too  great 
fulness  of  blood.  It  principally 
attacks  young  lambs,  which  fall 
down  ;  and  if  not  timely  relieved 
speedily  perish.  The  mode  of  cure 
generally  adopted  by  shepherds,  is 
to  bleed  the  creatures  frequently 
in  the  ege-vein,  and  to  remove 
them  to  a  coarse  pasture,  with  a 
view  to  prevent  a  relapse." — Do' 
mestic  tmcyclopedia. 

Hot  en  or  swollen. — It  has  been 
affirmed  (hat  a  small  quantity  of 
ley,  made  either  of  wood  ashes,  or 
pot  or  pearl  ash,  turned  down  the 
throat  of  a  sheep  that  is  hoven  or 
swoln,  by  eating  too  much  green 
or  succulent  food,  will  give  imme- 
diate relief. 


SHE 


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389 


Purging. — A  slight  purging,  when 
sheep  are  first  turned  to  grass,  will 
not  injure  them.  But  when  this  is 
severe,  the  sheep  should  be  housed, 
dosed  with  castor  oil,  and  fed  with 
some  crusts  of  wheat  bread. 

Thtr-  fly  or  maggot  is  an  insect, 
which  breeds  in  the  skin  of  sheep. 
If  the  animal  be  attacked  belore 
shearing,  it  becomes  sickly  and  in- 
di>nosed  ;  its  wool,  not  yielding  a 
sufficient  quantity  oi yolk,  atfords  a 
warm  nest  for  the  reception  of  the 
eges,  which  are  speedily  hatched. 
The  maggots  immediately  feed  on 
the  flesh  of  the  sheep ;  and  if  they 
be  not  timely  destroyed,  the  ver- 
min will  multiply  so  rapidly  as  to 
destroy  the  animal  in  a  short  time. 
The  remedy  recommended  is  cor- 
rosive sublimate  and  turpentine 
rubbed  into  the  sore.  Probably 
spirits  of  turpentine,  or  tine  salt, 
would  be  equally  efiicacious. 

Mr.  Livingston,  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Agricultural  Society, 
New-York,  observes,  that  "  the 
legs  of  sheep  are  furnished  with  a 
duct,  terminating  in  the  fissure  of 
the  hoof;  from  which,  when  the 
animal  is  in  health,  there  is  secret- 
ed a  white  fluid,  but  when  sickly, 
ducts  are  stopped  by  the  hardening 
of  the  fluid.  He  has  in  some  in- 
stances found,  that  the  sheep  were 
relieved,  merely  by  pressing  out 
the  hardened  matter  with  the  fin- 
ger from  the  orifice  of  the  duct  in 
in  each  foot,  and  thinks  that  it  may, 
in  some  cases,  be  proper  to  place 
their  feet  in  warm  water,  or  to  use 
a  probe  or  hard  brush,  for  cleans- 
ing this  passage." 

A  writer  in  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Journal,  Vol.  JIl.  p. 


351,  observes,  that  the  dysentery 
or  flux  in  sheep  has  been  cured  by 
"  rubbing  with  a  cob  between  the 
sheep's  hoofs," 

Worms  in  the  head  of  sheep, — 
The  symptoms  of  this  complaint 
are  seen  in  the  animals  lopping 
their  ears,  shaking  their  heads, 
scouring,  stupidity,  loss  of  appetite. 
These  generally  terminate  in  con- 
sumption and  death. 

Cure. — Force  vinegar  by  a  squirt- 
gun  or  syringe  into  the  head  of  the 
sheep.  This  will  produce  sneez- 
ing and  convulsions  in  the  sheep, 
by  which  the  worms  will  be  dis- 
charged. See  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cidtural  Repository,  Vol.  III.  page 
325.,  and  Vol.  IV.  pages  30.  33. 
140.  145.  190. 

In  washing  sheep,  the  use  of  wa- 
ter impregnated  with  lime,  is  to  be 
avoided ;  for  this  substance  de- 
composes the  yolk  of  the  wool ; 
and  wool  often  washed  in  calcare- 
ous water  become  rough  and  brit- 
tle. 

SHELLS,  stony  coverings,  which 
nature  prepares  for  certain  kinds 
of  animals  in  the  sea,  and  by  which 
they  are  defended ;  which  are 
therefore  denominated  shell  fish. 

These  shells  are  much  of  the 
same  nature  as  limestone,  and  are 
one  of  the  best  kinds  of  manure. 
No  length  of  time  deprives  those 
shells  of  their  virtue,  which  are 
buried  deep  in  the  earth.  But  shells 
which  lie  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground  will  gradually  raoulder,  and 
become  lime. 

This  manure  is  so  highly  es- 
teemed in  some  parts  of  Europe, 
that  the  farmers  even  carry  it  in 
bags  upon  horses  to  the  distance 
of  several  miles  from  the  sea. 


t390 


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SLI 


Shells  may  be  applied  lo  Ihe  soil 
at  one  season  of  the  year  as  well 
as  at  another  ;  excepting  that  they 
should  not  be  carted  on  at  a  time 
when  the  ground  is  so  wet  as  to  be 
poachy;  because  poaching  is  hurt- 
ful to  all  soils.  The  farmer  may 
generally  do  this  work  at  a  time 
when  he  is  most  at  leisure.  Even 
in  winter  those  may  well  be  re- 
moved, which  lie  lower  in  the  sea 
than  high  water  mark. 

Mr.  Weston  recommends  that 
shells  be  ground  tine  b(;fore  they 
are  used  as  manure  ;  and  says,  the 
fmer  they  are  ground  the  farther 
they  will  go.  But  it  requires  so 
much  labour  to  grind  them,  that  1 
doubt  whether  it  be  worth  while  to 
do  it,  unless  it  be  for  gardens. 
And  in  the  long  run,  they  will 
benefit  the  soil  as  much  without 
grinding.  Though  the  benefit  of 
them,  when  applied  whole,  do  not 
appear  much  in  the  first  and  second 
year,  the  tillage  of  every  year  will 
help  to  break  and  crumble  them  ; 
and  in  a  course  of  years,  by  con- 
tinual tillage,  they  will  be  sufficient- 
ly dissolved,  and  intimately  mixed 
with  the  soil. 

It  is  chiefly  the  smaller  shells 
that  should  be  thus  used,  such  as 
those  of  clams,  muscles,  &c.  for 
these  will  be  sooner  dissolved  than 
larger  ones.  As  small  shells  are 
mostly  mixed  with  sand,  or  tena- 
cious mud,  they  need  not  be  se- 
parated from  these  substances. 
Those  that  arc  mixed  with  sand 
will  be  a  proper  dressing  for  cold, 
stiff  and  clayey  soils ;  and  those 
which  are  mixed  with  mud  should 
be  laid  upon  soils  that  are  dry 
znd  Yight.     For  many  of  the  shells 


will  lie  with  the  concave  sides  up- 
wards in  the  earth,  and  will  stop 
the  water  in  its  descent,  and  so  as- 
sist the  soil  in  retaining  moisture. 

Mr.  Eiiot  tried  a  sort  of  shell 
sand,  which  he  says  he  found  to  be 
equal  to  good  dung.  If  it  had  as 
much  effect  as  dung  at  first,  it  must 
have  been  vastly  better  than  dung 
upon  the  whole :  Because  shells 
are  a  lasting  advantage  to  the  soil. 

SITUK,  a  well  known  instru- 
ment to  cut  grass.  'J'his  instru- 
ment should  consist  of  tough  iron 
and  the  best  of  steel,  well  wrought 
together,  and  nicely  tempered. 
If  the  temper  of  a  sithe  should 
prove  to  be  too  high,  it  may  be 
lowered  by  laying  it  to  the  hot  sun 
a  few  days  in  midsummer. 

SLED,  or  SLEDGE,  a  carriage 
without  wheels,  chiefly  used  to 
convey  loads  when  the  ground  is 
covered  witli  snow.  Plank  sleds, 
and  framed  sleds,  are  both  used. 
The  latter  for  lightness  are  rather 
preferable.  But  plank  sleds  are 
more  used  for  the  heaviest  loads, 
as  masts  and  mill  logs.  The  com- 
mon length  of  a  sled  is  eight  or 
nine  feet :  but  longer  ones  are 
better  for  carrying  boards,  and  long 
timber. 

SLIPS,  twigs  taken  from  a  tree, 
or  shrub,  to  propagate  by  planting 
them  in  a  moist  soil. 

More  than  half,  or  even  two- 
thirds  of  their  iengti),  should  be 
buried  in  the  soil.  They  strike 
root  more  easily  than  cuttings. 
Early  in  the  spring  is  the  right  sea- 
son to  perform  it.  I  have  the  best 
success  when  1  do  it  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  thawed  in  the  spring. 

The  slips  should  either  bo  plant- 


S  LO 


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)91 


ed  immediately  after  they  are  taken 
from  the  trees  ;  or  tlic  lower  ends 
should  be  enclosed  in  wet  clay  till 
they  are  set  in  the  ground.  This 
last  will  be  necessary  when  the 
slips  must  be  carried  to  any  con- 
siderable distance.  And  in  this 
case,  they  should  lie  for  a  while  in 
water  before  they  are  put  into  the 
ground. 

It  is  necessary  to  place  them  in 
moist  earth,  rich,  and  hnely  pul- 
verised ;  and  they  should  be  fre- 
quently refreshed  by  a  little  water- 
ing, unless  the  season  be  wet. 

But  it  is  the  surest  method  to 
plant  slips  in  pots,  especially  of 
those  kinds  which  are  least  apt  to 
strike  root.  In  this  case,  it  will 
not  be  at  all  difficult  to  give  them 
continually  the  right  quantity  of 
moisture.  Slips  from  almost  any 
kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  may  be 
thus  made  to  grow  ;  but  they  will 
never  make  so  large  trees  as  those 
which  come  from  the  seeds.  They 
will  be  the  more  fit,  however,  for 
the  borders  of  gardens. 

SLOUGH,  a  deep  muddy  spot 
of  earth. 

Soft  and  hollow  places  in  roads, 
where  puddles  of  water  stand  after 
rain,  by  means  of  the  frequent 
passing  of  loaded  wheel  carriages, 
often  become  deep  and  trouble- 
tome  sloughs.  The  way  to  pre- 
vent their  existence,  is  to  make  a 
channel,  or  a  covered  drain,  where 
the  shape  of  the  ground  admits  of 
it,  to  lead  away  the  superfluous 
water.  For  the  ground  will  thus 
be  permitted  to  dry  and  harden,  so 
as  to  prevent  the  sinking  of  wheels 
into  it. 

To  cure  a  slough  in  a  road,  sink 


pebbles,  or  any  kind  of  stones  into 
the  bottom,  and  cover  them  with  a 
thick  coat  of  coarse  gravel,  or  with 
cinder  from  a  smith's  forge,  or  with 
rubbish  from  a  brick  kiln.  But 
this  should  be  done  in  a  dry  sea« 
son. 

SLUICE,  a  frame  of  timber, 
serving  to  obstruct  and  raise  the 
water  of  the  sea,  or  of  a  river,  and 
to  let  it  pass  as  there  may  be  oc- 
casion for  it. 

Shiices  are  required  for  mills, 
and  tor  locks  to  carry  on  inland 
navigation.  But  1  sliaH  only  con-, 
sider  those  sluices  which  the  hus- 
bandman may  tind  useful  in  flood- 
ing of  !ow  lands,  or  watering  a  dry 
soil  with  the  Persian  wheel,  or  in 
reclaiming  of  marshes. 

For  the  first  and  second  of  these 
purposes,  sluices  with  gates  to  raise 
and  let  down  are  proper.  But  for 
the  last  gates  are  not  needed  when 
the  stream  is  large. 

The  Persian  wheel  has  floats- 
made  hollow,  and  of  such  a  con- 
struction, as  to  raise  the  water  from 
a  sluice,  to  the  height  of  two-thuds 
the  diameter  of  the  wheel ;  where 
the  floats  discharge  the  water  into 
a  trough  ;  whence  it  is  convened 
away  in  such  a  manner  as  to  water 
the  neighbouring  lands.  For  a 
particular  account  of  the  maclnne, 
see  Mills''s  Duhamel. 

For  reclaiming  of  marshes,  boxes 
with  shutters  are  used,  especially 
when  but  a  small  quantity  of  fresh 
water  will  need  to  pass  out  through 
the  sluices.  A  box  may  be  made 
of  four  pretty  wide  and  strong 
planks,  either  nailed  or  pegged 
together.  The  length  of  the  box 
must  be  equal  to  the  thickness  of 


392 


SMU 


S  31  tJ 


the  bottom  of  the  dyke  ;  and  rather 
project  a  little  at  each  end,  that 
the  passages  may  not  be  obstructed 
by   dirt  or  sods    falling    from   the 
dyke.      These    boxes    should    be 
placed  in  the  lowest  hollows  of  the 
marsh,  or  in   the  creeks,  and   the 
ground    well     hardened     beneath 
them,   and  on    their    sides.     It  is  | 
better  to  place  two  or  three  boxes  , 
side  by  side,  if  needful,  than  go  to 
the   expense   of   building  a    more  ' 
costly   kind  of  sluice.     And  each  | 
hollow  or  creek,  through  which  a 
dyke  passes,  and  wherever  there  is  : 
likely   ever  to  be  fresh  water  to  | 
convey  away,  should  have  one  or 
more  of  these  little  sluices. 

Each  box  should  have  a  clapper, 
or  shutter.  The  shutter  is  to  be 
fastened  to  the  mouth  of  the  box, 
at  the  end  towards  the  sea,  with 
hinges  made  of  iron  or  wood.  The 
rising  tide  presses  the  shutter  close 
to  the  mouth  of  the  box,  so  that  no 
water  can  enter  ;  and  at  ebb  tide 
the  fresh  water,  when  there  is  any, 
opens  it  by  its  pressure,  and  passes 
out. 

When  it  is  found  necessary  to 
build  larger  kinds  of  sluices,  Beli- 
dor''s  Architecture.  Hijdraulique  and 
Muller,  should  be  consulted. 

SMUT,  a  distemper  in  grain, 
which  dissolves  the  substance  of 
the  kernel,  turns  it  to  a  black  dust, 
and  bu:sts  the  coats  of  the  kernels. 

M.  Duhamel  distinguishes  it  by 
its  entirely  destroying  the  germ 
and  substance  of  the  grain  ;  by  its 
affecting  not  only  the  ear,  but  the 
whole  plant,  and  extending  itself 
most  commonly  to  all  the  ears 
which  arise  from  the  same  root. 
He  says  he  has  found  it  as  early  as 


Hi  April,  by  opening  a  plant,  and 
taking  out  a  young  ear,  not  more 
than  the  sixth  of  an  inch  long  ;  that 
a  distempered  ear,  when  it  conies 
out  ot  its  hose,  looks  lank  and 
meagre,  and  that  the  black  powder 
may  be  seen  through  the  thin  coat 
of  the  grain  ;  that  the  powder  has 
a  fetid  smell,  and  no  consistency  ; 
that  it  is  easily  blown  away  by  wind, 
or  washed  away  by  rain  ;  and  that 
he  has  never  found  it  to  be  conta- 
gious, like  the  powder  of  burnt 
grain. 

M.  Tillet  observed  that  the  up- 
per part  of  the  stalk  of  a  smutty 
plant  is  not  commonly  straight, 
from  about  half  an  inch  below  the 
ear  ;  and  that  in  that  part  it  is  stiff 
and  hard,  and  is  almost  entirely 
filled  with  pith,  very  different  from 
the  stems  of  healthy  plants;  whence 
he  concludes,  that  the  ascent  of 
the  sap  is  obstructed  in  the  stems 
of  smutty  plants. 

The  real  cause  ©f  smut  has  es- 
caped the  researches  of  many  phi- 
losophers. M.  Duhamel  justly  ob- 
serves, that  it  cannot  be  a  want  of 
fecundation,  as  it  destroys  both  the 
male  and  female  organs,  long  be- 
fore the  time  of  fecundation. 

He  confutes  the  conjectures  of 
its  being  caused  by  wet  upon  the 
ears,  or  the  violent  heat  of  the  sun, 
by  observing  that  the  ears  are 
smutty  before  they  cease  to  be  co- 
vered by  the  blades.  And  if  it 
were  owing  to  the  moisture  of  the 
earth,  he  observes,  that  there  would 
be  more  smutty  plants  in  the  low 
and  wet,  than  in  the  high  and  dry 
parts  of  a  field,  which  is  not  fact. 

He  adds,  that  he  never  could 
make  it  appear  that  the  distemper 


SMU 


SMU 


393 


is  caused  by  insects,  though  he  had 
been  of  that  opinion  ;  and  tl.at  Dr. 
Hales  has  proved  by  experiment 
that  it  cannot  proceed  hon^  the 
seeds  being  bruised  by  the  flail,  by 
bruising  a  number  of  grains  with  a 
hammer,  whicli  grew  well  after- 
wards, and  bore  sound  ears.  The 
same  excellent  reasoner  refutes 
the  opinion  of  those,  who  impute 
smut  to  dung  of  sheep  or  pigeons. 

M.  Aimen,  M.D.  has  very  ju- 
diciously observed,  "that  the  smut 
of  corn  cannot  derive  its  origin 
from  a  defect  in  the  sap,  as  all  the 
parts  of  the  plant,  except  the  ear, 
look  healthy,  and  there  are  plants 
whose  roots  are  perennial,  which 
appear  vigorous,  though  their  seeds 
are  smutty  every  year.  He  is  of 
opinion,  that  whatever  weakens 
the  plant,  is  apt  to  bring  on  the 
smut,  and  instances,  as  a  proof  of 
this,  that  it  is  a  frequent  custom  in 
his  country,  to  cut  rye,  as  soon  as 
it  spindles,  for  food  for  their  cat- 
tle ;  and  that  this  rye  generally 
produces  other  ears,  which  seldom 
contain  any  but  distempered  grain  : 
To  which  he  adds,  that  seed  corn 
which  has  been  pricked,  or  run 
through  with  a  needle  ;  or  which 
is  not  thoroughly  ripe,  and  that 
which  produces  lateral  or  second 
ears,  is  subject  to  the  smut." 

He  holds  "that  the  distemper 
proceeds  from  an  ulcer  which  at- 
tacks first  the  parts  which  sustain 
the  seeds,  and  afterwards  spreads 
to  the  rest  of  the  flower.  But 
some  will  say,  what  is  the  primary 
cause  of  that  ulcer?  In  order  to 
discover  it,  M.  Aimen  examined 
several  grains  of  barley  with  a  mi- 
croscope:  Some  of  them  were  big- 


ger  than  others  :  Some  were  very 
hard  ;  and  others  yielded  to  the 
pressure  of  his  nail  :  Some  were  of 
a  deeper,  and  others  of  a  lighter 
colour ;  some  longer  and  others 
rounder,  than  they  ought  to  have 
been  :  Their  rind  was  somewhat 
wrinkled  in  several  places,  where- 
as in  its  natural  state  it  is  smooth  : 
And  lastly,  he  perceived  upon  some 
of  them  black  spots,  which,  when 
examined  with  a  magnifying  glass, 
appeared  to  be  covered  with  mould. 
These  grains  were  separated  care- 
fully, according  to  their  several 
conditions,  and  sown  apart,  though 
in  the  same  ground.  Jill  the  moul- 
dy grains  produced  smutty  ears  ; 
the  shrivelled  and  parched,  and 
those  that  were  attacked  by  in- 
sects, either  did  not  grow  at  all,  or 
did  not  produce  any  sn)ut. 

"  He  then  singled  out  a  parcel 
of  sound  grains,  sowed  them,  and 
some  time  after  took  them  up,  in 
order  to  examine  them  again  with 
a  magnifying  glass.  He  found  some 
of  them  mouldy,  replanted  them 
all,  and  observed  that  the  mouldy 
grains  produced  smutty  ears. 

"  M.  Aimen,  without  pretending 
that  this  is  the  only  cause  of  the 
smut  of  corn,  concludes,  from  these 
experiments,  that  mouldiness  is  a 
cause  of  this  distemper." 

That  this  philosopher  has  hit 
upon  the  true  cause  of  smut,  seems 
rather  probable,  when  it  is  consi- 
dered that  mould  is  a  kind  of  mi- 
nute moss,  and  that  the  things 
which  most  effectually  kill  moss 
upon  land,  such  as  lime,  &c.  have 
hitherto  proved  the  best  antidotes 
to  this  distemper. 

The  methods  of  preventing  it, 


394 


SM  L 


SMU 


recommended  by  different  writers, 
are  various. 

The  last  mentioned  writer  thinks, 
"  that  the  best  and  ripest  corn 
should  be  chosen  for  seed,  threshed 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  limed  im- 
mediately after  ;  as  well  to  keep  it 
from  growing  mouldy,  as  to  destroy 
the  mould  already  formed,  if  there 
be  any  :  Adding,  that  every  me- 
thod he  has  tried  to  make  corn  so 
prepared  grow  mouldy,  has  been 
ineffectual,  and  that  he  has  never 
known  it  produce  smutty  ears." 

"As  weak  plants  are  found  to 
be  most  subject  to  smut,  he  also  re- 
commends good  tillage,  as  a  sure 
means  of  giving  them  strength  and 
vigour.  And  he  observes,  that  the 
lies  made  use  of,  preserve  the 
plants  from  mouldiness,  and  of  all 
of  them  lime  seems  to  him  to  be 
the  most  effectual." 

Though  liming  at  the  time  of 
Sowing,  as  is  the  practice  in  this 
country,  does  not  always  prevent 
smut,  I  would  recommend  it  to  far- 
mers, to  do  it  in  the  method  that 
M.  Aimen  mentions  as  successful. 
The  lime  will  probably  have  a 
greater  eflfect,  when  used  so  early, 
than  when  the  mouldiness  on  the 
kernels  is  become  older  and  more 
deeply  rooted.  The  subject  1  am 
upon,  is  of  so  great  consequence  to 
the  farmer,  and  to  the  public,  that 
I  shall  make  no  apology  to  the 
reader,  for  proceeding  to  lay  be- 
fore him  the  opinions  of  other  wri- 
ters; although  1  shall  run  out  this 
article  to  what  some  readers  may 
call  a  tedious  length. 

M.  de  Lignerolle  says,  "  That 
the  surest  means  of  avoiding  smut, 
and  that   which  he  has  practised 


with  success  ever  since  the  year 
1739,  on  upwards  of  three  hundred 
acres  of  land,  is,  to  change  the  seed 
every  year,  to  be  very  careful  that 
the  seed  corn  be  well  dried,  and 
thoroughly  ripe,  and  that  it  be  not 
smutty,  nor  have  any  smutty  pow- 
der sticking  to  it.  He  then  pours 
boiling  water  on  quick  lime,  in  a 
large  tub;  and  after  the  ebullition 
is  over,  as  much  cold  water  as  there 
was  hot,  and  stirs  it  all  strongly  to- 
gether, in  order  to  dissolve  and  tho- 
roughly mix  the  lime.  The  quantity 
of  wheat  intended  to  be  sowed,  is 
sprinkled  with  this  ley,  and  then 
well  stirred  with  a  shovel,  and  laid 
in  as  high  a  heap  as  possible.  It 
is  best  to  keep  the  grain  for  a  week 
after  this  preparation,  turning  it 
every  day  ;  for  otherwise  it  would 
heat  so  as  to  destroy  the  germ. 
By  these  means  he  has  not  had  any 
smut,  when  the  fields  around  him 
have  been  infected  with  that  dis- 
temper." 

"  M.  Donat,  near  Rochelle, 
thinking  the  ingredients  commonly 
employed  in  the  steeps  too  dear 
for  the  use  of  farmers,  studied  for 
some  years  to  find  out  something 
cheaper,  easy  to  be  had  every 
where,  and  therefore  better  calcu- 
lated to  be  of  general  use.  I  have 
had  the  good  fortune,  says  he,  in  a 
letter  to  M.  Duhamel,  to  accom- 
plish what  I  wished  ;  for  I  now  use 
only  pigeons'  dung,  quick  lime, 
ashes,  and  sea  salt,  where  this  last 
can  be  conveniently  had.  I  have 
sometimes  made  with  these  iogre- 
dients,  steeped  in  water,  so  strong 
a  liquor,  that  it  has  even  destroyed 
the  g»rm  of  the  grain.  But  there 
will  be  no  danger  of  that,  if  care 


SMU 


SMU 


3&5 


is  taken  to  observe  the  lollowing 
directions,  which  are  tiie  result  of 
seven  years'  successful  expciiencc, 
even  at  times  when  farmers  wlio 
have  neglected  to  follow  my  exam- 
ple, have  had  such  wretched  crops, 
as  have  not  paid  the  charge  of 
reaping. 

"  Fake  quicklime  and  pigeons' 
dung,  of  each  twenty  tive  pounds, 
forty  pounds  of  wood  ashes,  and 
twenty  tive  pounds  of  sea  salt,  or 
salt-petre.  Put  all  these  into  a 
tub,  lar^ie  enough  to  hold  half  a 
hogshead  of  common  water  added 
to  them.  Stir  them  ail  well  with 
a  stick,  till  the  lime  is  quite  dis- 
solved. This  ley  will  keep  some 
time  without  spoiling.  It  jnust  be 
stirred  again  just  before  the  corn  is 
steeped  in  it.  The  grain  is  then 
put  into  a  basket,  and  plunged  in 
the  lie,  where  it  remains  till  it  has 
thoroughly  imbibed  it ;  after  which 
it  is  taken  out,  and  laid  in  a  heap, 
till  it  is  quite  drained  of  all  its  mois- 
ture :  Or,  which  is  a  still  better 
way,  take  a  mashing  tub,  till  it  with 
grain  to  within  four  inches  of  the 
brim,  and  then  pour  in  the  ley  well 
stirred  beforehand.  When  the  tub 
is  full,  let  the  ley  run  out  at  the 
bottom,  into  some  other  vessel,  in 
order  to  use  it  again  for  more  corn. 
It  is  said,  however,  tliat  a  frequent 
change  of  the  liquor,  in  which  dif- 
ferent parcels  of  wheat  are  stock- 
ed, is  advisable.  See  close  of  this 
article.  Let  the  grain  be  then 
taken  out,  and  laid  in  a  heap  to 
drain  ;  and  continue  in  this  manner 
to  steep  all  your  seed  corn.  The 
wheat  thus  prepared,  may  be  sow- 
ed the  next  day,  and  must  not  be 
kept  above  five  or  six  days,  for  fear 


of  its  heating.  Tliis  I  say  from  ex- 
perience. The  quantity  of  ley 
above  prescribed,  will  serve  to 
prepare  more  thaji  twenty  bushels 
of  wheat." 

Mr.  Tull  observes,  "  that  brin- 
ing and  changing  the  seed  are  the 
general  remedies  for  smut.  The 
former  of  these  he  had  heard,  was 
discovered  about  seventy  years  be- 
fore he  wrote,  by  sowing  some 
wlieat  which  had  been  sunk  in  the 
sf  a,  and  which  produced  clean  corn, 
when  it  was  a  remarkable  year  for 
smut  all  over  England  :  But  he  af- 
terwards doubts  whether  this  might 
not  happen  by  its  being  foreign 
seed,  and  tlierefore  a  proper  chatige 
for  our  soil.  He  teils  us,  that  two 
farmers,  whose  lands  lay  intermix- 
ed, used  seed  of  the  same  growth, 
from  a  good  change  of  land,  and 
that  the  one  who  brined  his  seed 
had  not  any  smut,  whilst  the  other, 
who  neglected  that  precautioti,  had 
a  very  smutty  crop.  But  again  he 
doubts  whether  this  seed  might  not 
have  been  changed  the  year  be- 
fore, and  so  might  not  be  greatly 
infected  :^  Or  at  least  not  more 
than  the  brine  and  lime  might  cure. 
He  adds,  that  smutty  seed  wheat, 
though  brined,  will  produce  a 
smutty  crop,  unless  the  year  prove 
very  favourable  ;  for  that  favoura- 
ble years  will  cure  smut,  as  uiikind 
ones  will  cause  it :  But,  above  all, 
he  assures  us  that  the  drill  husban- 
dry is  the  most  eflfectual  cure." 

A  writer  in  the  Museum  Rusti<- 
cum,  says,  "  having  observed  a- 
mongst  wheat  while  green,  though 
shot  up  into  spindle,  several  black, 
blighted  ears,  I  examined  them, 
and  found  these  were  ears  in  which, 


3% 


SM  U 


SIVI  u 


by  some  accident,  the  intention  of 
nature  was  prevented.  I  ?u[)pose, 
by  beinji;  detained  too  long  in  the 
hose,  and  by  the  natural  humidity 
of  the  plant,  a  fermentation  was 
promoted  in  its  ear,  destroying  the 
small  vessels  through  which  the 
corns  were  to  receive  nourish- 
ment; by  which  means  their  con- 
tents became  black,  dry,  and  dusty. 
These  ears  growing  up  with  the 
others,  imbibe  moisture  sufficient 
to  cause  the  dusty  particles  in  the 
grains  in  them  to  expand,  and  burst 
the  fine  skin  which  contained 
them  :  Being  thus  set  at  liberty, 
the  air,  if  it  happen  to  be  a  dry 
season,  dries  them  again  ;  by  which 
mearis  they  become  light  enough 
to  float  therein,  when  separated 
from  the  skin  which  held  them. 
If  this  happens  when  the  wheat  is 
in  the  blossom,  which  it  often  does, 
part  of  the  dust  enters  the  stigma 
of  healthy  corns,  and  thereby  in- 
fects them  :  The  pulp  in  those  be- 
coming black,  a  fermentation  is 
raised  therein,  which  destroys  the 
life  of  the  grain  thus  impregnated. 
Hence  the  disagreeable  smell  is 
acquired  peculiar  to  this  disease 
(the  smeil  in  a  grain  of  snuit  being 
the  same  as  in  a  black  blighted 
ear.") 

By  the  black  blight,  this  author 
seems  to  mean  the  same  as  burnt 
grain,  burnt  ear,  or  ustilago,  in 
which  distemper  the  kernels  do  not 
burst,  but  are  converted  to  a  dry 
black  powder.  If  his  hypothesis 
be  just,  as  it  is  certainly  plausible, 
it  will  follow,  that  there  is  no  more 
difference  between  smutty  and 
burnt  grain,  than  between  a  closed 
and  an  open  kernel  of  wheat :  And 


that  they  are  in  fact  the  very  same 
distemper,  as  indeed  many  writers 
have  considered  them,  making  no 
distinction.  The  antidotes  for  the 
one,  are  certainly  proper  for  the 
other.  For  experience  has  shown 
in  many  instances  that  what  pre- 
vents the  one  prevents  the  other. 

The  remedy  this  writer  pre- 
scribes, appears  to  be  a  probable 
one.  "  When  the  corn  is  shot  into 
spindle,  and  the  ears  begin  to  ap- 
pear, let  some  persons  go  along 
each  furrow  in  the  field,  and  care- 
fully break  ofFall  ears  of  the  black 
kind  ;  and  when  broken  off,  put 
them  into  a  bag,  and  carry  them 
away.  As  it  is  possible  there  may 
be  some  of  these  diseased  ears 
which  are  not  bursten,  and  there- 
fore may  escape  being  gathered, 
these  may  be  known  by  the  stalk 
at  the  neck  being  crooked  back- 
ward and  forward  five  or  six  betjds, 
and  the  hose  nearer  to  the  head  of 
such,  than  in  the  ears  which  are 
good." 

Another  writer  in  the  Museum 
Rusticum,  says,  "  1  have  for  many 
years  past  escaped  having  smutty 
crops,  by  a  proper  care  of  the  seed 
wheat  before  it  is  put  into  the 
ground  ;  and  the  method  1  pursue, 
though  efficacious,  is  in  itself  sim- 
ple and  cheap.  1  take  four  bush- 
els of  pigeons'  dung,  which  1  put 
into  a  large  tub  :  On  this  I  pour  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  boiling  water, 
and  mixing  them  well  together,  let 
them  stand  six  hours,  until  a  kind 
of  a  strong  ley  is  made,  which,  at 
the  end  of  that  time,  the  grosser 
parts  being  subsided,  I  cause  to  be 
carefiilly  drained  off,  and  put  into 
a  large  keeve,  or  tub,   for  use. 


SM  U 


SMU 


39? 


This  quantity  is  sufficient  for  eighty 
bushels  of  seed  wheat." 

"  My  next  care  is  to  shoot  into 
this  steep  a  manageable  quantity 
of  my  seed,  which  is  immediately 
to  be  violently  agitated,  with  either 
birchen  brooms,  or  the  rudders 
(hat  are  made  use  of  in  stirring  the 
malt  in  the  marsh  tub,  in  a  brewing 
office.  As  the  light  grains  rise, 
they  must  he  diligently  skimmed 
otf ;  and  after  the  seed  has  been 
agitated  in  this  manner,  for  the 
space  of  perhaps  half  an  hour,  it 
may  be  taken  out  of  the  steep,  and 
sown  out  of  hand  with  great  safety  : 
And  I  can  venture  to  say,  that  if 
the  land  is  in  good  heart,  and  has 
been  properly  tilled,  it  will  not, 
when  sown  with  these  precautions, 
produce  a  smutty  crop." 

Another  gentleman,  who  signs 
himself  4  Norfolk  Farmer,  "  de- 
clares, he  has  observed,  that  if  the 
seed  was  only  well  washed,  it  ne- 
ver failed  :  That  he  washed  some 
seed  which  he  knew  to  be  smutty, 
in  a  large  tub,  tilled  with  plain, 
simple  water,  stirring  it  violently 
with  birchen  brooms,  taking  care 
from  time  to  time  to  skim  oflf  the 
light.  This  answered  very  well, 
and  he  has  ever  since  continued  the 
practice."  The  same  practice  of 
washing  the  seed,  is  recommended 
by  Mons.  de  Gonfreville,  of  Nor- 
mandy, in  the  Foreign  Essays  on 
JlgricuUure.* 

It  appears  very  probable,  that 
washing  the  seed  very  clean  in  se- 
veral waters,  may  be  the  best  me- 

*  There  is  very  little  doubt  that  washing 
IS  the  most  effectual  part  of  all  the  above  re- 
cipes. Salt  dissolved  in  water  is  as  good  as 
any  complex  preparatioji. 


thod  of  preventing  both  smutty 
and  burnt  ears.  The  bursting  of 
smutty  ears  in  a  field  at  the  time 
of  blossoming,  may  infect  the  grains 
in  the  sound  ears ;  and,  may 
produce  a  mouldiness,  which,  if 
not  taken  otf,  may  cause  the  next 
crop  to  be  diminished  and  corrupt- 
ed by  one  or  both  of  these  black 
distempers. 

But  a  Mr.  Powell,  in  England, 
writes  to  the  compilers  of  the  Com- 
plete Furme)\  that,  in  addition  to 
the  usual  brining  and  liming  of 
seed  wheat,  if  one  pound  and  a  half 
of  red  lead  were  sifted  through  a 
cullender  upon  one  bushel,  stirring 
the  corn  with  a  shovel,  so  that 
every  grain  may  have  a  spot  or 
two  of  the  lead  adhering  to  it,  it 
will  effectually  prevent  smut :  And 
that  fowls  will  not  lie  upon  it.  He 
is  confident,  that  even  smutty  seed, 
so  prepared,  will  produce  a  sound 
crop. 

A  Mr.  Marshall,  a  late  British 
writer  on  agriculture,  says  he  was 
informed  by  a  Yorkshire  farmer, 
that  he  had  made  use  of  a  solution 
of  arsenic  as  a  preventive  of  smut, 
and  for  twenty  years  it  had  prov- 
ed effectual.  The  preparation  is 
made  by  pounding  the  arsenic  very 
fine,  boiling  it  in  water,  and  drench- 
ing the  seed  with  the  decoction. 
The  method  is  to  boil  one  ounce 
in  a  gallon  of  water,  from  one  to 
two  hdurs.  Then  add  as  much 
water  or  urine  as  will  increase  the 
liquor  to  two  gallons.  This  will 
answer  for  two  bushels  of  wheat. 
It  may  be  sowed  without  drying, 
or  coating  with  lime.  If  this  will 
prove  an  effectual  antidote  against 
smut,  it  may  be  further  said  in  re= 


SM  U 


SMU 


commendation  of  it,  that  it  will 
equally  secure  the  seed  against 
birds,  and  against  every  kind  of  in- 
sects. Nor  need  any  one  he  ap- 
prehensive that  a  poisonous  taint 
will  be  communicated  to  the  crop. 
The  following  observations  are 
principally  abridged  from  the 
"Code  of  Agriculture"  Steep- 
ing and  washing  seed  wheat,  as  a 
remedy  for  smut,  is  an  excellent 
practice.  When  the  wheat  seed 
is  fir^t  put  into  any  liquid,  to  run 
it  very  gently  through  a  riddle, 
when  not  only  the  smut  balls,  but 
the  imperfect  grains,  and  the  seeds 
of  weeds  will  float,  and  may  be 
skimmed  off  at  pleasure,  which  is 
not  the  case  when  the  seed  is  put 
hastily  into  the  water.  Pure  cold 
water  and  lime  may  be  effectual, 
provided  the  seed  be  washed  in 
several  waters,  repeatedly  chang- 
ed, until  it  be  perfectly  clean,  and 
then  dried  by  quicklime,  slacked 
either  with  sea  or  with  boiling 
water.  He  recommends  salt  water 
as  being  more  effectual  than  even 
boiling  water  and  lime.  The  wa- 
ter should  be  so  impregnated  with 
salt  that  an  egg  will  float  in  it,  or 
if  sea  water  with  such  a  quantity 
of  salt  dissolved  in  it,  as  to  be 
equally  strong,  by  which  its  spe- 
cific gravity  will  be  so  increased 
that  all  unsound  grains  will  swim 
in  the  pickle.  About  a  bushel  of 
wheat  at  a  time  is  put  into  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  this  pickle,  in 
which,  when  stirred,  all  the  light 
or  diseased  grains  will  rise  to  the 
top,  and  may  be  skimmed  off. 
The  seed  wheat  is  then  separated 
from  the  pickle,  spread  upon  the 
floor,  and  a  sufHcient  quantity  of 


new  slacked  lime  to  dry  the  whole 
sifted  upon  it. 

The  following  receipt  is  likewise 
from  the  same  author.  Dissolve 
three  ounces  of  blue  vitriol  in  three 
English  gallons  of  water,  (wine 
measure)  for  every  three  bushels 
of  grain  to  be  prepared.  Let  the 
liquid  be  put  into  a  vessel  capable 
of  holding  from  sixty  to  eighty  gal- 
lons, in  such  a  quantity  that  when 
three  or  four  Winchester  bushels 
of  wheat  shall  be  poured  into  the 
prepared  liquor,  it  will  rise  five  or 
six  inches  above  the  corn.  The 
grain  should  be  frequently  stirred, 
and  all  that  swims  above  the  sur- 
face carefully  removed.  After  the 
wheat  has  remained  half  an  hour 
in  the  preparation,  it  should  be 
taken  out  of  the  vessel  and  thrown 
into  a  basket,  which  shall  allow  the 
water,  but  not  the  grain,  to  escape. 
It  should  then  be  immediately 
washed  in  rain,  or  pure  water, 
which  prevents  any  risk  of  injuring 
the  grain.  The  seed  ought  after- 
wards to  be  dried,  either  with  or 
without  lime,  before  it  is  sown. 
It  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the 
grain  should  not  be  put  into  the 
prepared  liquor,  unless  it  has 
been  well  dressed,  and  is  thorough- 
ly dry.  It  may  be  kept  without 
injury. 

The  following  miscellaneous  par- 
ticulars respecting  smut,  and  the 
means  of  preventing  it,  merit  at- 
tention. 

1.  The  same  water  should  ne- 
ver be  used  but  once  in  washing 
wheat;  even  when  brine  is  em- 
ployed, it  is  safest  to  have  fresh 
liquor  to  each  parcel.  2.  Lime 
is  not  only  of  service  to  dry  the 


SNE 


SNO 


399 


seed,  but  by  its  caustic  and  anti- 
septic qualities,  it  tends  to  destroy 
putridity  and  animalculas  of  every 
description.  3.  If  smutty  grain  is 
not  threshed  till  the  June  or  July 
succeeding  the  year  it  was  reaped, 
the  dust,  it  is  said,  will  become  too 
volatile  to  attach  itself  to  the  grain 
when  threshed  to  occasion  smut, 
which  by  age  looses  the  power  of 
reproduction.  4.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  violence  of  threshing  mills, 
they  do  not  bruise  the  smut  balls 
so  much  as  the  flail.  5.  Great 
care  must  be  taken,  not  to  thresh 
wheat  on  a  floor  where  smutty 
wheat  hasbeen  threshed,  nor  tocon- 
vey  the  seed  in  a  sack  in  which  smut- 
ty wheat  had  been  formerly  put. 

On  the  subject  of  steeping  it 
may  be  proper  to  add,  that  it  would 
be  well  to  extend  that  operation 
to  other  grains  besides  wheat. 
Every  sort  of  seed  should  be  steep- 
ed enough  to  promote  a  quick 
vegetation,  and  to  secure  a  more 
uniform  growth,  which  would  great- 
ly improve  both  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  grain  ;  and  if  the 
seed  of  barley  and  oats,  as  well  as 
of  wheat  were  clothed  with  saline 
and  caustic  particles,  it  would  ei- 
ther preserve  it  entirely  from  the 
attacks  of  vermin,  or  destroy  such 
as  may  venture  to  eat  of  it. — See 
an  "  Essay  on  Smut  in  fF/jeaJ," 
Mass.  Agr.  Rep.,  Vol.  V.  p.  134. 

SNEAD,  or  SNATHE,  the  staff, 
or  handle  of  a  sithe.  The  right 
timber  for  sneads,  is  white  ash 
that  grows  on  upland,  it  being  light 
and  stiff,  which  are  two  ver^  ne- 
cessary qualities :  For  if  a  snead 
be  heavy,  it  will  help  to  tire  the 
mower :  and  if  it  be  limber  and 


easy  to  bend,  it  will  cause  the  sithe 
to  tremble,  which  will  hinder,  in 
some  degree,  its  cutting  ;  and  ren- 
der the  labour  of  the  mower  more 
difficult  and  fatiguing.  It  must  be 
naturally  of  the  right  crook,  and  not 
cut  across  the  grain  of  the  wood. 

SNOW,  a  congealed  vapour  that 
falls  in  little  fleeces  to  the  earth. 

Snow  lies  upon  the  ground  com- 
monly, in  this  country,  n\  the.  win- 
ter months,  and  in  March.  Snows 
sometimes  fall  in  November  and 
in  April ;  but  they  soon  melt,  and 
do  not  remain  on  the  ground  unless 
it  be  in  the  thick  woods.  In  sonjc 
pai-ts  of  the  wilderness,  it  is  not  all 
thawed  till  July;  as  on  the  north- 
ern sides  of  high  mountains,  where 
the  trees  form  a  deep  shade. 

Snow  is  beneficial  to  the  ground 
in  winter,  as  it  prevents  its  freez- 
ing so  solid,  or  to  so  great  a  depth 
as  it  otherwise  would.  It  guards 
the  winter  grain  and  other  vegeta- 
bles, in  a  considerable  degree,  frona 
the  violence  of  sudden  frosts,  and 
from  piercing  and  drying  winds. 

The  later  snow  lies  on  the  ground 
in  spring,  the  more  advantage  do 
grasses  and  other  plants  receive 
from  it.  Where  a  bank  of  snow  has 
lain  very  late,  the  grass  will  sprout, 
and  look  green  earlier,  than  in 
parts  of  the  same  field  which  were 
sooner  bare. 

A  small  snow,  that  falls  level^ 
pretty  late  in  the  spring,  is  better 
for  the  soil  than  rain.  As  it  thaws 
gradually,  it  does  not  run  off,  but 
soaks  directly  into  the  ground, 
moistening  every  part  equally,  fos- 
tering the  roots  of  grass,  and  other 
vegetables.  And  till  it  is  thawed, 
the  growing    plants   are  guarded 


400 


SOI 


SOI 


against  the  attacks   of  frosts  and 
winds.     If  a  snow  happen  to  fall 
after  spring  grain  is  sown,  it  does 
not  injure  it  at  all,  but  rather  as 
sists  its  vegetating. 

In  the  northern  parts  of  New- 
England,  the  ground  in  some  years 
is  covered  with  snow  for  four 
months,  even  in  the  cultivated 
fields.  This  is  not  regretted  by 
the  iohabitants,  as  they  find  it  is  a 
great  advantage  for  drawing  masts, 
logs,  lumber,  and  wood,  upon  sleds, 
which  is  much  easier  than  carting 
them.  The  roads  are  also  far  bet- 
ter, when  the  ruts  and  sloughs  are 
filled,  and  every  part  paved  with 
ice,  or  condensed  snow.  The  win- 
ters, tedious  as  they  are,  seem  too 
short  for  the  teamsters  to  finish 
their  winter  business. 

Meat  that  is  killed  in  December, 
may  be  kept  tolerably,  if  buried 
in  snow,  until  spring.  This  is  an 
excellent  method  of  preserving 
fresh  and  good  the  carcasses  of 
turkies  and  other  fowls. 

Set  an  open  cask  in  a  cold  place  ; 
put  snow  and  pieces  of  meat  al- 
ternately :  Let  not  the  pieces 
touch  each  other,  nor  the  sides  of 
the  cask.  The  meat  will  neither 
freeze,  grow  dry,  nor  be  discolour- 
ed ;  but  be  good  at  the  last  of  March. 
The  surfaces  of  the  pieces  should 
be  a  little  frozen,  before  they  are 
put  into  the  snow,  that  the  juice  of 
the  meat  may  not  dissolve  the  snow. 
The  cask  should  be  placed  in  the 
coldest  part  of  the  house  ;  or  in  an 
out-house. 

SOIL,  that  part  of  the  earth 
which  lies  upon  the  hard  under 
stratum,  over  which  there  is  com- 
monlv  a  cover  of  rich  moujd,  which 


forms  the  surface,  unless  destroyed 
t>y  severe  burning,  or  washed  off 
by  violent  rains,  or  blown  away  by 
driving  winds. 

The  original  or  unmixed  soils,  in 
this  country,  are  but  few.  Clay, 
loam,  sand,  gravel,  and  till,  or  moor 
earth,  are  perhaps  all  that  ought 
to  be  reckoned  as  fit  for  cultiva- 
tion. But  they  are  commonly 
more  or  less  blended  together. 
In  places  where  they  are  unmixed, 
it  would  be  a  piece  of  excellent 
husbandry  to  mix  them,  especially 
where  they  are  contiguous,  apply- 
ing gravel  to  moor  earth,  and  moor 
earth  to  gravel ;  sand  to  clay,  and 
clay  to  sand.  And  sand  upon  loam 
would  be  an  improvement, 

A  chalky  soil  is  but  seldom  found 
in  this  country.  Marie  is  usually 
at  too  great  a  depth  to  come  under 
the  denomination  of  soil,  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  peat.  This 
last  cannot  easily  be  reduced  to 
a  condition  fit  for  tillage.  It  is  best 
to  destroy  it,  by  digging  it  wholly 
out  for  use,  or  by  draining  the 
land,  and  burning  the  ptat  on  the 
ground.  A  chalky  soil  should  have 
sand  and  hot  manures  applied  to  it. 

I  do  not  consider  a  stony  soil  as 
distinct  from  the  rest,  as  removing 
the  stones  would  bring  it  under 
some  other  denomination  And 
this  ought  to  be  done,  when  land 
is  to  be  used  in  tillage,  that  its  ope- 
rations may  be  facilitated. 

Soils  are  commonly  distinguish- 
ed into  shallow  and  deep,  the  lat« 
ter  of  which  is  preferred,  as  the 
under-stratum  comes  not  so  near 
to  the  surface,  but  that  the  ground 
may  be  stirred  to  a  great  depth ; 
and  as  it  is  fitted  for  the  growing 


SOi 


SOI 


401 


of  long   tap-rooted    plants,  trees, 
Sic. 

But  the  most  comnnon  dis- 
tinction of  soils  is  into  rich  and 
poor.  This  difference,  which  is 
certainly  verv  great,  is  not  perhaps 
natural.  Richness,  1  imagine,  is 
rather  to  be  considered  as  superin- 
duced. All  soils  have,  since  the 
creation,  received  large  quantities 
of  fertilizing  substances  which  were 
adapted  to  improve  them  ;  and  by 
which,  in  most  places,  they  have 
been  greatly  mended.  Not  only 
vegetable  substances  fallen  upon 
the  suiface,  and  changed  by  putre- 
faction, have  blended  their  salts 
and  oils  in  the  soil  :  But  the  soil 
has  beeti  drinking  in  vegetable  food 
by  the  dews  and  rains,  and  from 
the  air  itself,  which  is  loaded  with 
fertilizing  particles  But  some 
spots  have  retained  the  added  rich- 
ness better  than  others. 

As  to  land  which  has  been  long 
tilled,  and  often  plentifully  manur- 
ed, it  is  not  easy  always  to  dis- 
tinguish what  was  its  original  soil ; 
nor  how  rich  or  poor  it  was  in  its 
natural  state. 

It  docs  not  follow,  that  all  un- 
cultivated soils  ought  to  be  equal- 
ly rich,  by  means  of  the  general 
advantages  mentioned  above  ;  he- 
cause  some  soils  are  better  calcu- 
lated than  others  to  retain  the  food 
of  vegetables.  Some  are  destitute 
of  a  compact  under-stratum  ;  and 
it  is  no  matter  of  wonder  that  such 
should  appear  hungry. and  barren  ; 
for  whatever  richness  they  receive, 
is  either  washed  by  rains  into  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  or  evaporat- 
ed again.  Some  soils  are  too 
coarse,  or  too  porous,  to  be  a  pro- 
.51 


per  matrix  for  ferlilizing  substances. 
Some  are  too  steep  to  retain  them, 
so  that  they  are  washed  into  the 
hollows  below.  Some  are  so  wet 
as  to  sour  and  corrupt  them  ;  and 
in  some,  there  are  are  either  mine- 
ral waters,  or  steams  which  are  un- 
favourable to  vegetation. 

Jn  tillage,  the  surface  mould  and 
the  soil  beneath  are  mixed,  and 
the  more  so  the  better,  as  the  sur- 
face mould  is  made  up  as  it  were 
of  the  essences  of  vegetables. 

Soils,  by  some  writers  are  divid- 
ed into  Sand  ; — Gravel ; — Clay  ; — 

Chalk  ; — Peat   ; Alluvial ;    and 

Loam. 

1 .  Sand  consists  of  small  grains 
of  silex,  which  are  not  soluble  in 
acids.  If  it  has  no  mixture  it  can 
hardly  be  cultivated,  but  it  is  rarely 
found  without  a  mixture  of  other 
substances.  The  best  mode  of 
injproving  its  texture  is  by  a  mix- 
ture of  clay  marl,  sea  ooze,  sea 
shells,  peat,  or  vegetable  earth. 
See  Sandif  Soil. 

2.  Gravel.  Gravelly  soils  are 
composed  of  small  soft  stones, 
sometimes  of  flinty  ones  ;  but  they 
often  contain  granite  limestone  and 
other  rocky  substances.  They  are 
improved  by  deep  ploughing  ;  by 
mixing  them  with  coats  of  clay, 
chalk,  marl  or  peat,  &Co  See  Gra- 
vel. 

3.  Clay.  A  clay  soil  is  tenacious, 
smooth  and  unctuous,  and  often 
holds  water  like  a  dish.  Its  tex- 
ture is  improved  by  a  suitable  mix- 
ture of  common  sand,  sea  sand  and 
above  all,  of  limestone  gravel, 
where  it  can  be  obtained.  Peat 
moss  also,  that  has  for  some  time 
been  dug  up.  and  exposed  to   the 


402 


SOI 


so  f 


action  of  the  atmosphere,  is  useful, 
and  putrid  and  calcareous  manure 
is  necessar)-  in  the  course  of  its 
cultivation,  Dr.  Kirwan  asserts 
that  •'  the  hest  manure  for  clayey 
soils  is  marl,  or  a  mixture  of  marl 
an  i  dung."  See  Clay  and  Clay 
Soil. 

4.  Peat.  This  substance  is  of 
vegetable  origin,  chiefly  compos- 
ed of  various  sorts  of  aquatics,  im- 
mersed in  stagnant  water.  In  con- 
verting peat  into  earth  it  is  a  rule 
to  plough  and  dig  it  in  autumn,  that 
it  may  be  exposed  to  the  winter's 
frost.     See  Peat. 

5.  Chalk.  Chalky  soils,  as  before 
observed,  are  seldom  found  in  this 
CO  intry.  A  description  of  such 
soils  and  their  mode  of  cultiva- 
tion may  be  found  in  The  Code 
of  Agriculture,  under  the  head 
Soil. 

6.  Alluvial  Soils  are  of  two  sorts ; 
one  derived  from  the  sediment  of 
fresh,  and  the  other  of  salt  water. 
See  Marsh  and  Meadow. 

7.  Loam.  Loams  are  said  to  be 
the  most  valuable  of  all  soils.  They 
are  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  the 
convertible  husbandry,  for  they  can 
be  altered  not  only  without  injury, 
but  generally  with  benefit  from 
grass  to  tillage,  and  from  tillage  to 
grass.  They  should  not,  however, 
be  kept  in  tillage  too  long,  nor 
while  they  are  in  cultivation,  should 
two  white  crops  be  taken  in  suc- 
cession.    See  Loam. 

Soils  are  of  various  colours  ;  {he 
principal  are  white,  black  and  red. 

White  stiff  clays  are  heated  with 
difficulty,  and  retain  their  heat  on- 
ly for  a  short  time. 

A  black   soil,  containing  much 


vegetable    matter,    is    most  easily 
heated,  and  soonest  cooled. 

The  red  colour  in  eoils,  is  owing 
to  iron  in  various  combinations.  It 
is  favourable  or  adverse  toferfility, 
according  to  the  natureof  the  com- 
bination. 

There  are  various  modes  of  im- 
proving soils. 

"  Soils  with  acids,  or  salts  of 
iron,  may  be  amel4orated  by  the 
application  of  earthy  lime  or  chalk. 
The  sulphate  of  iron  is  thus  con- 
verted into  a  manure.  If  there  be 
an  excess  of  calcareous  matter  in 
the  soil,  it  may  be  improved  by  the 
application  of  sand,  or  clay,  or 
earthy  substances.  Soils  too  abun- 
dant in  sand,  are  benefited  by  the 
use  of  clay,  or  marl,  or  vegetable 
matter.  A  deficiency  of  vegetable 
or  animal  matter  must  be  supplied 
by  manure.-  An  excess  of  vegeta- 
ble matter  is  to  be  removed  by 
burning,  or  to  be  remedied  by  the 
application  of  earthy  materials. 
The  substances  necessary  for  im- 
proving soils  are  seldom  far  distant. 
Coarse  sand  is  often  found  im- 
mediately upon  chalk,  and  perhaps 
always  under  it,  while  beds  of  sand 
and  gravel  are  commonly  below 
clay,  and  clay  and  marl  general- 
ly below  sand."  Code  of  Agricul- 
ture. 

The  constituent  parts  of  soils, 
chemically  considered,  are  certain 
compounds  of  the  earths,  silica, 
lime,  alumina,  magnesia,  and  of  the 
oxides  of  iron  and  magnesium  ;  and 
animal  and  vegetable  matters  in  a 
decomposing  state,  and  saline,  acid 
or  alkaline  combinations.  For  a 
particular  description  of  these,  to- 
gether with  the  mode  of  analysing 


SOi 


SOI 


403 


soils  by  certain  chemical  substances 
or  reagents,  we  would  refer  our 
readers  to  Davy's  Agricultural 
Chemistry.  Lecture  iv. 

SOILING,  or  ASSOILING, 
feeding  animals  with  new  mown 
grass,  or  grass  not  dried,  in  racks, 
or  otherwise. 

This  is  commonly  practised  in 
some  countries,  where  they  put  it 
in  racks,  either  under  cover  or  in 
yards.  Thick  grass  will  ^o  much 
further  in  this  way,  than  if  the  cat- 
tle were  turned  in  upon  it  to  feed 
it  off;  as  they  would  destroy  and 
corrupt  more  by  half  with  their  feet 
and  excrements,  than  they  would 
eat.  But  when  it  is  given  them  in 
racks,  they  will  eat  it  up  clean, 
without  wasting  any  of  it.  An  acre 
of  rich  land,  used,  in  this  way,  will 
summer  a  number  of  cows.  By 
the  time  that  it  has  been  once  cut 
over  as  it  is  wanted,  the  first  part 
will  be  fit  to  cut  again.  And  the 
labour  of  doing  it  is  not  to  be  reck- 
oned as  any  thing,  as  the  trouble 
of  driving  the  cows  to  pasture  will 
be  saved.  This  will  be  more  than 
a  balance  for  the  labour  of  soiling, 
if  cattle  must  be  otherwise  driven 
to  any  considerable  distance.  And 
it  greatly  recommends  this  prac- 
tice, that  a  prodigious  quantity  of 
manure  may  be  collected  by  it, 
which  otherwise  would  be  little 
better  than  lost,  the  dung  being 
scattered  in  pastures,  where  it  eva- 
porates in  the  air. 

In  feeding  cattle  with  green 
food  there  are  many  advantages  in 
soiling,  or  supplying  them  with 
food,  where  their  manure  is  pre- 
served out  of  the  field  ;  the  plants 
are  less  iniured  when    cut.    than 


when  torn  or  jagged  with  the  teeth 
of  the  cattle,  and  no  seed  is  wasted 
by  being  trod  down.  1  hey  are 
likewise  obliged  to  feed  without 
making  selection  ;  and  in  conse- 
quence the  whole  food  is  consum- 
ed ;  thp  attachment  or  dislike  to  a 
particular  kind  of  food  exhibited 
by  animals,  offers  no  proof  of  its 
nutritive  powers.  Cattle  at  first 
refuse  linseed  cake,  one  of  the  most 
nutritive  substances  on  which  they 
can  be  fed.  Elements  of  Agricul- 
tural Chemistry. 

A  rommutiication  by  the  Hon. 
Josiah  Quincy  to  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  Journal,  publish- 
ed in  Vol.  VI.  No  II.  of  that  work 
states  that  "  There  are  six  distinct 
advantages,  which  those,  who  ad- 
vocate soiling,  propose  to  them- 
selves by  the  practice,  and  on  which 
they  establish  the  preference  of 
this  mode  to  the  common  one  of 
pasturing  cattle  during  the  sum- 
mer. 

"  1st.  The  saving  of  land.  2d. 
The  saving  of  fencing.  3d.  The 
economising  of  food.  4th.  The 
belter  condition  and  greater  com- 
fort of  the  cattle.  5th.  The  great- 
er product  of  milk.  6th.  The  at- 
tainment of  manure. 

"  The  only  offset  to  all  these  ad- 
vantages is  the  labour  of  raising 
and  cutting  the  food,  and  feeding 
and  taking  care  of  the  stock."  Ac- 
cording to  European  writers  the 
saving  of  land  differs,  according  to 
its  management,  from  one  to  three, 
to  one  to  seven.'^^  That  is,  one 
acre  kept  for  soiling  will  go  as  far 
as  three  or  seven  kept  for  pasture, 
in  the  support  of  stock.^^  The  rea- 
son of  this  diversity  of  statement. 


404 


SOI 


so 


in  relation  to  the  d(  gree  of  gavinsf. 
among    European    writer?,  results 
from  the  different  ways,   in   which 
the  land,  used  for  soiling  is  cultivat 
ed. 

With  regard  to  saving  offevchtg, 
Mr.  Quincy  observes  (hat  •■'  the 
general  rffect  of  soiling  cattle  is  to 
render  all  interior  fencing  absolute 
ly  useless  ;  excepting  those,  wliii  ji 
surround  the  buildings,  and  lead 
from  these  to  the  liighway. 

As  respects  economy  of  food, 
Mr.  Q'lincy  states  that  •'  There  are 
six  ways  by  which  beasts  destroy 
the  article  destined  for  their  food." 
1.  By  eating.  2.  By  walking.  3. 
B\  dunging.  4.  By  staling.  5. 
Py  lying  down.  6.  By  breathing 
on  it.  Of  these  six  t»;e  first  only 
is  useful.  All  the  others  are  waste- 
ful." 

''  In  pastures,  whatever  is  trod- 
den upon  or  aifected  by  the  dinig 
of  cattle,  or  their  urine,  is  laid  up- 
on, or  even  long  breathed  upon  is 
lost.  And  this  waste  is  always  in 
proportion  to  the  richness  and  (he 
productive  power  of  (he  pasture  ; 
for  just  in  that  proportion  is  the 
quantities  of  food  injured  by  all 
the  five  modes  of  destruction  above 
stated.  Whereas  the  same  being 
cut  and  delivered  to  them  sparing- 
ly in  point  of  time,  bu(  sufficiently 
in  point  of  quantity,  will  every  par 
tide  of  it  be  consumed.  Besides 
it  is  found  by  experience,  that,  this 
mode  of  feeding,  beasts  will  cat 
many  products  of  the  earth,  in  the 
stall,  which  they  will  absolutely  re- 
ject in  the  pasture." 

fn  speaking  of"  The  belter  con- 
dition and  greater  comfort  of  the 
icailk^''^  Mr.  Quincy  observes  "  The 


want  of  sufficient  exercise,  which  is 
inseparah'p  from  this  rr-ode  of  feed- 
ing in  stalls,  is  a  popular,  and  when 
not  tested  by  fa<  t,  is  deemtd  an  ^ 
unanswerable  objection.  Yet  all 
those  who  have  made  the  experi- 
ment, and  whose  opinions  1  have 
seen  expressed  npoii  the  subj<'Ct 
are  unanimous  in  declarin<i[  that  no 
ill  effect  results  from  this  circum- 
stance. One  writer  asserts  that  he 
has  kept  a  large  herd  several  vf^are 
in  this  way.  and  during  thf  whole 
time  "  he  never  had  an  animal  es- 
sentially pick,  had  never  one  die, 
and  never  had  one  miscarry." 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  stall 
feedins:  of  cattle,  does  not  imply 
keeping  cattle  in  stalls,  or  in  the 
house  the  zoholc  time.  It  only  in- 
tends always  feedine;  (hem  (here, 
and  keeping  them  (here  the  chief 
of  the  time.  On  the  contrary  it  is 
an  essential  p^tl  of  (he  system  to 
let  (hem  loose  in  yards  well  shad- 
ed artificially  or  by  trees,  at  least 
two  hours  in  the  forenoon,  and  as 
manv  in  the  afternoon.  W  hen  cat- 
(le  are  fed  in  (he  stall,  (hey  are 
wholly  pro(ec(ed  from  eatinjz  noxi- 
ous vegetables  ;  from  drinkirig  bad 
water  ;  from  all  injury  from  being 
worried  by  dogs,  or  one  another; 
they  are  kept  throneh  the  heat  of 
(he  day  in  the  shade  protected  from 
flies. 

With  respect  to  a  greater  pro- 
duct of  milk,  it  is  s(a(ed  bv  Mr- 
Quincy  that  during  the  flush  of 
feed,  that  is,  for  perhaps  the  first 
mon(h  after  ca(tle  are  turned  to 
pasture,  (here  is  little  difference,  so 
far  as  respects  (he  product  of  milk 
be(ween  pasturing  and  stall  ft-ed- 
ing.     At  that  time  there  is  gener- 


SOI 


SOI 


405 


ally  a  great  supply  of  food,  the  cat- 
tle are  eager  after  it.  They  have 
great  opportunity  to  select.  They 
feed  quietly,  and  take  only  the  most 
nutritious  arid  palatable.  After 
this  naonth,  if  the  stall  feeder  will, 
this  equality  will  gradually  cease, 
and  in  his  favour.  The  pasture 
food  almost  always  grows  more  or 
less  scarce,  according  to  the  par- 
ticiiiar  character  of  the  season. 
lVh(!reasby  taking  care  to  providt 
a  regular  succession  of  succulent 
crops,  he  who  feeds  his  beasts  in 
stalls  may  keep  the  milk  product 
unaffected  by  the  state  of  the  sea- 
son to  the  end  of  autumn. 

The  attainment  of  manures.  In 
pasturing  the  summer  manure  is 
almost  wholl}  lost.  It  falls  upon 
rocks,  among  bushes,  in  water 
courses,  on  the  sides  of  hills.  It  is 
evaporated  by  the  sun,  it  is  wash- 
ed away  by  the  rain.  Insects  de- 
stroy a  part.  The  residuum,  a  dry 
hard  cake,  lies  sometimes  a  year 
upon  the  ground  ;  often  impediig 
vegetation,  and  never  enriched  the 
earth  in  any  thing  like  the  propor- 
tion it  would  do,  if  it  had  been  de 
posited  under  cover  and  kept  free 
from  the  action  of  the  sun,  in  appro- 
priate and  covered  receptacles,  to 
be  carted  out  annually  in  the  pro- 
per season,  and  ploughed  at  once 
under  the  surface. 

Mr.  Quincy  gives  the  following 
statement  of  his  experience  in  soil- 
ing. 

"  My  stock,  consisting  at  an  aver- 
age of  twenty  cows,  were  kept  in 
their  stalls  through  the  whole  year. 
The  practice  was  to  feed  them 
about  six  times  in  a  day,  and  to 
permit  them  to  range  in   a  yard 


about  eighty  feet  square,  two  hours 
in  the  i'orenoun  and  two  in  the  after- 
noon. They  were  kept  well  lit- 
tered and  well  curried.  While 
they  were  out  of  the  siabie,  the  at- 
tendant took  that  opportunity  to 
clean  the  stalls,  and  to  supply  fresh 
litter.  Diuing  winter,  they  were 
fed.  as  is  usual,  with  salt  nnd  fresh 
hay  and  vegetables. — Fronv  June 
to  November,  inclusive  may  be 
considered,  strictly  speaking,  as  the 
soiling  season  ;  by  which  is  under- 
stood, that,  in  which  they  are  fed 
with  green  food  in  the  house.  As 
this  is  the  critical  period,  I  shall  be 
minute  in  the  account  of  my  pre- 
parations and  proceedings. 

"  In  the  autumn  preceding  I  had 
caused  rye  to  be  sown  u^.o.-i  an  in- 
verted sward,  very  thick,  on  about 
three  acres.  Early  in  April  i  pre- 
pared and  sowed,  in  manner  as 
shall  be  stated  afterwards,  about 
three  acres  and  one  quarter  of  land 
with  Indian  corn  in  drills.  1  also 
sowed  about  three  acres  of  oats  and 
buck  wheat  broad  cast,  at  the  rate 
of  three  bushels  to  the  acre,  about 
the  latter  end  of  the  month.  The 
whole  quantity  of  land,  I  thus  pre- 
pared to  be  used  in  soiling  in  aid  of 
my  grass,  did  but  little  exceed  nine 
acres  Of  these,  that  which  1  sow- 
ed with  rye  turfted  out  so  poorly, 
that  I  never  soiled  from  it  more 
than  tive  days^  so  that  in  fact  the 
land  thus  prepared  did,  in  efficien- 
cy, but  little  exceed  six  acres. 

"  About  the  first  of  June,  cattle 
in  general  were  this  season  turned 
out  to  pasture.  On  the  30th  of 
May,  my  farmer  began  to  cut  the 
sides  of  the  road  leadmg  to  my 
house  from  the  highway  and  orch- 


406 


SOI 


SOI 


ard.  He  continued  to  soil  from 
this  and  from  grass  growing  in  my 
orchard  until  the  seventh.  On  this 
day  he  abandoned  cutting  the  grass 
for  soiling  and  began  to  cut  from 
the  wmter  rye.  This  was  found 
too  tough,  and  it  was  quitted,  and 
my  farmer  returned  tosoihngupon 
grass.  Having  cut  over  all  the  re- 
fuse of  my  grass,  by  the  24th  of 
June,  he  then  went  into  the  poor- 
est of  my  mowing  land,  and  after- 
wards into  my  clover.  From  this 
he  continued  to  soil,  until  the  6th 
of  July.  By  this  time  he  had  gone 
over  not  much  short  of  three  acref> 
of  mowing  land.  On  the  6th  ol 
July,  he  began  to  soil  from  my  oats. 
He  continued  to  soil  from  these 
until  the  21st  of  July.  On  (he  21st 
of  July  he  began  to  soil  on  Indian 
corn,  on  which  he  continued  until 
the  30th  of  July,  when  he  recom- 
menced soiling  on  corn  fodder,  and 
continued  upon  it  until  the  30th 
day  of  August.  On  this  day  he  be 
gan  to  cut  over  the  road  sides  which 
had  been  cut  early  in  June.  This 
was  continued  only  to  the  2nd  ol 
September,  when  he  began  to  cul 
the  second  crop  of  Indian  corn, 
growing  upon  the  three  and  fourth 
acres  of  Indian  corn,  which  had 
now  shot  up  in  great  luxuriance, 
from  the  roots  of  that,  which  had 
been  cut  overbetween  the  21st  and 
26fh  of  July.  On  this  soiling  con 
tinned  until  the  8th  of  September. 
On  the  9th  and  10th  he  soiled 
upon  about  a  fourth  of  an  acre  of 
buck  wheat.  On  the  1 1th  soiled 
on  a  second  crop  of  clover.  From 
the  12th  to  the  15th  inclusive,  on 
the  corn  stalks  of  about  an  acre  ot 
sweet  corn,  and  on  the  16th  on  a 


patch  of  millet  and  oats.  This 
was  continued  to  the  20th,  when 
he  began  on  two  acres  of  Indian 
corn,  sown  in  drills  on  the  tirst  of 
August,  on  land  from  which  a  crop 
of  peas  had  previously  been  taken. 
Soiling  was  continued  on  this  corn 
until  the  3d  of  October.  From 
this  time  until  the  1 5th  of  October, 
the  soiling  was  wholly  upon  second 
crop  grass  taken  from  various  parts 
of  my  mowing  land. 

From  the  15th  of  October  to 
about  the  20th  of  November,  they 
were  kept  wholly  upon  carrot  and 
turnip  tops,  arising  from  the  top- 
ping of  about  twelve  acres  of  both  ; 
being  allowed  always  one  fodder- 
ing of  salt  hay.  This  finished  the 
summer  feeding.  From  this  time 
they  are  kept  wholly  on  salt  and 
English  hay.  The  result  then  of 
the  experiment,  so  far  as  relates  to 
iai)d,  is  the  following  : 

The  twenty  head  consumed  the 
products  of 
2i  acres  roadsides  and  orchards, 
3      do.    mowing  land, 

Indian  corn,  cut  as  fodder, 
late  and  light  barley, 
oats,     ' 

late  sown  Indian  corn  af- 
ter a  pea  crop, 
buck  wheat, 

millet  buck  wheat  and 
—  oats, ' 

17  acres. 

This  was  the  whole  land  which 
was  cut  over  for  soiling  ;  with  the 
exception  of  the  after  feed  on  the 
mowing  land  and  the  tops  of  car- 
rots and  turnips.  In  comparing 
this  result  with  the  former  practice 
of  my  farm,  1  apprehend  the  fol- 
lowing statement  to  be  just. 


3i 

do. 

2 

do. 

3 

do. 

2 

do. 

i 

do. 

1 

do. 

SOI 


SOI 


407 


1  offset  the  keeping  from  the  1 1th 
of  September  to  the  '20th  of  Novem- 
ber against  the  old  manner  of  let- 
ting the  cattle  run  at  large  during 
the  autumn  months,  on  the  mow 
ing  land,  to  its  great  injury  by 
poaching  and  close  feeding. — If  tltis 
should  not  be  deemed  sufficient,  I 
then  make  no  estimate  ot  the  dif- 
ference between  keeping  fifteen 
head  of  cattle,  the  old  stock,  and 
twenty  head  of  cattle  my  presejit 
stock.  After  these  allowances  and 
oflfsetts,  which  no  man  can  doubt 
are  sufficiently  liberal,  then  I  state, 
that  my  experiment  has  resulted  in 
relation  to  land,  in  this,  that  I  have 
kept  the  same  amount  of  stock,  by 
soiling  on  seventeen  acres  of  land, 
which  had  always  previously  re- 
quired ffly  acres.  [Mr.  Quincy 
must  have  had  bad  pastures  or  bad 
ly  managed  ones;  twenty  five  acres 
ought  to  have  been  enough  for  his 
fifteen  head  of  cattle.]  The  re?uli 
is,  in  my  opinion,  even  in  this  respeci 
greater  than  what  is  here  stated. 
This,  however,  is  sufficient  to  ex- 
hibit the  greatness  of  the  economy 
of  this  mode,  so  far  as  relates  to 
land. 

With  respect  to  saving  of  fenc- 
ing the  previous  condition  of  my 
farm  was  this.  I  had  at  the  lowest 
estimate  five  miles  of  interior  fence, 
equal  to  sixteen  hundred  rods, 
which  at  one  dollar  the  rod  wa>; 
equal  to  sixteen  hundred  dollars. 
And  annually  for  repairs  and  refit 
ting,  cost  sixty  dollars.  I  have  now 
not  one  rod  of  interior  fence,  Ot 
course  the  saving  is  great,  distinct 
and  undeniable. 

In  relation  to  manures,  the  ef- 
fect of  soiling  is  not  less  apparent 
and  unquestionable.      The  exact 


amount  of  summer  product  I  have 
not  attempted  to  ascertain,  but  I 
am  satisfied  that  every  thing  con- 
sidered, it  is  not  less  than  one  buck 
load  per  month  per  head,  or  on 
twenty  head  of  cattle,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  load  for  the  six  soiling 
months.  In  this  estimate,  I  take 
into  consideration  the  advantage 
resulting  trom  urine  saved,  bj 
means  of  loam,  sand,  or  some 
imbibing  recipient  prepared  to  ab- 
sorb it. 

It  remains  to  show  that  the  cost 
of  raising  the  food,  cutting  it,  and 
distributing  it  to  the  cattle,  is  com- 
pensated by  these  savings.  Upon 
this  point,  my  own  experience  has 
satisfied  me  that  the  value  of  the 
manure  alone,  is  an  ample  compen- 
sation for  all  this  expence.  Leav- 
ing the  saving  of  land,  of  food,  and 
of  fencing  stuff,  as  well  as  the  bet- 
ter condition  of  Ihe  cattle,  as  a  clear 
gain  from  the  system. — As  an  evi- 
dence of  this,  I  state  my  expences 
for  labour  in  conducting  the  soiling 
process. 

During  the  month  of  Juno,  I 
hired  a  man  to  do  every  thing  ap- 
pertaining to  the  soiling  process  ; 
that  is,  cutting  the  food,  delivering 
il,  taking  care  of  the  cattle  in  the 
day  time,  for  fifteen  dollars  the 
month,  he  finding  himself.  In  this 
arrangement  it  was  estimated,  that 
I  availed  myself  of  half  his  labour. 
At  the  end  of  the  month  I  had  the 
manure  measured,  and  I  found  that 
the  manure  collected  in  my  recep- 
tacle, which  was  a  cellar  under  the 
barn,  and  not  including  that  which 
had  been  made,  during  the  four 
hours  each  day,  in  the  yard,  amount- 
ed to  fifteen  load.  A  quantity  of 
manure,  which  I  could  not  have 


408 


sor 


SOi 


placed  on  my  farm  for  thirty  dol- 
lars;  and  which  1  could  have  sold 
there  for  twenty  doilnrs,  upon  the 
condition  it  should  be  carried  away. 
It  cost  me  as  above  stated  fifteen 
dollars  in  the  labour  of  the  atten- 
dant. 

Daring  the  remaining  tive  months 
I  added  another  man,  because  I 
found  that  a  great  economy  in  vege- 
table food  would  result  from  cutting 
it  into  pieces  by  a  cutting  knife, 
and  mixmg  with  it  about  one  third 
of  cut  salt  hay,  or  straw.  This  was 
done,  and  1  kept  an  accurate  ac- 
count of  all  the  labour  of  cutting 
the  food  in  the  tield,  bringing  it  in- 
to the  barn,  cutting  it  up  there,  cut- 
ting salt  hay  or  straw  to  mix  with 
it,  mixing  this  food,  and  delivering 
it  to  the  cattle  and  found  that  it 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  forty 
eight  days  labour.  This  estimated 
at  a  dollar  the  day  is  one  hundred 
and  forty  eight  dollars,  to  which 
aciding  fifteen  dollars  paid  for  la- 
bour, in  the  month  of  June,  the 
whole  expense  was  one  hundred 
and  sixty  three  dollars. 

The  manure  at  the  end  of  the 
soiling  season,  certainly  equalled 
one  hundred  and  twenty  loads,  and 
could  not  have  been  bought,  and 
brought  there  for  three  hundred 
dollars.  Let  it  be  estimated  at  only 
two  hundred  dollars  in  value.  JNo 
man  can  question.  1  thiid<,the  cor- 
rectness of  my  assertion,  that  the 
value  of  manure  obtained,  is  a  clear 
compensation  for  the  amount  of  la- 
bour; and  this  incliidinfj;  all  the 
expense  of  labour,  connected  with 
soiling. 

In  No.  4,  vol.  vi.  of  the  Agricul- 
tural Repository,  Mr.  Quincy  pur- 


sues the  subject,  and  observes  thaf.' 
"  in  soiling,  being  guided  by  the  na- 
ture of  the  climate,  and  by  the  con- 
sideration of  the  vegetables,  select- 
ed being  best  known  and  most  sue- 
cessfully  cultivated  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, I  use  but  four,  1st.  grass ; 
2d.  oats;  3d.  Indian  corn;  4tb. 
cabbages." 

He  thinks,  however,  that  it  would 
be  wise  and  practicable  to  intro- 
duce some  vegetable,  whicb,  sown 
the  preceding  }ear,  would  enable 
the  farmer  to  conimence  cutting 
earlier.  He  considers  one  quwter 
of  an  acre  of  his  best  grass  produc- 
ing land  as  appropriated  to  each 
head  of  soiling  cattle,  for  its  sup- 
port between  the  20th  May  and 
1st  of  July.  "  Small  farmers,  who 
should  top-dress  the  land  every 
day.  cut  over,  with  water  leached 
from  the  manure  heap,  would  re- 
duce the  extent  of  land  required 
for  the  process  of  soiling  very  con- 
siderably." Oats,  sowed  as  early 
as  possible,  he  uses  for  soiling  near- 
ly, or  quite  through  the  month  of 
July.  "  One  square  rod  of  oats,  in 
full  milk,  growing  on  land  in  pro- 
per,  {that  is  high)  tilth  zcill  support 
one  head  of  cattle  a  day.  One 
quarter  of  an  acre,  or  forty  square 
rods,  for  thirty  days,  is  a  fair  basis 
of  calculation,  and  making  a  liberal 
allowance  for  accident."  The 
oats,  if  relied  on  for  the  whole 
month  of  July  should  be  sowed  in 
succession,  one  half  as  early  as  the 
seed  can  be  got  into  the  ground, 
and  the  other  half  about  a  fortnight 
later.  Indian  corn  should  likewise 
be  sowed  at  about  the  rate  of  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  for  each  head  a 
month.     The  land  to  be  in  good 


SOI 


soo 


409 


heart  and  tilth,  "  to  receive  at 
least  one  ploughing  and  harrowing 
about  the  latter  end  of  April,  or 
beginning  of  IVlay ;  after  which  light 
furrows  should  be  run  three  teet 
asunder,  at  the  depth  of  three  or 
four  inches.  In  these  furrows  corn 
should  be  sown  broadcast,  about 
the  thickness,  and  in  the  same  man- 
ner that  peas  are  sown,  in  the  field 
culture  of  them.  The  corn  may 
then  be  covered  by  the  plough. 
Although  in  my  experience,  a  har- 
row drawn  lengthways  and  cross- 
ways,  followed  by  a  roller,  is  suffi- 
cient and  to  be  preferred  for  this 
operation."  Corn  should  be  sown 
jn  the  middle  of  May^  the  begin- 
ning and  middle  of  June,  and  even 
as  late  as  August,  on  which  soiling 
may  be  continued  during  Septeni- 
ber.  In  this  month  likewise  grass 
of  the  second  crop  may  be  used, 
from  those  acres  from  which  soil- 
ing was  effected  in  June.  The 
grass  of  the  second  crop  will  gene- 
rally enable  the  farmer  to  soil  to 
the  15th  of  October,  if  his  grass 
land  is  in  proper  tilth  and  heart. 

"  Reduced  to  a  single  statement, 
my  experience  and  system  is,  for 
the  support  of  my  soiled  stock, 
during  the  months  of  July,  August 
and  September,  to  sow  in  the 
months  of  April,  May,  June  and 
July,  equal  to  three  quarters  of  an 
acre  of  land  for  each  head  of  cat- 
tle soiled,  in  such  succession  as 
will  give  also  a  regular  succession 
of  succulent  food  in  the  three  first 
mentioned  months." 

From  the  l5th  of  October  to  the 

middle  or  latter  end  of  November, 

Mr.   Quincy  depended    upon    the 

tops  of  carrots   and   turnips   des- 

5'i 


tined  either  for  the  market  or  win- 
ter food  for  his  stock.  "  My  prac- 
tice has  been  to  raise  from  eight  to 
twelve  acres  of  vegetables  The 
tops  of  which,  with  a  smgle  fodder- 
ing of  salt  hay,  per  day,  have  been, 
according  to  my  experience,  suffi- 
cient to  support  equal  to  twenty 
head  of  cattle  from  the  15th  of  Oc- 
tober to  the  cniddle  or  latter  end  of 
November." 

SOOT,  condensed  smoke,  whicli 
adheres  to  the  funnels  of  chimneys. 
It  is  replete  with  the  oil  and  vola- 
tile salts  which  were  contained  in 
the  fuel,  and  is  therefore  an  excel- 
lent manure,  much  superior  to 
ashes  of  any  kind. 

Both  wood  soot  and  coal  soot 
should  be  caretuily  saved,  and  kept 
from  the  weather,  to  be  used  as 
top-dressings. 

Mr.  Worlidge  seems  to  think 
wood  soot  the  best ;  but  Mr.  Mor- 
timer give  the  preference  to  that 
which  comes  from  pit  coal,  of  which 
forty  bushels  are  allowed  to  be  a 
sufficient  dressing  for  an  acre.  But 
of  this  kind  our  farmers  can  obtain 
but  little;  nor  indeed  plenty  of 
either,  unless  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  populous  towns,  where  much  of 
it  may  be  collected  for  use  by  those 
whose  business  it  is  to  clean  chim- 
neys. 

Both  kinds  are  to  be  used  only 
as  top-dressings.  The  coal  soot  is 
particularly  good  for  low  meadows, 
or  grass  lands,  which  are  sour  and 
mossy. 

Soot  is  a  good  top-dressing  for 
winter  grain.  But  it  should  be  ap- 
plied early  in  the  spring.  Not  in 
autumn,  lest  it  should  cause  it  to 
grow  too  fast,  by  means  of  which 


410 


SOW 


sow 


it  will  be  the  more  liable  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  frost  of  winter. 
Neither  should  it  be  applied  late  in 
the  spring ;  because  in  case  of  a 
drought  soon  after,  it  will  be  apt  to 
burn  too  much. 

Mr.  Ellis  recommends  sowing 
soot  over  turnips,  as  soon  as  they 
are  up.  This  will  tend  to  prevent 
flies  from  attacking  them.  But 
that  it  may  have  have  this  effect,  it 
should  be  finely  pulverised ;  sown 
early  in  a  morning  before  the  dew 
is  otf ;  and  in  a  moderate  quantity, 
lest  its  heat  should  injure  the  ten- 
der plants,  to  which  it  will  adhere 
and  repel  the  insects.  Sifting  is 
the  best  way  of  applying  it.  See 
Mania-e. 

SOWING,  committing  seeds  to 
the  earth,  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining a  crop. 

There  are  three  ways  of  seeding 
the  ground: — 1.  In  hills  as  it  is 
called,  or  in  squares:  2.  In  drills, 
or  continued  rows :  And  3.  In  the 
broadcast  method,  or  at  random 
with  a  cast  of  the  hand  ;  which  last 
method  is  always  termed  sowing. 
^J  he  first  requires  the  least  quan- 
tity of  seed,  the  last  the  greatest. 
But  the  crops  will  not  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  different  quantities 
of  seed. 

With  regard  to  sowing,  several 
things  ought  to  be  attended  to  ;  the 
quality  or  goodness  of  the  seeds  ; 
the  time  of  sowing  them  ;  the  depth 
that  is  best  for  them ;  and  the 
quantity,  or  proportion  of  seed  to 
the  ground. 

The  quality  of  seed  should  be 
ascertained,  in  order  to  determine 
the  quantity  that  is  proper  to  be 
sown  ;  for  if  one  tenth  part  of  the 


seeds,  for  instance,  should  be  des- 
titute of  a  vegetative  power,  a 
tenth  part  more  of  such  seeds 
should  be  sown  than  the  usual 
quantity,  supposing  the  seeds  to  be 
in  perfection. 

In  order  to  determine  the  good- 
ness of  the  seed  to  be  sown,  you 
should  previously  take  fifty  grains 
at  random  from  the  parcel;  sow 
them  in  good  mould,  at  a  proper 
depth,  and  carefully  observe  how 
great  a  proportion  fail  of  coming 
up.  They  may  be  sown  in  a  pot, 
and  kept  in  a  warm  part  of  the 
house,  or  in  a  hot-bed,  that  the 
farmer  may  have  timely  notice  of 
the  quality  of  his  seeds,  when  it  is 
too  early  in  the  spring  to  do  it  in 
the  open  ground.  Many  have 
missed  of  a  crop,  by  not  taking  this 
precaution.  When  seeds  are  sus- 
pected of  being  too  old  to  vegetate, 
this  previous  trial  should  by  no 
means  be  neglected. 

But  if  we  wish  to  have  seeds  in 
the  best  condition  for  sowing,  they 
should  be  well  ripened  on  their 
plants  before  they  are  gathered  in ; 
afterwards  they  should  be  kept 
perfectly  dry,  that  they  may  not 
contract  the  least  mouldiness ;  and 
never  be  secluded  from  the  air. 

Mr.  Miller  found  that  air  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  maintain 
the  principle  of  vegetation  in  seeds. 
Having  saved  a  parcel  of  fresh 
seeds  of  several  kinds,  he  took 
some  of  each,  and  sealed  them  up  in 
glass  phials  ;  the  other  parts  of  the 
same  seeds  he  put  into  bags,  and 
hung  them  up  in  a  dry  place,  in  a 
free  air.  After  a  year  had  passed, 
he  took  some  of  the  seeds  from 
each  phial,  and  each  bag,  and  sow- 


sow 


sow 


411 


ed  them  at  the  same  time,  and  on 
different  parts  of  the  same  bed. 
The  result  was,  that  almost  all  the 
seeds  he  took  out  of  the  bags  grew 
well ;  but,  of  those  which  had  been 
kept  in  the  phials,  not  one  came 
up.  This  discovery  was  further 
confirmed  by  experiments  after- 
wards. How  careful  then  should 
both  farmers  and  gardeners  be,  that 
no  seeds  designed  for  sowing  be 
kept  totally  secluded  from  the  air  ! 

All  kinds  of  seeds  are  best  kept 
in  their  pods,  or  husks.  Especially 
they  should  be  kept,  when  they  are 
designed  to  be  transported  to  dis- 
tant countries. 

Accordingly,  some  of  the  best 
writers  recommend  the  lying  of 
seed  wheat  in  the  sheaf  to  the  time 
of  sowing.  And,  that  none  but  the 
best  of  the  grain  may  be  sown,  in- 
stead of  threshing,  it  is  advisable 
to  strike  a  handful  at  a  time  gently 
against  a  post,  and  collect  what 
falls  out ;  because  the  heaviest  and 
best  grain  is  always  the  most  easily 
detached  from  the  ear. 

Being  furnished  with  good  seeds, 
the  time  for  committing  them  to 
the  earth  must  in  great  measure  be 
determined  by  the  judgment  of  the 
experienced  husbandman ;  because, 
from  various  circumstances,  it 
comes  to  pass,  that  the  true  time 
admits  of  some  latitude.  The  time 
for  spring  sowing  will  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  variation  of  the  forward- 
ness of  the  season  ;  which  may  be 
best  determined  by  the  respective 
forwardness  of  trees  and  shrubs. 
See  the  article  Kalendar, 

But  there  are  other  circumstances 
to  be  taken  into  the  account,  which 
may  further   vary  the  season  for 


spring  sowing.  A  light  warm  soil 
may  receive  the  seeds  earlier  than 
one  that  is  strong  and  moist.  The 
former  will  arrive  to  the  right  de- 
gree of  dryness  sooner  than  the 
latter,  and  is  earlier  fit  for  the  ope- 
rations of  tillage.  And  this  is  cer- 
tain, that  seeds  that  require  the 
earliest  sowing,  must  not  be  sown 
before  the  earth  can  be  well  pul- 
verised. Neither  should  plants 
that  are  easily  killed  by  frost,  be 
so  early  sown  as  to  be  up  till  the 
spring  frosts  are  past. 

I  may  add,  a  spot  which  has  a 
southern  exposure  may  be  seeded 
rather  earlier  than  land  which  de- 
scends to  the  northward,  or  than 
land  which  is  level. 

If  seeds  are  sown  too  early,  or 
when  the  ground  is  too  wet  or  cold 
for  them,  they  will  either  perish, 
and  fail  of  coming  up ;  or  if  they 
come  up,  it  is  slowly,  so  that  the 
plants  become  stinted  in  their 
growth,  and  never  arrive  to  a  full 
size. 

If  the  right  season  for  sowing 
should  elapse,  the  husbandman,  be- 
ing convinced  of  it,  may  accelerate 
vegetation  by  steeping  the  seeds  in 
a  ley  of  wood  ashes,  or  any  other 
proper  menstruum,  so  that  they 
may  overtake  in  their  growth  those 
which  were  sown  in  the  right  sea- 
son. 

The  depth  at  which  different 
seeds  should  be  buried  in  the  soil 
is  various,  according  to  the  differ- 
ence of  seeds  and  soils.  iVl.  Du- 
hamel  found  by  experiment,  that 
but  iew  seeds  will  come  up  at  all, 
when  buried  deeper  than  nine  in- 
ches ;  that  some  seeds  rise  very 
well  from  the  depth  of  sis  inches ; 


412 


SOW 


sow 


and  that  other  seeds  do  not  rise  at 
all  when  they  are  more  than  two 
inches  under  the  surface.  And  in 
general  those  seeds,  the  body  of 
which  is  thrown  above  the  surface 
in  vegetating,  should  have  the  less 
quantity  of  soil  above  them,  that 
they  may  not  meet  with  too  much 
resistance  in  rising;  such  as  kidney 
beans  and  many  other  sorts.  Also 
the  same  seeds  may,  and  ought  to 
be  buried  deeper  in  a  light  and 
dry,  than  in  a  heavy  and  moist  soil. 
When  the  ground  is  rolled  after 
sowing,  the  seeds  will  vegetate 
the  nearer  to  the  surface ;  and 
therefore  they  do  not  need  to  be 
sown  so  deep,  as  when  the  rolhng 
is  omitted. 

To  determine  what  is  the  right 
depth,  in  a  doubtful  case.  Mr.  Tull 
has  suggested  an  excellent  method. 
"Take  a  dozen  of  sticks  for  guages; 
mark  the  tirst  at  half  an  inch  from 
the  end  ;  the  next  at  an  in<h  ;  at>d 
go  on,  increasing  half  an  inch  (o 
each.  Then,  in  the  sort  of  ground 
you  intend  to  sow,  make  a  row  of 
twenty  holes,  with  the  half  inch 
guage  ;  put  in  twenty  good  seeds 
and  cover  them,  and  stick  up  the 
guage  at  the  end  of  the  row.  Then 
do  the  like  with  the  rest  of  the 
sticks.  Observe  how  the  seeds 
prosper  in  the  different  rows,  and 
you  will  discover  at  what  depth  that 
kind  of  seed  should  be  buried." 

However  useful  this  experiment 
may  be,  it  can  be  of  little  or  no 
use  in  the  old  tield  husbandry  ;  for, 
in  the  broadcast  u-ay  of  sownig,  tlie 
ficeds  will  be  difTerently  covered. 
But  sowing  fields  with  the  drill,  in 
equi-distant  rows,  when  horse-hoe- 
tng  is  not  intended,  cannot  be  too 


much   commended.     It    is    worth 

while  to  do  it  if  it  were  only  on 

account  of  the  seed  that  ma}^  be 

saved  by  it.     JMuch  seed  is  wasted 

in    the  common    way    of  sowuig; 

for  some  of  the  seeds  will  be  so 

deeply  covered,  that  they  will  not 

I  vegetate:  Some  will  be  left  on  the 

]  surface,  which  is  a  pre)  for  birds, 

1  and  perhaps  leads  them  to  scratch 

I  up  some  of  the   rest :    Some  will 

!  lie  so  near  the  surface  as  to  be  de- 

I  slroyed   by    variation    of  weather, 

i  being      alternately      wetted      and 

!  scorched.      And    of    those    seeds 

1  that  grow,  some  rise  earlier,  and 

some   later,  so  that  the  crop  does 

not     ripen    equally.      The    seeds 

I  will  fall  from  the  hand  of  the  sower, 

too  thick  in  some  spots,  and   too 

thin  in  others,  by  means  of  the  nn- 

evenness  of  the  surface ;  and  the 

harrowing   perhaps   will    increase 

the  inequality  ;  so  that  many  will 

be  so  crowded  as  to  be  unfruitful, 

while    the  rest   have    more  room 

than  is  necessary. 

But  when  the  seeds  are  put  in 
with  the  drill,  they  will  all  rise 
nearly  together ;  not  so  much  as 
one  seed  will  be  wasted,  or  lost, 
supposing  them  sown  at  the  right 
distance ;  each  one  may  have  so 
much  room  as  is  most  conducive 
to  its  growth ;  no  starved  heads 
will  appear,  and  the  whole  will 
ripen  together.  Half  a  bushel  of 
wheat,  or  even  a  less  quantity,  in 
this  way,  will  seed  an  acre  suffi- 
ciently. How  great  must  be  this 
advantage  at  a  time  of  great  scar- 
city of  seed  ! 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  the 
quantify  of  seed,  that  is  best  to  be 
sown  in  the  broadcast  way.  Doubt- 


sow 


sow 


413 


less  it  should  vary  according  to  cir- 
cumsiances. 

When  seed  is  very  large,  and 
full  grown,  two  bushels  may  not  be 
more  than  equal  to  one  that  is  small 
and  pinched,  supposing  the  seeds 
equally  disposed  to  vegetate,  which 
is  often  the  case.  For  the  true 
quantity  should  be  estimated,  ra- 
ther by  the  number  of  grains,  than 
by  measure  or  weight.  Not  that  I 
would  recommend  the  sowing  of 
pinched  grain,  excepting  in  case  of 
necessity.  For  it  is  to  be  expect- 
ed, in  general,  that  the  most  per- 
fect seeds  will  produce  the  best 
plants. 

Rich  land  will  afford  nourish- 
ment to  a  greater  number  of  plants 
than  that  which  is  poor.  It  has 
been  held  by  many  farmers  that 
the  poorer  the  land  is,  the  greater 
quantity  of  seed  should  be  sown  in 
it.  But  Mr.  Miller  says,  "  This  is 
one  of  the  greatest  fallacies  that 
can  be  imagined  ;  for  to  suppose 
that  poor  land  can  nourish  more 
than  twice  the  number  of  roots  in 
the  same  space,  as  rich  land,  is 
such  an  absurdity  as  one  could 
hardly  suppose  any  person  of 
common  understanding  guilty  of. 
Where  the  roots  stand  close,  they 
will  deprive  each  other  of  nourish- 
ment, which  any  person  may  at 
first  sight  observe,  in  any  part  of 
the  fields  where  the  corn  happen? 
to  scatter  when  they  are  sowitig  it ; 
or  in  places  where,  by  harrowing, 
the  seed  is  drawn  in  heaps,  those 
patches  will  starve,  and  never  grow 
to  a  third  part  of  the  size  as  the 
other  parts  of  the  same  field  ;  and 
vet,  common  as  this  is,  it  is  little 


noticed  by  farmers  ;  otherwise, 
they  surely  would  not  continue 
their  old  custom  of  sowing." 

The  practice  of  farmers  has  been 
various,  as  to  the  quantity  ot  seed. 
In  England  they  sow  from  two  or 
three  to  four  or  five  bushels  of 
wheat  on  an  acre ;  six  bushels  of 
oats,  and  four  of  barley.  But  the 
above  quoted  author  is  very  posi- 
tive that  a  third  part  of  the  usual 
quantities  would  be  better. 

The  usual  quantities  in  this  coun- 
try are  not  greater  than  five  or  six 
pecks  of  wheat  or  rye,  three  bushels 
of  oats,  and  two  of  barley,  lor  an 
acre.  And  from  these  quantities, 
in  some  instances,  large  crops  have 
been  produced.  Though,  in  old 
countries,  the  crops  are  usually 
larger  than  ours,  !  apprehend  it  is 
not  owing  to  higher  seeding,  but  to 
deeper  and  more  perfect  tillage, 
better  manuring,  and  frequent 
changing  of  seed,  with  a  judicious 
rotation  of  crops. 

The  sowing  of  winter  grain  is 
perhaps  a  more  diflicult  matter  to 
manage  rightly,  than  vernal  seed- 
ing. Farmers  certainly  mistake 
their  interest,  when  they  persist  in 
sowing  winter  grain  at  a  certain 
time  of  the  year,  let  the  weather  be 
ever  so  hot,  and  the  ground  ever 
so  dry.  By  heat  and  dryness,  the 
seeds  will  sometimes  be  so  scorch- 
in  the  soil,  that  not  a  fourth  part  of 
them  ever  come  up.  Therefore, 
if  a  drought  happen  at  the  usual 
sowing  season,  it  will  be  needful  to 
defer  sowing  till  some  rain  has  fal- 
len, and  the  soil  has  got  a  due  de- 
gree of  moi?ture.  How  long  it 
mav  be  best  to  wait  for  such  a  fa» 


414 


SOW 


SPA 


vourable  opportunity,  1  will  leave 
to  the  judgment  of  the  experienc- 
ed farmer. 

Also,  a  spot  that  has  been  newly 
cleared  by  burning,  may  be  sown 
later  in  autumn  than  other  land. 
It  ought  to  be  sown  later,  if  the 
growth  before  winter  be  wished 
to  be  only  equally  forward  ;  for  the 
ashes  will  so  quicken  the  vegeta- 
tion, that  if  it  be  seeded  early,  it 
will  attain  to  too  large  a  growth  be- 
fore winter,  and  be  the  more  in 
danger  of  being  killed  by  frost. 

It  is  doubtless  much  better  to 
sow  winter  grain  rather  early  than 
very  late  ;  because  that  which  is 
sown  late,  will  not  be  furnished 
with  strong  roots  before  winter, 
and  therefore  will  not  generally 
so  well  bear  the  frost.  Though 
grain  sown  in  December  has  some- 
times prospered  well,  it  ought  not 
to  encourage  the  farmer  in  sowing 
so  late ;  because  the  instances  in 
which  it  has  succeeded  have  been 
but  few.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
should  not  be  sown  so  early  as  to 
give  time  for  the  stalks  to  shoot  up 
before  winter.  But  perhaps  it  will 
be  found  to  be  a  good  rule,  to  sow 
grain  the  earlier  in  proportion  as 
the  winters  are  longer  and  colder. 
And  yet,  confining  the  true  time 
to  certain  days  or  weeks,  would  be 
ridiculous. 

M.  de.  Chateauvieux,  from  many 
experiments,  and  long  practice, 
concludes,  "  that  the  best  time  for 
sowing  in  such  a  climate  as  Geneva, 
is  from  the  20th  of  August,  to  the 
end  of  September,  And  he  thinks 
the  first  fortnight  in  October  may 
answer,  if  the  sowing  cannot  be 
done  sooner. 


But  as  the  experience  of  persons 
in  other  countries  may  mislead  us, 
it  is  greatly  to  be  wished  that  a  set 
of  the  most  accurate  experiment* 
were  made  by  some  judicious  per- 
son in  this  country,  in  order  to  as- 
certain the  best  time  for  autumnal 
sowing. 

SPADE,  an  instrument  used  in 
digging.  Spades  differ  in  their 
shape  and  construction,  according 
to  the  different  operations  in  which 
they  are  to  be  used. 

SPAVIN,  a  disease  of  horses, 
being  a  tumefaction  about  the  joints, 
causing  lameness. 

"  There  are  two  kinds  of  spavin, 
a  blood  spavin,  and  a  bog  spavin. 

"  A  blood  spavin  is  a  swelling 
and  dilatation  of  the  vein  that  runs 
along  the  inside  of  the  hock,  form- 
ing a  little  soft  swelling  in  the  hol- 
low part,  and  is  often  attended  with 
a  weakness  and  lameness  of  the 
hock. 

"  The  cure  should  be  first  at- 
tempted with  restringents,  and 
bandage,  which  will  contribute 
greatly  to  strengthen  all  weaknesses 
of  the  joints,  and  frequently  will  re- 
move this  disorder,  if  early  appli- 
ed. But  if,  by  these  means,  the 
vein  is  not  reduced  to  its  usual  di- 
mensions, the  skin  should  be  open- 
ed, and  the  vein  tied  with  a  crook- 
ed needle  and  wax  thread  passed 
underneath  it,  both  above  and  be- 
low the  swelling,  and  the  turgid 
part  suffered  to  digest  away  with 
the  ligatures.  For  this  purpose, 
the  wound  may  be  daily  dressed 
with  turpentine,  honey,  and  spirit 
of  wine  incorporated  together. 

"  A  bog  spavin  is  an  encysted 
tumour  on  the  inside  of  the  hough, 


SPA 


SPI 


415 


or  according  to  Dr.  Bracken,  a  col- 
lection of  brownish  gelatinous 
matter,  contained  in  a  bag,  or  cyst, 
which  he  thinks  to  be  the  lubricat- 
ing niatter  of  the  joint  altered,  the 
common  membrane  that  encloses  it 
forming  the  cyst.  This  case  he 
has  taken  the  pains  to  illustrate  in 
a  young  colt  of  his  own,  where,  he 
says,  when  the  spavin  was  pressed 
hard  on  the  inside  of  the  hough, 
there  was  a  small  tumour  on  the 
outside,  which  convinced  him  the 
fluid  was  within  side  the  joint.  He 
accordingly  cut  into  it,  discharged 
a  large  quantity  of  this  gelatinous 
matter,  dressed  the  sore  with  dos- 
sils dipped  in  oil  of  turpentine,  put- 
ting into  it,  once  in  three  or  four 
days,  a  powder  made  of  calcined 
vitriol,  alum,  and  bole.  By  this 
method  of  dressing,  the  bag  slough- 
ed off,  and  came  away,  and  the 
cure  was  successfully  completed 
without  any  visible  scar. 

"  This  disorder,  according  to  the 
above  description,  will  scarcely 
submit  to  any  other  method,  ex- 
cept tiring,  when  the  cyst  ought  to 
be  penetrated  to  make  it  effectual. 
But  in  all  obstinate  cases  that  have 
resisted  the  above  methods,  both 
the  cure  of  this,  and  the  swelling 
ca  lied  wind-galls,  should,  I  think, 
be  attempted  after  this  manner. 
If,  through  the  pain  attending  the 
operation  or  dressings,  the  joint 
should  swell  and  inflame,  foment  it 
twice  a  day,  and  apply  a  poultice 
over  the  dressings,  till  it  is  reduc- 
ed."    Complete  Farmer. 

Mason's  Farrier  asserts  that  "  a 
spavined  horse  may  be  considered 
as  completely  ruined,  for  a  per- 
manent cure  can  rarely  be  effected. 


if  attempted  even  on  its  first  ap- 
pearance. A  blister  of  Spanish 
flies  applied  on  the  part  affected, 
(after  shaving  the  hair  off)  with  a 
bath  of  strong  spirits  or  vinegar, 
and  a  week's  rest,  will  frequently 
suspend  the  lameness  produced  by- 
spavin  for  a  time — but  a  radical 
cure  may  not  be  expected." 

SPAYING,  the  castration  of  fe- 
male animals,  to  prevent  concep- 
tion, and  promote  their  fattening. 
It  is  said,  that  spayed  sows  will 
have  a  greater  quantity  of  fat  upon 
their  inwards  than  barrows,  and 
that  they  are,  on  the  whole,  more 
profitable. 

SPELT,  a  species  of  grain  re- 
sembling wheat,  but  smaller,  and 
darker  coloured,  bearded,  with  on- 
ly two  rows  on  an  ear.  It  is  used 
in  Germany  for  bread,  and  will 
make  malt.  Of  this  grain  the  au- 
cients  are  said  to  have  made  their 
frumeni'y,  of  which  they  were  very 
fond.  It  may  be  sowed  in  autumn 
or  spring,  and  deliahts  in  a  dry  soil, 

SPIKY  ROLLER,  a  wooden 
roller,  armed  v\ith  spikes,  of  im- 
portant use  in  husbandry. 

This  instrument  was  formerly 
just  mentioned  by  Mr.  Ellis  ;  but 
has  been  of  late  brought  into  use  by 
the  ingenious  Mr.  Randall,  of  York, 
in  Engiartd  :  Who  rncojnmends, 
that  the  roller  be  a  cviitider  of  the 
heart  of  oak,  seven  feet  long  and 
eighteen  inches  diameter,  with  a 
strong  band  of  iron  on  each  end. 
Teeth  or  tines  of  iron,  seven  im  hes 
long,  are  driven  three  inches  inio 
the  wood,  and  four  inches  apart,  in 
the  qiiinruDX  order,  over  the  who'e 
convex  surface.  The  ovJer  po^^ts 
must  be  pretty  sharp  ;  and  tnc  ei.uls 


416 


SPI 


SPR 


which  go  into  the  roller  should  be 
ragged  at  the  corners,  to  prevent 
their  coming  out.  The  tines  need 
not  be  quite  so  strong  as  the  teeth 
of  a  harrow.  The  whole  instru- 
ment will  weigh  near  a  ton  ;  and  a 
frame  is  to  be  annexed  to  it,  for 
the  team  to  draw  by  ;  to  which  a 
box  may  be  added  for  the  driver  to 
set  on.  But  beware  of  putting  a 
wild,  restiff  or  unmanageable  team 
to  this  fearful  instrument.  The 
strength  of  four  oxen  or  three 
horses,  will  be  necessary  to  draw  it. 

The  uses  to  which  the  spiky  rol- 
ler is  to  be  applied,  are,  in  the 
first  place,  to  reduce  a  stiff,  stub- 
born, and  clotty  soil,  to  a  fine  tilth 
for  sowing.  This  it  will  perform 
with  admirable  expedition,  by  only 
passing  forwards,  and  back  again 
in  the  same  track,  reducing  it  even 
to  a  perfect  garden  mould.  And, 
which  greatly  recommends  it,  it  is 
used  to  advantage  when  the  ground 
is  too  dry  for  ploughing  ;  by  means 
of  which,  there  need  not  be  any 
delay  in  preparing  land  for  sowing. 

"  It  is  certainly  an  instrument," 
say  the  compilers  of  the  Complete 
Farmer,  "  that  no  farm,  where  the 
land  is  stiff,  or  the  least  liable  to 
clot,  should  want.  For,  besides 
the  constant  advantage  of  saving 
labour,  and  bringing  land  to  a  better 
condition  for  any  kind  of  sowing, 
than  the  plough  and  harrow,  with 
any  assistance  of  the  work  of  hands 
can  make  it;  in  favourable  sea* 
sons,  and  under  such  circumstances 
as  Mr.  Randall  has  mentioned,  the 
loss  of  (he  whole  crop,  by  an  other- 
wise unavoidable  delay  beyond  the 
seed  time,  may  be  with  certainty 
prevented." 


Another  important  use  of  this  in- 
strument, is,  to  renew  the  fruitful- 
ness  of  grass  land,  when  it  is  so 
bound  as  to  be  almost  barren,  or 
overrun  with  moss  and  bad  grasses. 
Mr.  Randall  directs,  that  a  good 
compost  be  prepared ;  And  in 
autumn,  when  the  ground  is  a  little 
moist,  that  the  spikes  may  enter 
the  soil  easily,  to  pass  the  roller  up 
and  down  till  the  surface  is  well 
broken  :  Then  sow  hay  seeds,  and 
spread  the  compost  over  them,  to 
be  followed  with  a  smooth  roller, 
with  a  bush  harrow  after  it.  Thus 
a  fine  sward  will  be  renewed,  and 
good  crops  of  the  best  grass  will 
follow. 

But  it  is  obvious  to  remark,  that 
the  surface  must  be  pretty  level, 
and  the  land  free  from  stones,  to 
admit  of  these  operations. 

Mr.  Randall  also  recommends 
passing  this  roller  in  the  spring, 
over  winter  grain,  to  loosen  the 
surface,  and  increase  vegetation, 
and  smoothing  it  afterwards  with  a 
bush  harrow.  Though  this  may 
seem  to  be  a  bold  experiment,  i 
think  it  is  probable  it  might  have 
a  better  effect  than  harrowing, 
which  is  much  approved  by  many, 
as  the  tines  would  penetrate  deeper, 
and  as  the  plants  would  be  less 
exposed  to  extirpation,  than  by  the 
horizontal  motion  of  the  harrow. 

SPRING,  one  of  the  four  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  so  called  from 
the  springing  or  shooting  up  of 
vegetables,  which  in  the  winter 
were  in  a  torpid  state. 

This  season  includes,  accord- 
ing to  common  parlance,  March. 
April  and  May.  It  is  the  most 
busy  and  hurrying  season,  for  far- 


SPR 


SPU 


417 


mers  in  this  country,  of  any  in  thp 
year;  partly  owing  to  the  loii^ 
coMlinuance  of  frost,  which  com- 
monly prevents  nil  kinds  of  tillage 
till  near  the  beginning  of  April; 
and  in  the  northern  parts,  till  the 
end  of  (hat  month.  l>iit  sometimes 
it  IS  partly  owing  also  to  wliat  we 
might  order  otherwise,  to  sowing  a 
larger  proportioj)  than  is  necessary 
of  our  grain  in  the  spring,  and  neg- 
lecting in  autumn  to  cart  out  so 
much  of  our  manure  as  we  might, 
that  we  complain  of  being  so  much 
hurried  with  work  in  the  spring. 

But  besides  tillage  and  seeding, 
which  are  enough  to  employ  the 
whole  time,  there  are  other  mat- 
ters to  be  attended  to  at  this  sea- 
son. The  fences  are  always  to 
be  examined,  and  repaired  :  For 
though  they  were  in  good  order  in 
the  fall  preceding,  high  winds,  vio 
lent  storms,  and  deep  snows,  may 
overset,  break  or  settle  them,  not 
to  mention  the  gradual  decay  and 
rotting  of  wooden  fences.  Or  the 
vioietice  of  frost  may  heave  and 
disorder  them.  Con[ipost  dunghills 
it  will  often  be  needful  to  make  at 
this  season,  especially  if  the  ma- 
terials were  not  all  obtainable  in 
the  preceding  autumn. 

But  preparing  and  seeding  the 
ground  must  not  be  neglected,  nor 
slightly  performed  :  For  as  a  man 
soweth,  so  shall  be  reap.  Slug- 
gishness at  the  beginning,  will  be 
f('i;owed  with  want  at  the  end  of 
tli  '  year. 

SPi^JiNG  GRAIN,  that  which  is 
sown  n»  the  sprmg. 

Farmers    generally    think    they 
cannot  sow  then"  wheat  and  rye  too 
early.     But  their  haste  may  nossi- 
.'>3 


bly  be  too  great.  It  certainly  is, 
if  they  sow  before  the  ground  is 
sufficiently  dry  to  crumble,  and  be- 
come ligfit  and  fine  by  ploughing 
and  harrowing.  For  woiking  the 
ground  when  it  is  too  wet.  will  fail 
of  bringing  on  the  needful  fermen- 
tation, and  tend  to  make  it  too 
clcje  and  compact  to  nourish, 
plants.  At  least,  these  operations 
may  leave  the  soil  as  unfit  to  nour- 
ish plants  as  they  found  it. 

It  is  of  no  small  importance,  I 
confess,  that  spring  wheat  and  rye 
be  forward,  that  so  they  may  not 
be  late  in  ripening :  And  a  good 
method  of  quickening  these  crops, 
is  fetee;)ing  and  liming  the  seed. 
The  same  end  may  be  promoted 
by  top-dressings  with  warm  com- 
posts, ashes,  &ic.  But  land  design- 
ed for  this  use,  should  be  ploughed 
and  laid  rough  in  autumn.  It  will 
be  the  earlier  in  a  condition  to  re- 
ceive the  seed  in  the  spring.  And 
none  but  the  driest  parts  of  a  farm 
should  commonly  be  employed  for 
crops  of  spring  wheat  or  spring  rye: 
As  to  barley  and  oats  they  will  bear 
to  be  sowed  rather  later:  And 
therefore  are  more  fit  to  occupy 
the  lower  and  wetter  parts  of  a 
farm.  Oats  especially  are  often 
found  to  produce  great  crops  in 
such  situations,  if  they  be  not  sown 
too  early :  or  before  the  land  is 
sufficiently  dry  for  the  operations 
of  tillage. 

SPRINGE,  a  device  made  of 
twisted  wire  to  catch  birds,  or  other 
small  animals. 

SPUR,  a  bad  distemper  in  rye. 

The  grains  which  are  affected, 
are  thicker  and  longer  than  the 
sound   ones,  commonly   projecting 


418 


SPU 


ST  A 


beyond  their  husks,  and  mostly 
crooked.  They  are  dark  colour- 
ed, have  a  rough  surface,  and  ap- 
pear furrowed  deeply  from  end  to 
end.  They  are  bitter  to  the  taste  ; 
will  swim  in  water  at  tirst,  and  then 
sink  to  the  bottom.  But  they  are 
easily  distinguishable  by  their  ex- 
traordinary bulk  and  length. 

Various  have  bet  n  the  conjectures 
concerning  the  cause  of  this  dis- 
temper. Some  think  it  is  occa- 
sioned bv  the  bite  of  an  insect : 
Others  ascribe  it  to  fogs,  dews, 
rain,  &c.  But  as  I  have  never 
found  any  such  distempered  grains, 
but  in  rye  of  a  rank  growth,  !  ra- 
ther incline  to  ascribe  it  to  too 
great  a  pressure  and  flow  of  sap 
into  the  kernels,  while  they  are  in 
their  most  tender  state,  by  which 
they  are  too  much  distended,  and 
rendered  incapable  of  throwing  otT 
the  grosser  particles  of  sap;  by 
which  means  they  become  fungous 
and  misshapen. 

IVl,  Salerne,  and  others,  have 
given  sad  accounts  of  the  diseases 
with  which  numbers  of  people  have 
been  afflicted,  in  some  years,  when 
they  have  eaten  fieel)  of  bread,  in 
which  there  was  much  of  the  spur- 
red rye. 

The  peasants  of  Sologne,  it  is 
said,  sift  out  these  grains,  when 
corn  is  plenty  ;  But  in  a  time  of 
scarcity,  being  loth  to  lose  so  much 
grain,  they  neglect  it.  And  then 
they  are  wont  to  be  attacked  with 
a  dry  gangrene,  which  mortifies 
the  extreme  parts  of  the  body,  so 
that  they  fall  off,  almoet  without 
any  pain. 

"The  Hotel  Dieu,  at  Orleans, 
has  had  many  of  these  miserable 


objects,  who  had  not  any  thing  more 
remaining,  than  the  bare  trunk  of 
the  body,  and  yet  lived  in  that 
condition  several  days. 

"  As  it  is  not  every  year  that 
the  spur  in  rye  produces  these 
dreadful  accidents,  Langius  is  of 
opinion,  that  there  may  be  two 
kinds  of  this  distemper ;  one  which 
is  not  hurtful  to  human  constitu- 
tions, and  the  other  which  occa- 
sions the  gangrene,  it  is  however 
probable,  that  there  is  but  one  kind 
of  spur,  and  that  it  does  not  sensi- 
bly hurt ;  first,  when  suflicient  care 
is  taken  in  sifting  the  grain  ;  and 
secondly,  when  only  a  small  part 
of  the  corn  is  distempered.  It  is 
also  said,  that  the  spur  loses  its  bad 
quality  after  the  grain  has  been 
kept  a  certain  time  :  In  which  case, 
the  reason  why  some  peasants  are 
attacked  with  the  gangrene  in  years 
of  dearth,  may  be,  that  they  con- 
sume their  crop  as  soon  as  their 
harvest  is  over." — DnhamePs  Cul- 
hire  des  Terres. 

STABLE,  a  house,  or  lodgment 
for  house. 

A  stable  should  have  an  open 
airy  situation,  and  be  as  free  as 
possible  from  mud  and  wetness. 
The  floor  should  be  built  of  pine 
planks,  not  on  a  level,  but  descend- 
ing backwards,  that  the  stale  may 
not  remain  under  the  horses,  so 
that  they  may  lie  dry  and  clean. 

As  a  horse  is  a  cleanly  animal, 
hen  roosts,  hog  sties,  and  necessary 
houses,  should  not  be  too  near  to 
his  apartment.  A  stable  should 
have  windows  to  open  and  shut, 
that  fresh  air  may  be  let  in  when 
the  weather  is  hot :  And  it  should  be 
tight  and  warm  in  winter.     Other- 


ST  A 


STA 


419 


wise  the  great  vicissitudes  of  heal 
and  cold  will  do  much  hurt  to  the 
animals  ;  and  the  more  as,  being 
tied  up,  the)  cannot  use  much  mo 
tion.  Some  of  the  windows  should 
be  glass,  because  horses  are  fond 
of  light.  And  it  is  better  for  their 
eyes  that  they  be  not  confined  at 
all  to  total  darkness  in  the  day 
time. 

A  manger  is  necessary  in  a  sta- 
ble, to  preventing  wasting  of  hay. 
Some  choose  their  horses  should 
have  their  hay  in  racks.  Others 
think  it  puts  a  horf«e  into  an  un 
natural  posture,  as  he  is  used  to 
take  his  food  from  the  ground.  If 
a  rack  be  used,  it  should  be  per- 
pendicular, not  leaning  towards 
the  horse,  nor  placed  too  high : 
And  the  manger  before  it  should  be 
two  feet  wide,  or  more.  The  hin- 
der part  of  the  rack  should  be  made 
shelving,  that  as  the  hay  settle^-,  it 
may  naturally  press  towards  the 
horse. 

A  box  for  provender  may  be  fixed 
at  one  end  of  the  manger,  in  each 
stall ;  or  the  manger  may  be  made 
as  tight  as  a  box,  to  prevent  loss 
of  grain.  But  the  surest  way  to 
prevent  wasting,  is  to  give  a  horse 
his  corn  in  a  pail,  with  a  strap  of 
leather  to  slip  over  his  head,  which 
will  prevent  the  loss  of  so  much 
as  a  single  grain.  It  may  be  put 
on  or  off  in  an  instant.  See  the 
article  Horse. 

STACK,  a  large  quantity  of  hay. 
grain,  or  straw,  piled  up,  pointed 
at  the  top,  and  usually  covered 
with  long  straw,  or  thatch,  to  keep 
out  the  weather. 

Square  and  oblong  stacks  are 
not  goodt       Round  ones   have  a 


less  quantity  of  superficies  in  pro- 
poitiou  to  their  contents  ;  and 
iheiefore  will  receive  less  damage 
from  the  weather. 

When  sheaves  of  corn  are  stack- 
ed, the  heads  should  be  all  turned 
carefully  inward.  But  if  designed 
to  stand  long  it  should  be  on  a  ^vov 
mounted  on  blocks,  capped  with 
flat  stones,  lo  prevent  the  entrance 
of  vermin. 

Farmers  should  not  practise  the 
stacking  of  good  hay,  in  a  country 
like  ours,  where  timber  for  bund- 
ing barns  is  plenty  and  cheap.  For 
so  much  of  the  outside  i?  always 
spoiled  by  the  weather,  that  they 
may  soon  lose  more  in  this  way, 
than  the  cost  of  a  l>arn. 

But  much  of  the  salt  hay  in 
marshes  must  be  stick'^d,  on  ac- 
count of  the  diflicuhy  of  removing 
it  before  winter.  These  stacks 
must  be  mounted  on  what  is  called 
a  staddle,  consisting  ■■  f  piles  driven 
into  the  ground,  ot  such  a  height, 
that  the  highest  tides  may  not  reach 
the  bottoms  of  the  stacks. 

STAGGERS,  a  disorder  to 
which  both  horses  and  neat  cattle 
are  liable.  If  the  staggering  and 
Tailing  of  a  horse  be  owing  to  hard 
riding  in  hot  weather,  Gibson  di- 
rects to  take  without  delay  a  pint 
of  blood  from  his  neck,  and  then  a 
quart  from  some  vein  in  his  hinder 
parts,  that  so  an  efT^ctual  revulsion 
may  be  made :  And  that  he  should 
afterwards  be  kept  on  a  moderate 
and  cleansing  di;'t. 

When  the  disease  arises  from  an 
apoplectic  disorder,  he  must  not 
only  be  bled,  as  in  the  former  case, 
but  be  exercised  every  day  with 
chewing  assafoelida  and  savin,  and 


420 


ST  A 


ST  A 


the  most  noisome  tilings  (hat  can 
be  got,  which  will  put  him  upon 
constant  action,  and  forward  the 
circulation  in  the  small  vegsels. 
Afterwards  recourse  must  he  had 
to  clysters  and  strong  purgatives, 
rubbing  and  exercise. 

When  the  disorder  arises  from 
vertigo,  or  swimming  of  the  heail, 
the  animal  reels,  turns  round  ar.d 
falls.  In  this  case,  tak(^  an  ounce 
of  senna  boiled  in  five  pints  of  wa- 
ter, with  four  ounces  of  common 
treacle,  with  the  usual  quantit}  of 
oils,  or  lard,  to  throw  in  as  a  clys- 
ter. And  repeat  it  for  two  or  three 
days.  After  which  he  may  have  a 
drench  of  beer,  in  which  roots  of 
peony,  angelica,  rue,  rosemary, 
flowers  of  lavender,  and  the  like, 
have  been  steeped.  If  the  disease 
should  contiiiue  obstinate,  bHil;;  of 
cinnabar  and  ass;ifoe'i'!a  wifh  hay- 
berries  will  be  proper  here,  as  well 
as  in  apoplectic  cases. 

Some  venture  to  put  ginger,  and 
other  stimulating  things,  into  the 
ear,  to  give  the  blood  a  quicker 
motion.  But  this  practice,  though 
it  may  chance  to  do  service,  is  dan- 
gerous.— See  Gibson''s  Farriery. 

"  The  staggers,  in  my  opinion, 
are  produced  by  permitting  a  horse 
to  feed  on  grass  in  the  spring  and 
fall ;  late  at  night  and  early  in  the 
morning;  for  early  in  the  morning 
and  late  in  evening,  the  fields  and 
p;istures  are  covert  d  with  a  pri- 
sonous webb,  which  is  spun  and 
spread  upon  the  grass  by  a  small 
spider.  So  rapidly,  so  industrious- 
ly does  this  little  insect  work,  that 
in  the  space  of  one  night,  not  a 
blade  or  spire  of  grass  has  been  left 
ijntouched.     This    web,   catching 


the  dew  drops  on  its  bosom,  causes 
the  fields  in  the  morning  to  glisten 
and  sparkle  as  if  covered  with  a 
thin  sheet  of  ice.  A  horse  that 
feeds  upon  a  pasture  in  this  situa- 
tion, must  of  course,  collect  large 
quantities  of  (his  web  and  dew.  and 
very  often  (he  spider  itself.  They 
act  upon  (he  horse,  producing  de- 
lirium, giddiness,  apoplexy,  and 
sometimes  death.  The  lungs  ap- 
pear to  be  the  principal  seat  of  this 
disease ;  for  in  cases  of  dissec(ion 
they  have  been  found  much  en- 
larged and  covered  wi(h  large 
brown  spots,  smell  ver}  oflensively, 
and  have  some  appearance  of  mor- 
tiiication." — Jlhso/rs  Farrier. 

This  writer  is  the  only  one  whose 
works  we  have  seen,  who  a{tri- 
butes  the  s(aggers  to  (he  cause 
above  mentioned.  We  shall  haz- 
ard no  opinion  on  (he  correcdiess 
of  his  (heory,  but  think  i(  wor(h 
a((en(ion  and  further  inquiry.  The 
same  writer  recommends  ihe  fol- 
lowing 

REMEDY. 

Take  from  the  net  k  vein  half  a  gal- 
lon of  blood,  three  times  in  a  week, 
of  sassafras  (ea  (hree  half  pints, 
plantain  juice  half  a  pint,  assafoeti- 
da  half  an  ounce,  saUpede  one  (ea 
spoonful,  mix  and  give  them  as  a 
drench  three  mornings  in  a  week ; 
give  an  injection,  composed  of  one 
pin(  of  meal,  (wo  quarts  of  wa(er, 
one  pin(  of  molasses  and  one  spoon- 
ful of  hog's-lard — let  (he  horse  be 
modera(ely  exercised,  and  when- 
ever he  is  s(anding  should  be  well 
rubbed — give  a  mash  twice  within 
a  week,  composed  of  one  gallon  of 
bran,  one  table  spoonful  of  sulphur, 
and  one  tea  spoonful  of  saltpetre. 


ST  A 


ST  A 


421 


one  quart  of  boiling  sassafras  tea, 
and  an  eighth  of  an  ounce  of  assa- 
foetida,  not  permitting  the  horse  to 
drink  cold  water  for  six  hours  af- 
terwards. Should  he  be  much 
mended  by  this  treatment,  nothing 
more  will  be  necessary,  except 
feeding  him  on  bran  or  light  food 
of  any  kind  ;  but  should  he  appear 
to  receive  no  benefit  from  these 
attentions  in  four  or  five  days,  take 
of  calomel  twenty-five  grains,  of 
opium  two  drachms,  powdered  fen- 
nel seed  one  drachm,  of  syrup  of 
any  kind  a  sufiicient  quantity  to 
make  the  ingredients  into  a  ball, 
which  may  be  given  every  morn- 
ing for  four  or  five  days,  by  which 
time  the  horse  will  get  well  if  his 
disease  will  admit  of  a  cure. 

"  Horses  that  are  confined  in  a 
stable  never  have  the  staggers ; 
conseqiiently  it  would  be  advisable 
for  every  person,  whose  situation 
will  admit  of  it,  to  confine  their  hor- 
ses, particularly  at  night,  during 
the  spring  and  fall  months." 

A  gentleman  in  North  Carolina 
asserts,  that  the  following  recipe 
has  been  found,  after  repeated 
trials,  to  be  effectual. 

Take  of  the  expressed  juice  of 
garlic  six  spoonfuls,  which  pour 
down  the  horse's  throat  by  means 
of  a  horn,  or  give  it  to  him  in  a 
drench.  If  the  first  dose  should 
not  relieve  him,  or  he  should  ap- 
pear to  be  maze-headed,  repeat  it 
after  an  intermedium  of  two  or 
three  hours.  The  juice  of  the 
leek  or  onion,  given  in  rather  a 
greater  quantity,  will  produce 
nearly  the  same  eflfect. 

STALE,  the  urine  of  animals. 
The  urines  of  different  animals  are 


said  to  possess  the  same  properties 
as  their  dungs.  They  are  of  more 
importance  as  manures  than  far- 
mers in  general  are  aware  of, 
I'hey  may  easily  convince  them- 
selves of  this,  if  they  will  only  con- 
sider how  much  more  a  piece  of 
ground  is  enriched  by  folding  than 
o.)e  of  the  same  size  would  be.  by 
laying  the  same  dung,  or  an  equal 
quantity,  upon  it,  that  is  dropped 
on  it  by  folding. 

If  the  stale  of  a  farmer's  stock 
were  all  saved,  and  well  applied, 
it  might  perhaps  be  of  near  as  much 
advantage  as  their  dung.  Every 
possible  method  should  therefore 
be  taken  to  prevent  the  loss  or 
wasting  of  it.  Floors  where  beasts 
are  lodged,  should  be  perfectly 
tight  ;  and  they  should  be  con- 
stantly well  littered  with  substances 
that  will  absorb  and  retain  the 
stale  ;  even  with  common  earth, 
when  nothing  else  is  at  hand.  Pens 
in  which  beasts  are  kept  should 
have  a  layer  of  mulch  :  Or  else  the 
surface  of  the  ground  should  be 
taken  up,  and  used  as  a  manure. 
Otherwise  the  urine  is  lost. 

Mr.  Hartlib  praises  the  Dutch 
for  saving  the  urine  of  cattle  as 
carefully  as  the  dung,  to  enrich 
their  lands.  The  older  it  is,  the 
better  it  is  for  this  purpose.  When 
it  is  deprived  of  its  fiery  hot  parti- 
cles by  time,  it  will  be  a  great  fer- 
tilizer of  every  kind  of  soil.  Co- 
lumella recommends  old  urine  as 
an  excellent  application  to  the 
roots  of  trees.  But  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  apply  too  much  of  it. 
For  trees  have  been  sometimes 
killed  by  urine. 

STALLION,  a  stone  horse. 


422 


STE 


STE 


One  that  is  kept  for  covering 
should  be  well  shaped.  See  the 
article  Horse. 

He  should  be  free  from  every 
kind  of  distemper  and  natural 
blemish,  of  a  middle  size  at  least, 
with  a  good  gait,  neither  addicted 
to  starting  and  stumbling,  and  of 
such  a  colour  as  is  most  coveted. 
For  it  may  be  justly  expected,  that 
the  colts  will  inherit  the  qualities 
of  the  horse,  let  them  be  good  or 
bad. 

STEAM-BOILER.  This  is  an 
implement  which  is  very  simple 
and  so  useful  that  no  farmer  ought 
to  be  without  it.  The  following  is 
a  description  of  its  construction. 

A  steam  boiler  is  commonly 
made  by  setting  a  kettle  holding 
twelve  gallons  or  more  in  a  furnace 
of  brick  or  stone,  and  over  this  a 
hogshead,  with  one  head  taken 
out  and  the  other  bored  full  of 
holes,  is  set  so  close  that  the  steam 
of  the  kettle  when  boiling,  can  only 
rise  through  the  holes,  and  thence 
ascend  among  the  articles  to  he 
boiled  in  the  hogshead  and  pass  off 
at  the  top.  In  this  way  a  hogs- 
head of  potatoes  will  be  nearly  as 
soon  boiled  as  a  small  part  of  them 
could  have  been,  if  placed  in  the 
kettle  underneath. 

As  the  kettle  must  be  so  closed 
as  to  prevent  any  steam  from  pass- 
ing off,  but  through  the  bottom  of 
the  hogshead  or  vat,  a  pipe  or  tube 
must  be  set  one  side,  through  which 
with  the  aid  of  a  funnel  the  water  is 
to  be  poured  into  the  kettle  as  of- 
ten as  occasion  may  require.  When 
poured  in,  the  tube  is  to  be  stopped 
with  a  plug  for  that  purpose. 

Grain  oif  all  kinds  may  be  steam 


boiled  to  great  advantage,  for  feed- 
ing and  fatting  cattle  ;  but  in  that 
case,  it  is  requisite  to  have  the 
bottom  of  the  hogshead  covered 
with  a  cloth,  to  prevent  the  grain 
rutming  down  through  the  holes. 

By  experiments  which  have  been 
accurately  made  in  Pennsylvania 
upon  Indian  corn  and  potatoes, 
Used  for  fatting  swine,  it  was  found 
that  they  increased  in  weight  one 
third  faster  on  the  boiled,  than  on 
the  unboiled  food ;  or,  in  other 
words,  they  gained  three  pounds 
when  fed  on  the  former,  where  they 
only  gained  two  pounds  when  fed 
on  the  latter. 

STERCORARY,  a  store  of  dung, 
or  compost,  kept  under  cover : 
Also  the  building  in  which  it  is 
kept. 

In  these  places,  if  they  are  well 
constructed,  the  manure  will  retain 
its  whole  strength.  The  dung  so 
preserved,  if  I  mistake  not,  will  be 
of  double  the  value  of  that  which 
is  managed  in  the  common  way. 
For  it  is  secured  effectually  from 
washing  rains,  and  drying  winds  ; 
as  well  as  secluded  from  the  direct 
influence  of  the  sun,  which  always 
causes  a  copious  evaporation  from 
uncovered  dunghills. 

To  make  a  stercorary,  Mr.  Eve- 
lyn directs,  to  dig  a  square  or  ob- 
long pit,  of  a  size  proportioned  to 
the  compost  wanted,  with  the  side 
towards  the  field  sloping,  so  as  to 
receive  a  cart,  to  load  or  unload 
easily :  The  bottom  to  be  well 
paved,  and  the  sides  also  made  so 
tight  as  to  hold  water,  the  whole 
being  under  cover.  Then  the  far- 
mer's care  must  be  to  fill  the  pit 
with  compost  suited  to  the  nature 
of  his  land. 


STE 


STE 


42i 


A  good  proportion  of  lime  will 
be  proper  in  these,  composts,  to  as- 
sist in  dissolving  the  vegetiible  sub- 
stances. It  is  best  that  the  layers 
of  each  substance  should  be  thin, 
as  the  heaps  will  need  the  less  turn- 
ing and  mixing  afterwards. 

It  ma)  be  very  convenient  for 
the  farmer  to  build  a  stercorary  ad- 
joining to  the  side  of  his  barn, 
wliere  the  cattle  are  housed,  cov- 
ering it  with  a  continuation  of  the 
roof.  In  this  case,  the  dung  may 
be  thrown  directly  through  the  win- 
dows into  the  heap  ;  from  whence, 
through  doors,  it  will  not  be  diffi 
cult  to  shovel  it  into  carts. 

But,  instead  of  this  method,  some 
gentlemen  farmers  in  this  country 
have  begun  to  set  the  example  of 
making  cellars  under  (heir  barns, 
into  apartments  of  which,  the  dung 
is  easily  passed  through  scuttles  in 
the  tioors.  Other  substances  may 
be  easily  mixed  with  dung  from 
time  to  time  as  there  may  be  occa- 
sion. Or  it  may  be  kept  to  im- 
prove by  itself.  A  cart  way  must 
be  prepared  to  go  through  the  cel- 
lar, or  one  entrance  at  least,  not  so 
steep  but  that  a  common  team  may 
draw  out  a  cart  full.  The  floor 
should  be  well  paved,  and  the  wall 
made  tight  with  mortar,  to  prevent 
the  escaping  of  the  fluid  parts  of 
the  manure.  But  the  floor  over- 
head needs  not  to  be  very  tight ;  be- 
cause the  stale  will  not  be  lost,  if 
it  should  pass  through  the  seams. 

This  method,  in  our  cold  coun- 
try may  be  allowed  to  be  prefera- 
ble to  building  any  other  stercora- 
ry ;  especially  as  part  of  the  cellar 
may  be  employed  in  storing  roots, 
&c.  for  the  cattle.     For  it  is  no 


small  advantage,  to  have  the  dung 
deposited,  during  the  winter,  in  a 
place  where  no  stop  is  put  to  its 
fermentation  by  frost.  Besides,  it 
is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  freez- 
ing causes  a  plentiful  evaporation 
of  the  strength  of  the  manure, 
which  in  this  way  is  prevented. 

It  would  be  well  to  divide  the 
parts  of  the-cellar  under  the  scut- 
tles into  pens,  that  the  heaps  may 
lie  the  more  compact,  and  be  less 
liable  to  too  much  drying.  And  as 
the  heaps  will  need  mixing  with 
the  shovel,  it  will  be  convenient 
to  shovel  the  manure  from  pen  to 
pen. 

But  instead  of  making  stercora- 
ries,  or  dunghills,  in  the  usual 
modes,  the  Society  of  Improvers,  in 
Scotland,  prefer  middens,  or  mid- 
dings  as  they  are  there  called,  as 
it  saves  labour  and  expense  in  the 
management  of  manures.  "Take, 
say  they,  in  the  field  intended  to  be 
manured,  a  head  ridge  that  is  con- 
veniently situated.  Plough  it  two 
or  three  times,  as  deep  as  can  be 
in  the  cleaving  way,  if  the  ridge 
be  high  gathered,  and  harrow  it 
well :  Then  lay  thereon  your  slimy 
clay,  about  a  foot  thick,  a  part  of 
the  earth  uncovered.  Next  lay  a 
thin  layer  of  dung,  another  of  clay, 
and  after  that  a  layer  of  unslacked 
lime,  at  least  a  foot  thick  :  Then 
throw  up  the  earth  left  uncovered 
on  each  side.  After  this  repeat 
another  layer  of  clay,  then  lime 
and  finish  with  clay  or  sea  wreck, 
covered  with  earth.  The  more  of 
the  slimy  clay  the  better;  for 
though  it  may  be  cold,  yet  it  will 
not  be  the  worse  for  a  sandy  hot 
ground.     If  you  examine  the  clay» 


424 


STE 


STE 


we  doubt  not  but  you  vvlli  (ind  it 
a  very  (at  substance  ;  being,  as  we 
conjecture,  mostly  muscle  and 
other  sliejis  mixed  w.ilh  earth, 
brou^iht  by  the  tide  and  the  river. 

"  After  this  bank  has  stood  six 
weeks  or  two  months,  incorporat- 
ing and  fermenting,  turn  and  mix  it. 
Yoke  your  |jlough,  enter  upon  your 
stercorary  with  a  cleaving  furrow, 
and  continue  repeating  the  plough- 
ings  the  same  way,  until  the  very 
bottom  be  ripped  up  ;  then  harrow 
it;  it  is  impossible  to  overdo  it.  If 
it  is  very  cloddy,  it  should  be  har- 
rowed between  the  ploughings. 
Begin  then  in  the  middle,  and 
plough  again  and  again  in  the  gath 
ering  way,  until  it  be  brought  into 
as  narrow  bounds,  and  be  raised  as 
high  as  possible.  Let  all  that  the 
plough  has  left  be  thrown  up  with 
shovels  on  the  top.  Every  such 
turning  and  heaping  occasions  a 
new  ferment,  and  improves  the 
manure.  If  the  first  heat  should 
go  off  before  it  is  reduced  to  a  fine 
fat  mould,  it  may  be  turned  over 
again,  and  will  take  a  new  heat. 
About  fifty  or  sixty  cart  loads  of 
this  compost  are  used  upon  an  acre 
of  ground" 

Any  farmer  may  easily  follow 
this  example,  and  suit  his  compost 
to  his  soil.  It  will  save  much  cart- 
ing, especially  when  the  land  to  be 
manured  with  it  lies  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  farmyard.  At  the 
same  time  it  will  reduce  tliose  dis- 
agreeable ridg(  s  that  gatlier  in  the 
borders  of  lots  that  are  long  tilh^d, 
which  are  always  a  richer  soil  than 
the  rest  of  the  field  and  more  fit  for 
this  use. 

An  operation  similar  to  the  above, 


was  experienced  by  i\Ir.  Eliot. 
He  built  a  cow  yard  very  long  and 
narrow,  at  the  side  of  a  road,  and 
once  in  three  or  tour  days,  he  re- 
moved the  fences  from  the  ends, 
and  gave  it  a  deep  ploughing. 
The  consequence  was,  that  all  the 
earth  which  was  stirred  with  the 
ploughs  became,  in  his  opinion,  of 
ecjual  value  a«  a  manure,  with  good 
barn  dung.  The  advantage  of  this 
method  of  increasing  manure  is  un- 
speakably great.  'I'he  manure  of 
a  yard  may  thus  be  increased  to  ten 
fold. 

The  3d  volume  of  x\Jemoirs  of 
the  Philadelphia  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, pages  222,  3,4.5,  contains  an 
account  of  a  Stercorary,  erected 
by  Mr.  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts, 
from  which  the  following  is  extract- 
ed. 

"The  area  of  my  Stercorary  is 
90  feet  by  40,  the  cellar  is  in  the 
shallowest  part  eight  feet  deep,  in 
its  deepest  twelve,  and  in  the  well 
if  I  mistake  not,  fifteen. — It  is  open 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  one  of 
its  short  sides,  and  one  half  of  the 
long,  viz.  at  the  north  and  west, 
besides  large  openings  at  the  east. 
There  is  always  four  or  five  (t-et 
atmosphere  above  the  top  of  the 
manure,  and  between  it  and  the 
barn  floor,  and  a  constant  current 
setting  one  way  or  another.  This 
gives  the  advantage  of  a  free  cir- 
culating air,  which  in  general,  in 
such  cases  is  not  obtained. 

"  Tlie  great  difficulty  1  have  had 
to  encounter,  arises  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  an  equal  irrigation  of 
the  heap  ^  a  difficulty  which  must 
attend  all  permanently  covered 
Stercoraries.      For   water  turned. 


STE 


STE 


425 


upon  the  heap  through  spouts 
runs  in  currents,  and  is  not  equail} 
sprinkled  over  a  heap  hke  rani, 
which  is  nature's  process  in  thi.^ 
business.  To  obviate  this  diffi- 
culty 1  have  constructed  a  very 
simple  machine  which  answers  per- 
fectly. The  stone  piers  which 
support  the  beams  of  the  barn,  di- 
vide the  cellar  lengtti  ways  into 
three  equal  compartments.  I  have 
a  box  six  inches  deep,  four  feet 
wide,  and  about  thirteen  feet  long, 
which  runs  by  means  of  wheels, 
upon  a  sort  of  wooden  rail  way, 
made  by  strips  of  planks  and  fixed 
about  a  foot  fron)  the  floor  of  the 
barn  ;  this  is  perforated  with  suita- 
ble holes.  A  permanent  spout 
extends  through  the  middle  of  the 
cellar,  and  a  moveable  spout  ex 
tends  from  this  to  the  perforated 
box — regular  openings  are  made  in 
the  permanent  spout,  which  may 
be  closed  at  will. — It  is  also  closed 
at  the  end.  By  these  means,  the 
box  is  tilled  from  the  reservoir  and 
pump,  and  each  part  successively 
irrigated  perfectly  and  with  great 
ease.  A  man  by  two  days  labour 
can  irrigate  my  whole  cellar,  and  if 
effectually  done,  thrice  in  a  season 
is  sufficient." 

The  following  humerous  exhibi- 
tion of  the  faults  of  some  farmers, 
as  respects  the  economy  of  their 
barn  yards  and  stercoraries,  is  ex- 
tracted from  "  An  Address  tb  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Society, 
by  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy. 

"  As  we  proceed  to  the  farm,  we 
will  stop  one  moment  at  the  barn 
yard.  We  shall  say  nothing  con 
cerning  the  arrangement  of  the 
barn.  They  must  include  comfort, 
54 


convenience,  protection,  for  his 
stock,  his  hay,  and  his  fodder,  or 
they  are  little  or  nothing.  We  go 
thither  for  the  purpose  only  of 
looking  at  what  the  learned  call  the 
stercorary,  but  vv  hich  farmers  know 
by  the  name  of  the  manure  heap. 
What  is  its  stale  ?  How  is  it  lo- 
cated ?  Some  times  we  see  the 
barn  yard  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  with 
two  or  three  fine  rocks  in  the  cen- 
tre ;  so  that  whatever  is  carried  or 
left  there,  is  sure  of  being  chiefly 
exhaled  by  the  sun,  or  washed  away 
by  the  rain.  Some  times  it  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  hollow  of  some  val- 
ley, into  which  all  the  hills  and 
[leighbouring  buildings  precipitate 
their  waters.  Of  consequence  all 
its  contents  are  drowned,  or  water 
soaked,  or  what  is  worse,  there  hav- 
ing been  no  care  about  the  bottom 
of  the  receptacle,  its  wealth  goes 
off  in  the  under  strata,  to  enrich 
possibly  the  antipodes. 

"  Now  all  this  is  to  the  last  degree 
wasteful,  absurd,  aiid  impoverish- 
ing. Too  much  cannot  be  said  to 
expose  the  loss  and  injury  which 
the  farmer  thus  sustains.  Let  the 
farmer  want  whatever  else  he 
pleases.  Bat  let  no  man  call  him- 
self a  farmer,  who  suffers  himself 
to  want  a  receptacle  for  his  ma- 
nure, water-tight  at  the  bottom,  and 
covered  over  at  the  top,  so  that  be- 
low nothing  shall  be  lost  by  drain- 
age, and  above,  nothing  shall  be 
carried  away  by  evaporation.  Let 
every  farmer,  wanting  such  protec- 
tion for  his  manure,  be  assured  that 
he  loses  by  the  sun  and  rain,  ten 
fold  as  much  as  will  pay  all  his  tax- 
es, state,  town,  and  national  every 
vear.     I-et  not  the  size  of  his  ma- 


426 


STO 


STO 


nureheap  be  any  objection.  If  it 
be  great  he,  loses  the  more,  and 
can  afford  the  expense  better.  If 
it  be  small,  this  is  the  best  way  to 
make  it  become  greater.  Besides, 
what  is  the  expense  ?  What  is 
wanted  ?  An  excavation,  two  or 
three  feet  deep,  well  clayed,  paved, 
and  '  dishing'  as  it  is  called,  of  an 
area  from  six  to  thirty  feet  square, 
according  to  the  quantity  of  the 
manure  ;  over  head  a  roof  made  of 
rough  boards,  and  refuse  lumber  it 
he  pleases." — Massachxisetts  Agri 
cultural  Repository^  vol.  iv.  p.  6. 

STOCK.     A  term  used  by  En 
glish  farmers,  to  express  the  quanti 
ty  of  money    or  wealth    a  farmei 
should  have,  to  enable  him  to  hire 
and  cultivate  a  farm  to  advantage. 

The  larger  the  farm  a  man  hires, 
the  greater  stock  he  should  have 
in  hand.  Writers  on  husbandry 
reckon  the  needful  stock  is  equal 
to  the  first  years  rent,  and  seed; 
expense  of  horse  keeping,  clothes 
andpocket  money  ;  thecost  of  cat- 
tle to  be  kept,  and  farming  uten- 
sils of  every  kind  ;  besides  the  la- 
bour that  must  be  hired,  including 
fencing  and  draining. 

It  would  not  be  amiss,  if  those 
who  hire  farms  in  our  country, 
would  carefully  calculate  these  ex- 
penses, before  they  take  farms,  and 
consider  their  ability.  For  want 
of  this  needful  precaution,  they  of- 
ten find,  when  it  is  too  late,  that 
they  are  unable  to  carry  on  the 
culture  to  advantage,  and  are  una- 
ble to  pay  their  rent.  The  conse- 
quences are  unspeakably  bad  and 
distressing.  Both  the  landlord  and 
tenant  are  sufferers. 

But  the  word  stocky  in  this  coun- 


try, is  commonly  used  by  farmers 
to  express  only  live  stock,  or  the 
beasts  that  are  kept  upon  a  farm. 
These  should  not  be  all  of  one 
kind,  but  such  an  assortment  as  is 
best  adapted  to  the  convenience 
and  profit  of  the  farmer.  The  stock 
should  be  adapted  to  the  nature 
and  circumstances  of  the  farm. 

Young  stock,  in  general,  is  bet- 
ter than  old.  The  more  there  are 
in  a  growing  state,  the  greater  is 
the  profit.  And  very  old  cattle, 
when  turned  off  to  fat,  do  not  an- 
.-^wer  so  well  as  those  which  are  but 
little  past  their  prime,  or  full  vi- 
gour. It  costs  more  to  fatten 
them,  and  the  meat  is  not  so  valua- 
ble. 

It  is  best  to  begin  with  a  considera- 
ble variety  of  animals ;  that  the 
farmer,  by  observing  the  profit  he 
gets  from  each  kind,  may  afterwards 
vary,  as  he  finds  to  be  best.  For 
this  cannot  be  determined,  but  by 
some  experience :  Because  some 
animals  prosper  best  on  one  farm, 
and  some  on  another;  some  best 
under  one  manager,  and  some  un- 
der another. 

A  variety  indeed,  for  other  rea- 
sons, is  always  best :  One  is,  be- 
cause almost  every  farm  produces 
a  variety  of  food,  some  of  which 
will  answer  best  for  one  animal, 
and  some  for  another.  Even  in 
the  same  pasture,  that  which  one 
species  of  animals  leave,  another 
will  feed  upon. 

Also,  the  stock  should  vary,  in 
some  proportion  as  the  lands  of  a 
farm  do.  As  some  farms  contain 
a  large  proportion  of  high  and  dry 
pasture  grounds,  the  greater  quanti- 
ty of  sheep  should  be  kept.    Where 


STO 


STO 


427 


low  meadow  abounds,  the  kind  of 
stock  should  be  increased,  which 
will  do  best  on  coarse  water-grassesj 
which  is  well  known  to  be  neat  cat- 
tle, that  are  young  and  growing. 
But  if  a  farm  yield  a  plenty  of  good 
sweet  grass,  it  is  the  more  suitable 
for  a  dairy  farm,  and  the  greater 
proportion  of  cows  ought  to  be  kept. 

But  on  no  farm  should  horses  be 
multiplied  beyond  the  number 
which  are  needed,  or  which  can  be 
employed  to  advantage.  For  they 
are  great  eaters,  and  require  the 
best  of  the  fodder  and  pasture.  A 
small  farmer  can  scarcely  afford  to 
keep  one,  unless  he  puts  him  to  the 
draught. 

Let  a  farm  be  what  it  will,  it 
should  never  be  overstocked.  This 
is  an  error  that  too  many  farmers 
in  this  country  are  guilty  of.  Doubt- 
less it  arises  from  a  covetous  dis- 
position ;  but  they  sadly  miss  their 
aim.  Instead  of  gaining,  they  lose 
by  it.  A  half  starved  stock  can 
never  be  profitable. 

A  farm  may  be  said  with  truth  to 
be  overstocked,  when  a  greater 
number  of  animals  are  kept,  than 
can  be  well  fed  with  its  produce, 
during  the  whole  year.  For  it  is  a 
ruinous  practice,  to  suffer  a  beast 
to  pine  away,  and  lose,  in  one 
part  of  the  year,  the  flesh  he  gains 
in  another.  And  when  the  farmer 
is  constrained  to  purchase  food  for 
his  stock,  he  too  often  affords  them 
but  a  scanty  allowance.  Sometimes, 
it  is  not  in  his  power  to  obtain  it. 

The  starvation  of  cattle,  or  keep- 
ing them  too  short  of  food,  not  on- 
ly prevents  their  being  profitable 
to  the  owner,  but  teaches  them  to 
be  disorderly,  and  to  break  through, 


or  leap  over  fences ;  and  many 
times  to  become  absolutely  un- 
governable ;  so  that  they  must 
either  be  killed,  or  sold  off  at  a  low 
price  ;  in  either  of  which  cases, 
there  is  often  much  inconvenience 
and  loss. 

It  is  far  belter  that  some  of  the 
stock  of  food  should  be  left  in  the 
spring,  than  that  it  should  fall  short. 
It  is  a  good  reserve  against  a  sea- 
son of  scarcity  :  And  such  seasons 
often  happen  in  this  country  by 
drought. 

The  following  general  rules,  as 
to  the  management  of  stock  may 
deserve  attention. 

"I.  Animals  intended  for  the 
butcher,  should  be  kept  in  a  state 
of  regular  improvement.  The  finer 
breeds  are  highly  fed  from  their 
birth,  and  are  almost  always  fat. 
With  other  breeds,  and  on  pastures 
of  inferior  quality,  this  is  neither 
necessary  nor  practicable.  But  in 
every  case,  the  same  principle  of 
improvement  should  be  adhered  to, 
and  such  animals  ought  never  to  be 
allowed  to  lose  flesh,  in  the  hopes 
of  afterwards  restoring  it  by  better 
feeding. 

"  2.  The  size  should  never  be 
above  that  which  the  pasture  can 
support  in  a  thriving  condition. 
The  attempt  to  raise  them  to  an 
undue  size,  by  crossing,  is  censura- 
ble. In  regard  to  size,  the  stock  of 
every  kind,  and  of  all  the  various 
breeds,  should  be  proportioned  to 
the  quantity,  and  the  quality  of 
their  intended  food. 

"  3.  The  best  pasture  should  be 
allotted  to  that  portion  of  the  stock, 
which  goes  first  to  market ;  the 
next  in  quality  to  the  breeders ;  and 


428 


STO 


STO 


the  coarse  pavSlure,  to  the  inferior 
or  growing  stock- 

"  4.  Great  care  should  be  taken, 
not  lo  overstock  pasture,  which  is 
attended  with  great  loss  to  the 
farmer,  and  the  c*iniinunity.  This 
Ought  to  be  parliciilarly  avoided  in 
young  and  growing  animals.  If 
they  are  kept  poor  during  one  part 
ol'  the  year,  they  will  scarcely 
thrive  during  the  remainder;  and 
wiie«iever  ill  fed,  will  never  attain 
to  their  proper  size  and  proportion. 
"•  Lastly,  the  food,  whoever  it 
raa\  b;.',  shoaid  not  be  too  suddenly 
changed.  It  !s  seldom  protilabie 
to  bring  lean  animals  itnmediately 
from  coarse  to  rich  pastures;  and 
a  change  from  dry,  to  succulent 
food,  and  vice  versa,  should  be 
gradually  effected.  A  change  of 
pasture,  however  of  the  same  quali- 
ty, tends  to  produce  a  greater  ac- 
cumulation of  fat.  Code  of  Agri- 
culture, 

The  following  observations  rela- 
tive to  the  size  and  form  of  stock 
are  by  Henry  Cline,  Esq.  an  Eng- 
lish Surgeon.  They  have  met  the 
approbation  of  the  most  eminent 
agriculturists  both  in  America  and 
Great  Britain. 

"  It  has  been  generally  under- 
stood that  the  breed  of  animals  is 
improved  by  crossing  with  the 
largest  males.  This  opinion  has 
done  much  mischief,  and  would 
have  done  more  if  it  had  not  been 
counteracted  by  (he  desire  of  select- 
ing animals  of  the  best  forms  and 
proportions,  which  are  rarely  to  be 
met  with  in  those  of  the  largest 
size.  Experience  has  proved  that 
crossing  has  only  succeeded  in  an 
eminent  degree  in  those  instances 
!£  ivhich  the  females  were  larger 


than  in  the  usual  proportion  of  the 
teniales  to  the  males  ;  and  that  it 
has  generally  failed  when  the  males 
were  disproportionally  large. 

The  external  form  of  domestic 
animals  has  been  much  studied,  and 
the  proportions  are  well  ascertain- 
ed. But  the  external  form  is  an 
indication  of  the  internal  structure. 
The  principles  of  improving  it  must 
therefore  be  found  on  a  know- 
ledge of  the  internal  parts. 

Of  these  the  lungs  are  of  the 
first  importance.  It  is  on  their 
size  and  soundness  that  the  strength 
and  health  of  an  animal  principal- 
ly depend.  The  power  of  convert- 
ing food  is  in  proportion  to  their 
size.  An  animal  zoith  large  lungs 
is  capable  nf  converting  a  given 
quantity  of  food  into  more  nourish- 
ment than  one  roith  smaller  lungs  ; 
and  therefore  has  a  greater  aptitude 
to  fatten, 

"  Chest,  The  size  and  form  of 
the  chest  indicate  the  size  of  the 
lungs,  of  which  the  form  should  ap- 
proach to  the  figure  of  a  cone  hav- 
ing the  apex  situated  between  the 
shoulders,  and  its  base  towards  the 
loins;  a  circular  form  of  chest  is 
preferable  to  one  deep  and  narrow  ; 
for  though  the  latter  may  have 
greater  girth,  the  former  will  have 
greater  internal  space  in  propor- 
tion. 

"  The  Pelvis.  The  Pelvis  is  the 
cavity  formed  by  the  junction  of 
the  hip  bones  with  the  rump  bone. 
This  cavity  should  be  larger  in  a 
female  that  she  may  bring  forth  her 
young  with  less  difficulty  ;  when 
this  cavity  is  small,  the  lift  cf  the 
moth<r  and  her  offspring  is  endan- 
ger* d. 
*'The  size  of  the  pelvis  is  indicat- 


STO 


STO 


429 


ed  by  the  width  of  the  hips,  and  the 
space  between  the  thighs ;  the 
breadth  of  the  loins  is  always  in 
proportion  to  that  of  the  chest  and 
pelvis. 

"  Head.  The  head  should  be 
snnall,  by  w*hich  the  birth  is  facilitat- 
ed to  the  offspring,  it  also  indicates 
the  animal  to  be  of  a  good  breed, 
and  occasions  less  weight  of  unpro- 
fitable substance  to  the  consumer. 

"  Horns  are  useless  to  domestic 
animals,  and  occasion  a  great 
weight  of  bone  in  the  head.  The 
skull  of  a  ram  with  horns  weighed 
five  times  as  much  as  that  of  one 
without  horns,  each  being  four 
years  old.  A  mode  of  breeding, 
which  would  prevent  the  produc* 
tion  of  horns,  would  therefore  af- 
ford a  considerable  saving. 

"  The  length  of  the  neck  should 
be  proportioned  to  the  height  of  the 
animal,  that  it  may  collect  its  food 
with  ease. 

"  Muscles.  The  muscles  and 
tendons,  which  are  their  append- 
ages, should  be  large,  by  which  an 
animal  is  enabled  to  travel  with 
greater  facility. 

"  Bones.  The  strength  of  an 
animal  does  not  depend  on  the  size 
of  the  bones,  but  on  that  of  the 
muscles ;  many  animals  with  large 
bones  are  weak,  their  muscles  be 
ing  small.  Animals  imperfectly 
nourished  during  growth  have  their 
bones  disproportionally  large.  If 
this  originates  from  a  constitutional 
defect,  they  remain  weak  during 
life  ;  large  bones  may  therefore 
indicate  an  imperfection  in  the  or- 
gans of  nutrition." 

Of  the  improvment  of  form.  The 
€hief  point  to  be  attended  to  for 


the  improvement  of  form,  from  Mr, 
Cline's  principles,  is  the  selection 
of  males  for  breed  of  a  proportion- 
ally smaller  size  than  the  females, 
both  being  of  approved  forms;  the 
size  of  the  foetus  depends  on  the 
size  of  the  female,  and  therefore 
when  the  female  is  disportionally 
small,  her  offspring  has  all  the  dis- 
proportion of  a  starvling  from 
want  of  due  nourishment. 

The  larger  female  has  also  a 
greater  supply  of  milk,  and  her  off- 
spring is  tFierefore  more  abundant- 
ly provided  with  nourishment  after 
birth. 

When  the  female  is  large  in  pro- 
portion to  the  male,  the  lungs  of  the 
offspring  will  also  be  greater.  By 
crossing  in  this  manner,  there  are 
produced  animals  with  remarkably 
large  chests,  as  has  been  often 
noticed  ;  the  advantage  of  large 
lungs  has  been  already  pointed  out. 

In  animals  where  activity  is  re- 
quired, this  practice  should  not  be 
extended  so  far  as  in  those  which 
are  intended  for  the  food  of  man. 

The  size  of  animals  is  common- 
ly adapted  to  the  soil  which  they 
inhabit ;  when  the  produce  is  scan- 
ty the  breed  is  small ;  the  large 
sheep  of  Lincolnshire  would  starve, 
where  the  small  sheep  of  Wales 
tind  abundant  food. 

Crossing  may  be  attended  with 
bad  effects,  even  when  begun  on 
Kood  principles,  if  the  above  rule 
be  attended  to  throughout ;  for  in- 
stance, if  large  ewes  were  brought 
to  Wales,  and  sent  to  the  rams  of 
the  country,  the  offspring  would  be 
of  improved  form  ;  and  if  sufficient- 
ly fed,  of  a  larger  size  than  the  na» 
tive  animals,  but  the  males  of  the 


430 


STO 


STO 


breed  would  be  disproportionately 
large  to  the  native  ewes,  and  there- 
fore would  produce  a  starveling  ill 
formed  race  with  them. 

The  general  mistake  in  crossing 
has  arisen  from  an  attempt  to  in 
crease  the  size  of  the  native  race 
of  animals;  being  a  fruitless  effort 
to  counteract  the  laws  of  nature ; 
which  from  theory,  from  practice, 
and  extensive  observation,  Mr. 
Cline,  concluded  to  be  decidedly 
wrong ;  for  in  proportion  to  this 
unnatural  increase  of  size,  they  be- 
come worse  in  form,  less  hardy, 
and  more  liable  to  disease. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Repository,  vol.  vi.  p.  78.,  contains 
some  valuable  remarks  on  the  sub 
ject  of  "  Dairy  Stock,^'  by  S.  W. 
Pomeroy,  Esq.  We  shall  give  the 
following  extract,  which  presents 
an  important  fact,  not  sufficiently 
known  or  attended  to  by  writers 
who  have  treated  on  the  same  or 
similar  subjects. 

"In  the  selection  of  bulls,  most 
farmers  confine  their  attention 
to  form  and  colour  only,  instead  of 
tracing  their  descent  to  a  valuable 
dairy  stock.  It  has  been  observed 
by  Linnaeus  that  those  properties 
of  animals  which  relate  to  the  ves- 
sels, or  in  scientific  terms,  the  cor- 
tical substance,  or  vascular  system^ 
are  der  ved  from  the  males,'*''  and 
among  other  examples  tending  to 
confirm  this  opinion,  he  states 
"  that  a  cross  from  the  male  Angora 
goat,  with  the  common  female 
goat  produces  that  fine  wool  or 
substance,  called  Camel's  hair ;  but 
that  the  progeny  from  the  male 
common  goat  with  the  female  An- 
gora, is  productive  of  nothing  but  i 


the  same  worthless  hair  of  the  sire." 
See  likewise  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, vol.  iv.  p,  237. 

STONES,  well  known  hard  and 
brittle  bodies,  which  abound  in 
some  lands.  Those  of  the  slaty 
kind,  or  which  are  flat  or  square 
cornered,  are  fit  for  building  wall 
fences,  and  should  be  applied  to 
that  use.  And  many  of  the  pebble 
kind  may  go  into  walls  among 
others  of  a  better  shape  ;  especial- 
ly if  the  wall  is  built  double,  as  it 
always  should  be  where  stones  are 
plenty.  Where  there  are  more 
stones  than  are  needed,  the  walls 
may  be  made  thicker  and  higher 
than  is  needful  on  other  accounts; 
and  lots  should  be  made  the  smaller; 
for  there  are  certain  conveniences 
in  having  small  sized  lots,  though 
they  may  not  be  thought  necessary, 
in  any  other  view  than  for  dispos- 
ing of  the  stones. 

Pebbles  are  a  greater  annoy- 
ance on  a  farm,  as  they  need  re- 
moving, but  are  not  very  good  for 
any  kind  of  building.  Picking 
them  off  very  minutely,  for  com- 
mon field  tillage,  is  not  needful. 
But  the  largest  pebbles  should  be 
taken  away. 

Stones  that  are  very  large,  and 
which  cannot  with  ease  be  remov- 
ed whole,  may  be  blown  to  pieces 
with  gunpowder.  They  will  be 
not  only  more  handy  for  removing, 
but  far  better  to  put  into  walls. 
For  the  blowing  of  round  stones 
will  make  some  square  and  regular 
faces.  They  will  often  come 
cheaper  in  this  way  than  if  they 
were  dug  out  of  quarries.  As  the 
soil  that  is  occupied  by  a  large 
stone  is  better  than  the  rest  of  the 


STO 


STO 


431 


field,  it  is  purchased  at  an  easy  rate 
by  removing  the  stone. 

But  another  method  of  breaking 
rocks,  which  ought  to  be  generally 
known,  and  which  sometimes  turns 
out  cheaper^  is  this  :  Drill  two  holes 
in  a  stone,  ranging  with  the  grain, 
when  that  can  be  discovered  by 
the  eye.  Then  filling  each  hole 
with  two  semi  cylindrical  pieces  of 
iron,  drive  a  long  steel  wedge  be- 
tween them.  The  stone  will  thus 
be  split  open.  And,  commonl}. 
very  regular  shaped  pieces  for 
building  may  be  thus  obtained. 

Another  method  is,  to  burn  an 
inflammable  piece  of  dry  wood, 
laid  on  the  part  where  you  wish  a 
flat  rock  to  open.  Thus  the  rock 
is  heated  in  a  straight  line,  and 
may  be  made  to  open  in  that  part, 
by  a  smart  blow  of  a  maul.  This 
method  oflen  answers  well  when 
the  stones  are  flat  shaped,  and  not 
too  thick. 

That  stones  which  are  so  large 
as  to  obstruct  the  operations  of 
husbandry,  ought  to  be  removed 
from  land  in  tillage,  all  will  agree. 
But  it  has  been  long  a  disputed 
point,  whether  the  smaller  stones 
should  be  taken  away.  Some  have 
contended  that  they  add  fertility  to 
the  soil. 

That  the  moisture  of  the  soil  is 
as  much  greater,  as  the  proportion 
of  room  the  stones  take  up  in  the 
soil  is  undeniable  ;  unless  the  stones 
occasion  some  evaporation.  But 
many  fields  need  not  any  increase 
of  moisture,  but  would  rather  be 
improved,  by  being  made  as  much 
drier  as  they  can  be,  by  removing 
the  stones  from  the  surface. 

M.  Duhamel  is  of  opinion,  that 


no  stones  increase  fruitfulness,  un- 
less they  be  lime  stojtes,  marie,  or 
those  that  are  of  a  calcareous  na- 
ture. These,  by  rubbing  against 
each  other,  &c.  in  the  operations 
of  tillage,  do  probably  yield  a  dust 
that  increases  the  richness  of  land. 

But  all  stones  in  tillage  land  are 
so  troublesome,  and  so  much  in- 
crease the  labour  of  tillage,  that, 
when  they  are  not  calcareous,  they 
should  be  taken  away,  or  at  least 
so  much  thuined,  that  ploughing 
and  hoeing  may  be  comfortably 
performed,  and  without  much  in- 
jury to  the  tools  used  by  the  farm- 
er. Fixed  stones  under  the  sur- 
face should  be  removed,  or  so  sunk 
by  diging  under  them  as  to  put 
them  out  of  the  plough's  way, 
that  ploughing  may  be  performed 
without  danger  of  destroying  the 
plough. 

To  know  whether  stones  are 
calcareous  or  not,  they  should  be 
tried  with  aqua  fortis,  or  spirit  of 
sea  salt.  For  stones  on  which  the 
spirit  does  not  eflfervesce,  can  be 
of  no  advantage  to  the  soil.  By 
the  way,  I  do  not  expect  that 
calcareous  stones  will  be  found  in 
many  fields  in  this  country. 

Ground  that  is  laid  down  for 
mowing  must  have  even  the  small 
stones  taken  out  of  the  way  of  the 
scithe.  But,  instead  of  pickmg 
them  up,  some  recommend  driving 
them  down  into  the  soil,  when  the 
ground  is  so  soft  in  the  spring  that 
it  can  be  easily  done.  In  this  case 
a  field  will  not  be  disfigured  with 
the  heaps,  nor  any  of  the  surface 
lost. 

STOCKING,  or  SHOCKING, 
setting  sheaves  into  shocks  to  guard 
corn  from  wet. 


432 


STR 


STR 


Farmers  have  various  methods 
of  doing  this.  But  1  would  propose 
for  their  consideration,  a  method 
inserted  in  the  Museum  Rustiaim, 
Vol.  II.  page  250. 

"  1  en  sheaves  are  disposed  in 
two  rows,  each  row  leaning  against 
the  other;  tlien  two  sheaves  are 
laid  on  the  top,  so  as  to  meet  at 
the  centre  with  their  tails,  and  to 
slope  downwards." 

The  writer  thinks,  and  with  good 
reason,  that  this  method  is  \ery  fa 
vourable  to  drying  the  corn,  if  it 
needs  it,  as  well  as  to  defending  it 
from  rains.  Thicker  built  shocks, 
if  they  chance  to  get  wetted,  will 
need  iipening  to  diy  the  sheaves. 

In  general,  it  is  better  for  the 
corn  to  stand  in  shocks  a  few  days 
in  the  field,  than  to  carry  it  sooner 
to  the  stack  or  mow.  There  will 
be  less  danger  of  its  taking  damage 
by  heating. 

STOVER,  fodder  for  cattle. 
See  Fodder. 

STRAIN,  vulgarly  called  Sprain, 
a  violent  extension,  or  stretching 
of  the  sinews,  or  tendons,  by  which 
the  fibres  are  sometimes  broken. 

All  sorts  of  animals,  and  parti- 
cularly horses,  are  liable  to  lame- 
ness by  strains. 

My  designed  brevity  will  not 
permit  me  to  treat  fully  on  this 
subject.  But  let  it  be  noted,  that 
when  a  horse  is  lamed  by  straining, 
he  should  be  permitted  to  rest,  and 
be  secured  from  wet  and  cold. 
Rest  alone  will  sometimes  recover 
the  tone  of  the  fibres,  and  complete 
the  cure. 

But  bad  strains  should  have  some 
suitable  applications  to  the  parts 
affected.     Oily  medicines    are   in 


general  to  be  avoided,  on  account 
of  their  relaxing  quality  :  But  oil 
of  turpentine  may  be  admitted. 

A  part  that  is  lamed  by  straining 
should  be  bathed  thrice  a  day,  with 
hot  verjuice  or  vinegar,  jn  which  a 
small  piece  of  soap  may  be  dis- 
solved. 

Early  in  the  disease,  if  the  part 
be  swelled,  a  poultice  should  be 
applied  after  bathir»g.  It  shculd  be 
made  of  oatmeal,  rye  meal  or  bian, 
boiled  in  vinegar,  strong  beer,  or 
red  wine  lees,  with  lard  enough  to 
prevent  its  growing  stitT. 

Alter  the  swelling  is  down,  bathe 
with  camphorated  spirits  of  wine, 
mixed  with  half  as  n)uch  oil  of  tur- 
pentine. Or,  instead  of  the  oil, 
take  sharp  vinegar,  and  spirit  of 
vitriol,  in  equal  quantities. 

Keep  on  a  linen  bandage,  drawn 
pretty  tight,  if  the  part  affected 
will  admit  of  it.  But  long  restuig 
from  labour,  will  in  some  cases  be 
needful.  For  further  direction,  the 
reader  may  see  Bartkfs  Farriery. 

Mason^s  Farrier  prescribes  the 
following  remedies  for  strains. 

NUMBER  I. 

"  Take  of  sharp  vinegar,  one 
pint,  spirit  of  any  kind  half  a  pint, 
camphor  one  ounce ;  mix  them 
well  together,  and  bathe  the  part 
injured  twice  a  day;  a  piece  of 
flannel  wet  with  the  mixture,  and 
wrapped  around  the  part,  will  be 
very  beneficial  ;  take  from  the 
neck  vein  half  a  gallon  of  blood.    - 

NUMBER  II. 

"Take  of  opodeldoc  a  piece  the 
size  of  a  marble,  and  rub  it  on  the 
strained  part  with  the  naked  hand, 
until  the  hand  becomes  dry,  twice 
a  day  ;  should  the  injured  part  re- 


STR 


STR 


433 


sist  both  of  those  remedies,  you 
may  conclude  the  injury  is  a  very 
serious  one,  which  notliing  but  time 
can  relieve,  and  the  horse  must  be 
turned  out  upon  grass  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  for  nature  herself  to 
perform  the  great  operation. 

STRANGLES,  "a  swelling  un- 
der the  throat  of  a  horse,  between 
the  two  jaw  bones,  which  seems 
not  to  differ  very  much  from  that 
which  in  a  human  body  is  called 
the  quinsy.  Its  seat  is  not  so  much 
upon  the  glands  as  on  the  muscles ; 
and  therefore  it  comes  the  more 
readily  to  an  imposthumation. 

"  If  file  swelling  has  a  tendency 
forwards  between  the  jaws,  so  that 
the  passages  of  the  throat  are  not 
in  danger  of  being  choked  up  by  it, 
the  safest  way  is  to  ripen,  and  bring 
it  to  a  suppuration ;  and  for  that 
end  anoint  the  part  with  ointment 
of  marsh  ma*llows,  covering  them 
npwarm.  Or  take  oil  of  bays  and 
fresli  butler,  of  each  a  like  quan- 
tity, ointment  of  marsh  mallows 
the  weight  of  both  :  Or  the  poul- 
tice recommended  for  the  glanders 
may  be  applied  warm  twice  a  day. 

After  the  swellings  are  ripe,  and 
that  you  perceive  matter  in  them, 
but  that  they  do  not  break,  which 
perhaps  may  be  hindered  by  the 
thickness  of  the  skin,  you  may  open 
them  with  a  lancet ;  but  if  they  do 
not  ripen  as  you  could  wish,  you 
had  better  make  use  of  a  hot  iron, 
and  sear  the  outside  pretty  deep. 
But  whether  you  open  them  by  in- 
cision, or  by  the  iron,  you  must  be 
sure  to  make  your  operation  in  the 
lowermost  dependent  part,  that  the 
matter  may  more  easilv  run  off. 
.55 


While   yon   observe    this    method 
your  incision  need  be  but  small. 

"As  soon  as  the  matter  is  nearly 
discharged,  you  may  press  out  what 
remains  with  your  thumb.  Then 
make  a  dossil  of  tine  flax,  dip  it  in 
warm  basilicum,  and  introduce  it 
into  the  orifice,  but  not  too  far,  nor 
must  it  be  continued  above  three 
or  four  days  in  any  common  case  : 
For  keeping  the  orifice  too  long 
open  will  derive  too  great  a  quan- 
tity of  matter  upon  the  parls,  caus- 
ing them  to  ulcerate,  or  to  turn 
fistulous.  Therefore  when  the 
running  abates,  only  apply  smooth 
flat  pledgets  of  lint,  armed  with  the 
same  ointment,  and  above  them 
thick  compresses  of  soft  canvass, 
in  several  doubles,  to  fill  up  the  va- 
cant place  between  the  jaws,  that 
the  divided  parts  may  again  be 
united-  If  hard  lumps  remain  after 
the  sores  are  healed  up,  they  may 
be  removed  by  the  following  plas- 
ter. Take  diachylon  and  red  lead'' 
plaister,  of  each  four  ounces,  pitch 
two  oujices  ;  dissolve  them  with  a 
suiHcient  quantity  of  oil  or  lard. 
Then  take  bole  in  fine  powder  an 
ounce  and  an  half,  and  stir  into  this 
mixture,  and  make  it  to  the  consis- 
tency of  a  plaister.  This  must  be 
spread  on  leather,  or  thin  dowlas, 
and  after  the  hair  has  been  clipped 
of}'  very  close,  it  may  be  notched 
and  applied  all  under  his  chops, 
where  it  is  to  lie  as  long  as  it  will 
stick  on  :  And  by  the  help  of  this 
all  the  little  liardnesses  will  be  dis- 
solved. 

"  Sometimes  this  distemper  is 
cast  ofl'  chiefly  by  the  nose  :  and 
sometimes  the  discharge  is  inward, 
about  the  roots  of  the  tongue.     In 


434 


STR 


STR 


this  case  most  of  the  matter  issues  i 
also  from  the  nose,  hi  either  case, 
the  horse  should  be  moderately 
ridden.  But  it  will  be  very  proper 
to  wash  liis  mouth  sometimes  with 
honey  of  roses  ;  for  that  will  keep 
it  clean,  and  prevent  ulcers.  But 
if  sores  are  like  to  continue,  dis- 
solve a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  crude 
sal  ammoniac  in  a  pint  of  water, 
and  wash  his  mouth  with  it  once 
or  twice  a  day. 

"If  the  cure  seems  imperfect, 
and  the  horse  does  not  thrive  upon 
it,  recourse  may  be  had  to  purginjj; 
for  which  purpose  1  chiefly  recom- 
mend the  preparations  of  aloes ; 
because  these  are  the  most  effec- 
tual to  work  upon  the  blood,  &:c." 
Gibson''s  Farriery. 

STRAWBERRY,  Fragnria,  a 
well  known  fruit  which  is  much 
esteemed. 

Mr.  Miller  reckons  four  sorts; 
the  wood  strawberry,  the  Virginia, 
or  scarlet  strawberry,  the  hautboy 
stravvberry,  and  the  strawberry  of 
Chili. 

It  is  the  scarlet  strawberry  that 
is  most  common,  and  perhaps  most 
worthy  oi  cultivation.  Our  grass 
fields  often  produce  these  straw- 
berries in  plenty.  But  it  is  better 
to  have  a  ''pot  of  ground  devoted 
to  the  culture  of  them  ;  as  they  will 
be  much  larger  and  better  flavour- 
ed ;  and  as  the  trampling  of  the 
grass  in  the  mowing  grounds  may 
be  thus  in  some  measure  prevent- 
ed. 

A  light  loamy  soil  is  best  for 
them  :  And  but  little  dung  should 
be  applied  to  the  soil,  as  a  large 
quantity  will  cause  them  to  run 
much,  and  to  be  less  fruitful. 


The  time  to  remove  these  plants, 
is  said  by  the  above  mentioned  au- 
thor to  be  September,  or  the  be- 
ginning of  October.  But  they  are 
known  to  do  well  in  this  country 
when  removed  early  in  the  sprmg, 
and  watered  a  few  times  after  it. 
But  they  will  bear  little  fruit  that 
year. 

He  directs.  "  That  the  ground 
should  be  cleaned  from  the  roots  of 
all  bad  weeds.  For  as  the  plants 
are  to  stand  three  years,  before 
they  are  taken  up,  those  weeds 
would  overbear  the  plants. 

"  The  usual  method  is,  to  lay  the 
ground  out  into  beds  of  four  feet 
broad,  with  paths  two  feet,  or  two 
and  a  half  broad  between  them. 
These  paths  being  for  the  conven- 
ience of  gathering  the  strawberries 
and  for  weeding  and  dressing  the 
beds.  The  plants  should  be  in  the 
quincunx  order,  and  fifteen  inches 
apart,  so  that  there  will  be  but  three 
rows  in  each  bed. 

"  The  plants  should  never  be 
taken  from  old  neglected  beds, 
where  the  plants  have  been  suffer- 
ed to  run  into  a  multitude  of 
suckers,  or  from  any  plants  which 
are  not  fruitful  5  and  those  offsets 
which  stand  nearest  to  the  old 
plants  should  always  be  preferred 
to  those  which  are  produced  from 
the  trailing  stalks  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance. 

"  During  the  summer,  the  plants 
should  be  constantly  kept  clean 
from  weeds,  and  all  the  runners 
should  be  pulled  off  as  fast  as  they 
are  produced.  If  this  is  constantly 
practised,  tlie  plants  will  become 
very  strong.  Where  proper  care 
is  taken  of  the  plants  the  first  sum- 


STR 


STR 


435 


filer,  ther?  is  generally  a  plentiful 
crop  the  second  spring;  whereas, 
when  this  is  neglected,  the  crop 
will  be  thin  and  the  fruit  small. 

"  The  old  plants  are  those  which 
produce  the  iVuit;  for  the  suckers 
never  produce  any  till  they  have 
grown  a  full  year  ;  therefore  it  ap- 
pears how  necessary  it  is  to  di- 
vest the  old  plants  of  them  ;  for 
wherever  they  are  suffered  to  re- 
main, they  rob  the  fruitful  plants  of 
their  nourishment,  in  proportion  to 
their  number;  for  each  of  these 
suckers  sends  out  a  quantity  of 
roots,  which  interfere,  and  are  so 
closely  matted  together,  as  to  draw 
away  the  greatest  part  of  the  nour- 
ishment from  the  old  roots,  where- 
by they  are  weakened.  And  the 
suckers  also  render  each  other 
very  weak,  hence  the  cause  of 
barrenness.  For  I  have  known, 
where  the  old  plants  have  been 
constantly  kept  clear  from  suckers, 
they  have  continued  very  fruitful 
three  years,  without  being  trans- 
planted. 

"  In  autumn  divest  the  plants  of 
any  strings  or  runners  which  may 
have  been  produced,  and  of  all  the 
decayed  leaves,  and  clear  the  beds 
of  weeds.  Then  the  paths  should  be 
dug  up,  and  the  weeds  buried  which 
were  taken  from  the  beds,  and  some 
earth  laid  over  the  surface  of  the 
beds,  between  the  plants.  This 
will  strengthen  and  prepare  them 
for  the  following  spring.  And  if 
after  this,  there  is  some  old  tanners' 
bark  laid  over  the  surface,  between 
the  plants,  it  will  be  of  great  ser- 
vice to  them.  In  the  spring,  after 
the  danger  of  hard  frost  is  over,  the 
beds  should  be  forked,   to    loosen 


!  the    ground  and  break  the  clods. 
I  And  in  this  operation  the  tan  which 
J  was  laid   over  the  surface   will   be 
j  buried,  which  will  be  a  good  dress- 
I  ing  to  the  strawberries.     Then  if 
the  surface  is   covered   with  moss, 
it  will  keep  the  ground  moist,  and 
secure  a   good   crop  of  fruit ;  at)d 
the   moss   will   preserve    the   fruit 
clean.     When  heavy  rains  fall,  af- 
ter the  fruit    is  full  grown,  there 
will  be  no  dirt   washed  over  them, 
which  frequently   happens    where 
this  is  notpractised."      Miller. 

Gypsum  is  said  to  pioduce 
powerful  effects  as  a  manure  for 
strawberry-plants.  Straw  may  be 
laid  under  the  vines  to  keep  the 
fruit  from  the  ground  instead  of 
moss. 

STRAW  CUTTER.  A  machine 
for  cutting  straw  and  corn  stalk  was 
invented  by  Mr..Elihu  Hotchkiss, 
of  Brattleborough,  Vermont,  which 
was  recommended  by  the  Trustees 
of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Society  as  being  the  best  and  cheap- 
est for  the  purpose  known  in  this 
country.  The  Society's  premium  of 
seventy  five  dollars  was  paid  to  the 
inventor,  and  the  patent  right  for 
Massachusetts  was  purchased  by 
the  Society.  For  a  description  of 
this  machine  with  drawings,  see 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, vol.  iv.  p.  93. 

STRING  HALT,a  kind  of  lame- 
ness peculiar  to  the  hind  quarters 
of  a  horse,  which  occasions  a  sud- 
den jerking  of  the  legs  upwards  in 
his  going.  When  it  seizes  the  out- 
side muscles  the  horse  straddles 
and  throws  his  legs  outwards.  But 
when  the  inside  muscles  are  affect- 
ed, his  legs  are  twitched  up  to  his 


436 


STL 


STU 


belly.  Sometimes  it  is  only  in  one 
leg,  sometimes  in  both.  The  cure 
is  difficult,  and  rarely  accomplish- 
ed. Rubbing  and  fomentations  are 
recommended,  with  daily  moderate 
exercise  :  By  which  the  blood  and 
spirits  may  be  equally  derived  into 
the  disordered  muscle  and  its  cor- 
responding one.  See  Gibson  and 
Clark. 

STUBBLE,  the  stumps  of  reap- 
ed grain,  or  the  parts  of  the  stems 
left  standing  in  the  field. 

When  the  land  is  light  and  sandy, 
the  stubble  of  wheat  and  rye  should 
be  ploughed  intothe  soil  to  enrich  it. 
For  this  will  have  as  good  ellcctas 
a  moderate  manuring  with  dung; 
especially  if  it  be  ploughed  soon 
after  the  crop  is  taken  off;  for  then 
the  stubble  is  in  its  best  state.  But 
after  it  has  been  exposed  for  some 
time  to  the  sun  and  wind,  it  has 
much  less  virtue  in  it  to  enrich  the 
soil.  If  this  operation  be  perform- 
ed in  season,  the  stubble,  together 
with  what  weeds  are  growing  among 
it,  will  be  equal  to  the  best  green 
dressing. 

But  with  ploughs  of  the  common 
construction,  the  ploughins;  of  stub- 
ble ground  is  disagreeable  work  ; 
neither  can  it  be  well  performed. 
The  plough  is  so  apt  to  choak  up, 
that  it  is  more  than  one  man  can 
Tvell  do  to  keep  it  clear.  Ploughs 
for  this  work  should  be  much  deep- 
er built  than  the  common  ones. 
And  this  work  might  be  greatly 
facilitated,  if  a  heavy  roller  were 
passed  over  the  stubble,  to  lay  it 
flat  to  the  ground  before  ploughing. 
When  this  is  doing,  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  pass  the  roller  the  same 
\xay  that  the  plough  is  to  go.    By 


means  of  this,thecoultervvill  but  sel- 
dom be  clogged  with  the  stubble.  If 
this  rolling  be  neglected,  a  small 
roller  annexed  to  the  fore  end  of 
the  plough  beam,  in  ihe  place  of  a 
foot,  or  even  a  foot  itself,will  greatly 
helptoclear  the  way  for  the  coulter. 

When  stubble  is  on  a  soil  that  is 
stiff,  it  is  not  accounted  so  advisa- 
ble to  plough  it  in.  For  such  land 
is  not  apt  to  cover  (he  stubble  so 
closely  as  to  cause  it  speedily  to 
putrely.  It  will  often  lie  in  a  sound 
unaltered  stale  for  a  long  time,  and 
be  very  troublesome  at  the  next 
ploughing. 

But  if  the  ground  should  be 
seeded  after  one  ploughing,  it  might 
be  cxpecled  the  stuble  would  ren- 
der the  ground  so  hollow  and  ca- 
vernous as  to  starve  many  of  the 
plants  that  grow  upon  the  surface. 
At  the  same  time  these  hollows 
would  be  receptacles  for  noxious 
insects  and  vermin.  But  in  a  light 
sandv  soil,  the  stubble  is  soon  re- 
duced to  a  condition  to  nourish 
vegetables. 

The  better  way,  therefore,  to 
dispose  of  the  stubble  on  stiff  lands, 
is,  to  mow  it,  collect  it,  and  carry 
it  into  the  farm  yard ;  where,  by 
the  trampling  of  the  cattle,  and 
mixing  it  with  their  excrements, 
it  will  be  converted,  before  the 
following  spring,  into  a  rich  and 
valuable  manure.  And  it  is  almost 
incredible  how  much  a  farm  may 
be,  in  this  way,  improved  and  fer- 
tilized. 

While  in  the  old  countries  they 
are  under  the  necessity  of  making 
use  of  part  of  their  stubble,  in 
thatching  the  roofs  of  their  build- 
ings, and  of  part  of  it  for  fuel,  the 


S  T  U 


STU 


437 


farmfirs  in  this  country  have  the 
privilege  of  converting  the  whole 
of  theirs  to  manure.  And  perhaps 
it  may  be  as  well  to  do  so,  on 
whatever  soil  it  is,  as  to  turn  it  in 
with  the  plough  ;  for  it  is  not  easy 
to  bury  it  completely  by  ploughing ; 
and  the  part  which  is  not  covered 
is  of  little  or  no  advantage  to  the 
ground. 

An  English  writer  states,  that 
•'  Mr.  W.  Curtis,  of  Lyrwi,  Norfolk, 
found  very  beneficial  effects  from 
burning  the  stubble  of  oats,  which 
was  left  eighteen  inches  high  for 
that  purpose.  On  a  field  broken 
up  from  old  pasture  the  same  year, 
he  afterwards  sowed  wheat  and 
oats  in  succession  on  the  same 
ground  the  stubble  of  both  which 
was  burned  in  the  same  manner. 
The  ashes  were  in  every  case 
ploughed  into  a  small  depth,  and 
the  verges  of  the  field  mowed  to 
prevent  accidents.  After  the  third 
crop  of  corn,  all  of  which  were 
abundant  and  remarkably  free  from 
weeds,  the  field  was  laid  down  with 
clover  and  grass  seeds,  and  the  en- 
suing crops  both  of  hay  and  grass 
proved  infinitely  finer  than  those 
before  the  ground  was  broken  up. 

Another  piece  of  land  was  crop- 
ped for  three  successive  years  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  first,  to 
which  it  was  similar  in  every  re- 
spect of  soil,  aspect  and  previous 
management,  but  in  which  the  stub- 
ble was  ploughed  in,  instead  of  be- 
ing burned  ;  the  produce  of  each 
crop  on  it  was  much  inferior  to 
that  of  the  first  experiment,  and 
the  weeds  increased  so  greatly, 
that  in  laying  it  down  to  grass,  they 
<pute  overpowered  the  grass  seeds. 


so  much  so,  that  it  was  necessary 
to  re  sow  it;  and  ever  alter,  vvhile 
Mr.  Curtis  held  it,  the  grass  and 
hay  produced  were  coarse  and  full 
of  weeds ;  and  consequently  infe- 
rior both  in  value  and  quantity  to 
those  of  the  other  field,  on  which 
the  stubl)le  had  been  burned." 

In  burning  stubble,  the  danger 
which  is  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  spreading  of  the  frames  may, 
perhaps,  be  obviated  by  tracing  a 
furrow  round  the  field,  and  setting 
fire  to  the  stubble  on  the  inner 
edge  of  the  furrow. 

STUMP,  the  part  of  a  tree 
which  remains  fast  in  the  ground 
after  felling. 

Stumps  are  very  troublesome  for 
some  years  after  trees  are  removed, 
unless  they  be  taken  out.  But  do- 
ing this  is  commonly  thought  to  be 
too  much  labour,  especially  when 
they  are  of  any  considerable  big- 
ness. 

Mr.  Evelyn's  engine  for  pulling 
up  large  roots,  may  be  thought 
useful  by  those  who  are  in  haste  to 
have  their  land  thoroughly  cleared, 
and  do  not  grudge  the  expense  of 
doing  it.  See  Complete  Farmer, 
under  the  article  Stump. 

M,  de  Turbilly  advises  to  the 
blowing  up  stumps  with  gun  pow- 
der. But  I  think  my  countrymen 
will  hardly  go  into  this  method,  un- 
less it  be  in  particular  cases. 

Most  of  the  stumps  of  hard  wood 
trees  will  be  so  decayed  in  their 
roots  in  six  or  seven  years,  that 
they  may  be  easily  taken  away. 
So  will  some  of  the  soft  woods. 
But  the  stumps  of  white  pine  trees, 
that  are  large,  will  last  more  than 
half  a  century.     However,  whef^ 


438 


ST\ 


SUM 


they  are  well  dried,  and  have  some- 
wh.it  decayed,  they  may  be  con- 
quered by  tire,  where  there  is 
plenty  of  wood  to  pile  on  them. 
But  before  this  k«  attempted,  the 
earth  should  be  removed  from  their 
sifies,  and  if  practicable  from  un- 
derneath them,  allowing  them  a 
few  days  to  dry.  \  good  method 
of  destroying  the  stumps  of  white 
pine  trees  is,  to  dig  up  the  smaller 
ones,  and  pile  them  round  the 
larger ;  and  when  they  have  be- 
come dry,  set  fire  to  them. 

The  stumps  of  trees  are  such 
hindrances  to  the  operations  of  til- 
lage, as  greatly  diminish  the  protit 
of  farming.  Where  land  abounds 
with  them,  they  are  equal  to  a 
heavy  tax.  This  should  be  con- 
sidered by  those  who  have  the 
power  of  taxing  new  settlements. 
It  is  horrid  oppression,  to  tax  lands 
that  are  full  of  ttumps  of  trees, 
equally  with  the  oldest  and  most 
improved. 

STY,  a  small  house,  or  hut,  in 
which  hogs  are  kept,  or  lodged. 

Hogs  that  are  not  confined  should 
always  have  a  sty,  or  cot,  to  lodge 
in,  placed  in  a  convenient  situation, 
and  easy  of  access.  It  should  be 
very  tight,  warm  and  dry,  of  what- 
ever maierials  it  may  be  built,  and 
kept  well  littered  :  For  if  swine 
have  not  a  warm  lodging,  or  are 
much  pinched  with  the  cold,  they 
will  be  injured  in  their  growth. 

That  a  sty  may  be  the  warmer, 
the  door  of  it  should  be  no  larger 
than  is  needful  for  the  swine  to 
pass  through.  And  a  door  should 
be  hung  in  this  passage  by  the  top, 
that  it  may  be  pushed  up  by  their 
noses,  either  inwards  or  outwards, 


as  there  shall  be  occasion.  The 
swine  will  not  fail  to  open  it,  and 
it  will  shut  of  itself.  See  Hogsty. 
SUBSOIL.  The  value  of  a  soil  de- 
pends mucli  upon  the  nature  of  the 
subsoil,  or  under  stratum.  A  reten- 
tive clayey  subsoil  is  injurious  to 
land,  which  is  naturally  moist.  But 
a  clayey  subsoil  is  serviceable  to  a 
sandy  soil,  by  retaining  moisture, 
and  supplying  what  is  carried  off  by 
evaporation,  or  consumed  by  plants. 
When  the  surface  soil  is  thin,  a 
stony  subsoil  is  generally  prejudi- 
cial, unless  it  be  composed  of  lime- 
stone, and  then  the  soil,  though 
thin,  is  remarkably  fertile. 

SUCKER,  a  young  twig,  or 
shoot,  from  the  stock,  roots,  or 
limbs,  of  a  plant  or  tree. 

SUNFLOWER,  Htlianthus,  one 
of  the  largest  of  annual  plants,  so 
well  known  as  to  need  no  descrip- 
tion. 

The  sunflower  is  a  native  of 
America;  but  has  been  carried  in- 
to England,  where  it  flourishes. 
It  bears  very  large  discous  flowers, 
and  produces  a  large  quantity  of 
black  seeds,  which  are  of  use  for 
feeding  poultry. 

The  seeds  should  be  sowed  early. 
They  will  grow  in  almost  any  soil. 
The  young  plants  may  be  trans- 
planted at  any  time,  before  they 
are  six  or  seven  inches  high,  only 
observing  to  take  up  a  ball  of  earth 
about  their  roots.  They  should 
be  placed  in  the  northern  borders 
of  gardens,  if  in  gardens  at  all, 
where  they  will  do  the  least  harm 
to  other  plants  by  their  shadow  ; 
and  they  should  stand  not  less  than 
two  feet  asunder.  They  will  rise 
to  the  height  of  a  dozen  or  fourteen 
feet. 


SUR 


SUR 


439 


It  is  said  that  the  seeds  of  this 
plant  will  afford  an  oil  equal  to 
olive  oil.  and  that  seventy  bushels 
may  be  raised  from  an  acre.  A 
bushel  of  seed,  we  are  told,  will 
yield  a  gallon  of  oil  as  tine  as  that 
which  we  iaiporl  from  Florence  ; 
and  the  mass  which  remains  after 
pressing  out  the  oil  is  useful  as  food 
for  hogs,  poultry,  &c.  This  plant 
gives  out  great  quantities  of  oxygen 
gas,  or  vital  air,  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, it  has  been  recommended 
to  cultivate  it  in  unwholesome 
places.  In  England  it  has  been 
applied  to  other  valuable  uses. 
The  fibres  of  the  baric  have  been 
substituted  for  hemp ;  and  the 
stalks,  vvhen  dried,  are  used  for 
fuel,  the  pith  affording  tinder.  The 
leaves,  when  green,  are  a  good 
food  for  rabbits.  It  may  be  raised 
in  rows  liko  Indian  corn. — See 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory. Vol.  HI.  pages  70.  71. 

A  correspondent  of  the  "  Ame- 
rican Farmer"  states  (Vol.  ii.  p. 
46),  that  he  planted  sunflower  seed 
on  the  ninth  of  May,  in  a  rich 
black  soil,  drill  fashion,  rows  four 
feet  apart,  plants  from  two  to  three 
feet  asunder  when  thinned,  amount 
ing  to  eight  square  rods.  They 
grew  well  under  a  common  corn 
cultivation,  ripened,  and  the  seed 
heads  were  cut  off  the  stalks  and 
thresher  about  the  1 1th  of  Octo- 
ber. The  crop  was  at  the  rate  of 
ninety  bushels  to  the  acre. 

SURFEIT,  a  disease  to  which 
cattle,  and  horses  especially,  are 
liable. 

It  is  produced  by  various  causes ; 
it  comes  from  intense  labour,  from 
overheating,  and  from  diseases  not 
well  cured. 


"  A  horse  is  said  to  be  surfeited, 
when  his  coat  stares,  and  looks 
rusty  and  durty,  though  proper 
means  have  not  been  wanting  to 
keep  him  clean.  The  skin  is  f»dl 
of  scales  and  dander,  that  lie  (hi  k 
and  mealy  among  the  hair,  and  is 
constantly  supplied  with  a  fresh 
succession  of  the  same  for  want  of 
due  transpiration.  Some  horses 
have  hurdles  of  various  sizes  like 
peas  or  tares  :  Some  have  dry  fix- 
ed scabs  all  over  their  limbs  or 
bodies ;  others  a  moisture  attended 
with  heat  and  inflammation  ;  the 
humours  being  so  sharp  and  vio- 
lently itching,  that  the  horses  rub 
so  incessantly,  as  to  make  them- 
selves raw.  Some  have  no  erup- 
tions at  all,  but  an  unwholesome 
look,  and  are  dull,  sluggish,  and 
lazy;  some  appear  only  lean  and 
hidebound  ;  others  have  flymg 
pains  and  lameness,  resembling  a 
rheumatism  ;  so  that  in  the  surfeits 
of  horses,  we  have  almost  all  the 
different  species  of  the  scurvy,  and 
other  chronical  distempers. 

"  The  following  method  is  usu- 
ally attended  with  success  in  the 
dry  species.  First,  take  away  about 
three  or  four  pounds  of  blood  ;  and 
then  give  the  following  mild  purge, 
which  will   work  as  an  alterative, 
and   should   be  repeated    once    a 
week  or  ten  days,  for  some  time. 
Take  succotrine   aloes  six    drams, 
or  one  ounce;  gum  guaicumhalf 
an    ouuce  ;     diaphoretic    anti- 
mony, and  powder  of  myrrh,  of 
each  two  drams;  make    into  a 
ball  with  syrup  of  buckthorn. 
"  In  the  inermediate  days,  an 
ounce    of   the    following    powder 
should  be  given  morning  and  even- 
ing in  his  feeds. 


440 


SUR 


S  VV  A 


Take  native  cinnabar,  or  cinnabar 
of  antimony  finely  povv tiered, 
half  a^  pound  ;  crude  antimony 
in  fine  powder  four  ounces ;  gam 
guaicurn  also  in  powder  four 
ounces;  make  into  sixteen  doses 
for  eight  days. 

"  This  medicine  must  be  repeat- 
ed till  the  horse  coats  well,  and  all 
the  symptoms  of  the  surfeit  disap- 
pear. If  the  horse  is  of  small  value, 
two  or  three  common  purges  should 
be  given,  and  half  an  ounce  of  anti- 
mony, with  the  same  quantity  of 
sulphur,  twice  a  day.  or  the  altera- 
tive balls  with  camphire  and  nitre. 
"  If  the  little  scabs  on  the  skin 
do  not  peel  off,  anoint  them  with 
the  mercurial  ointment ;  during  the 
time  of  using  wliich,  it  will  be  pro- 
per to  keep  the  horse  dry,  and  to 
give  him  warm  water.  This  oint- 
ment properly  rubbed  into  the 
blood,  witii  the  assistance  of  purg- 
ing physic,  has  frequently  cured 
these  kind  of  surfeits,  without  any 
other  assistance. 

"The  wet  surfeit,  which  is  no 
more  than  a  moist  running  scurvy, 
appears  on  different  parts  of  the 
body  of  a  horse,  attended  some- 
times with  great  heat  and  inflamma- 
tion: The  neck  oftentimes  swells 
so  in  one  night's  time,  that  great 
quantities  of  a  hot  briny  humour  is- 
sue forth,  which,  if  not  allayed,  will 
be  apt  to  collect  on  the  poll  or 
withers,  and  produce  the  poll-evil 
or  fistula.  This  disease  also  fre- 
quently attacks  the  limbs,  where  it  1 
proves  obstinate,  and  hard  to  cure  ;  I 
and  in  some  horses  shews  itself ' 
spring  and  fall.  j 

'•In  this  case   bleed  plentifully, 
avoid  externally  all  repellers,  and  i 


give  cooling  physic  twice  a  week: 
as,  four  ounces  of  lenitive  electua- 
ry, with  the  same  quantity  of  cream 
of  tartar,  with  four  ounces  of  glau- 
ber  salts,  quickened,  if  thought  pro- 
per, with  two  or  three  drams  of 
powder  of  jalap,  dissolved  in  water 
gruel,  and  given  in  a  morning  fast- 
ing. 

"'After  three  6t  four  of  these 
purges,  two  ounces  of  nitre  made 
into  a  ball  with  honey,  may  be 
given  every  morning  for  a  fort- 
night;  and  if  attended  with  suc- 
cess, repeated  for  a  fortnight  long- 
er. 

"  The  powders  above  mentioned 
may  also  be  given  with  the  horse's 
corn  ;  or  a  strong  decoction  of 
guaicum  shavings,  or  logvj'ood,  may 
he  given  alone,  to  the  quantity  of 
two  quarts  a  day.  These,  and  in- 
deed all  alterative  nicdicisies, 
must  be  continued  for  a  long  lime, 
where  the  disorder  proves  obsti- 
nate. 

"  The  diet  should  be  cool  and 
opening;  and  if  the  horse  is  hide- 
bound an  ounce  of  fenugreek  seeds 
should  be  given  in  his  feeds  for  a 
month  or  longer.  And  as  this  dis- 
order often  proceeds  from  worms, 
give  the  mercurial  physic  too,  and 
afterv/ards  the  cinnabar  powder,  as 
above  directed  ;  but  as  in  general 
it  is  not  an  original  disease,  but  a 
symptom  only  of  many,  in  the  cure, 
regard  must  be  had  to  the  first 
cause  ;  thus  as  it  is  an  attendant  on 
fevers,  worms,  &c.  the  removal  of 
this  complaint  must  be  variously 
effeeted."     Complete  Farmer. 

SWAMP,  wet  sunken  land.  See 
the  article  Bog. 

SWARD,  the  surface  of  grass 
ground. 


SWA 


SWA 


441 


The  sward  is  formed  of  a  web  of 
ihe  pools  of  grass,  mixed  with  tlie 
best  mould.  The  common  English 
grass,  or  poa,  forms  a  very  firm  and 
toujjh  sward,  which  may  be  cut  up 
and  used  as  turf.  Herdsgrass  has 
a  weaker  sward;  and  clover,  being 
tap  rooted,  forms  a  very  weak  and 
and  crumbly  sward.  The  first  kind 
bears  the  tread  <'f  cattle,  and  the 
pressure  of  wheels  far  better  than 
the  others. 

The  sward  is  wisely  contrived  by 
the  Author  of  Nature,  for  the  re- 
cruiting and  enriching  of  land.  At 
the  same  time  that  it  prevents  the 
descending  of  the  food  of  vegeta- 
bles too  deep  into  the  soil,  it  is  con- 
tinually collecting  it  from  the  at- 
mosphere. So  that  for  a  long 
course  of  years,  some  grass  lands 
v;ill  aflfbrd  good  crops  of  hay  with 
little  or  no  manuring. 

The  sward  always  contains  the 
richest  part  of  the  soil.  Accord- 
ingly it  is  always  found,  that  land 
newl)  ploughed  out  of  sward  is 
more  fruitful  than  that  which  has 
been  longer  in  tillage.  Sometimes  it 
will  bear  as  good  a  crop  without 
dung,  as  it  will  in  succeeding  years, 
well  dunged. 

Other  things  being  equal,  a 
sward  that  is  always  fed  very 
close  does  not  gather  richness  so 
fa?t  as  one  that  has  more  fogge.  In 
the  one  case,  tho  vegetable  food  in 
the  atmosphere  is  blown  away  ;  in 
het  other,  it  is  entangled  in  the  fog- 
ge, retained  by  it.  and  carried  into 
the  soil  by  rains,  and  melting  snows. 

A   sward  on    which    cattle    lie 
much,  or  where   swine    frequently 
run.  as  in  the  borders  of  manv  of 
56 


our  roads,  becomes  very  rich.  So 
that  if  the  surface  be  pared  oflf,  to 
the  thickness  of  two  or  three  inches, 
and  laid  in  heaps  to  ferment,  with 
the  grassy  sides  inwaid,  it  will  soon 
become  an  excellent  manure.  A 
dressing  of  this  will  surprisingly  re- 
new the  fertility  of  an  old  worn  out 
field.  But  a  mixture  of  dung  with 
this  manure  will  be  no  small  advan- 
tage. 

By  the  sides  offences,  a  sward 
gathers  richness  faster  than  in  the 
other  parts  of  a  field.  The  vegeta- 
ble ft)od  which  floats  in  the  air,  the 
earthy  parts  especially,  may  be 
supposed  to  fall,  for  the  same  rea- 
son that  snow  does,  and  remain,  un- 
der the  lee  offences.  And  the  bank- 
ing up  of  snow  in  these  situations 
is  another  cause ofenriching  the  sur- 
focc  of  the  ground.  By  lying  for  some 
time  after  the  ground  is  bare,  being 
peculiarly  adapted  to  catch  and 
retain  the  food  of  plants,  it  conveys 
the  more  of  it  into  the  sward.  High 
and  close  fences  produce  these  ef- 
fects more  observably  than  low  and 
open  ones  But  this  is  to  be  under- 
stood with  limitation;  for  it  is  ob- 
served that  a  close  fence  seven  or 
eight  feet  high  has  often  a  much 
smaller  bank  of  snow  under  its  lee 
than  a  fence  of  but  four  or  five  (cet. 

When  the  sward  of  mowing 
ground  binds  too  much,  it  should 
be  broken  up  and  tilled.  But  to 
prevent  binding,  it  should  not  be 
fed  very  close  after  mowing;  and 
especially  a  sprinkling  of  well  rot- 
ted compost,  applied  in  autumn, 
will  not  only  prevent  binding,  but 
increase  the  next  crop,  to  such  a 
degree,  that  manure  cannot  be  bet- 
ter  applied. 


442 


SWl 


3  Wi 


.  SWARTH,  or  SWATH,  a  line 
or  row  or  grass,  or  corn,  &;c.  cut 
down  bj  the  mower. 

The  double  swarlh  is  where  the 
grass  of  two  swarths  is  thrown  to- 
g»4her  in  mowing.  It  saves  a  bt- 
tle  labour  in  raking  to  make  the 
double  swartb  the  centre  of  a  win- 
drow. But  when  the  crop  is  thin, 
this  is  an  object  unworthy  of  atten- 
tion. 

SWINE,  the  name  of  a  species 
of  tauie  quadruped  animals,  well 
known  in  all  countries. 

Somen  is  the  old  English  plural 
of  soxo,  whence  the  name  swine, 
which  custom  has  applied  to  the 
whole  species  of  hogs. 

The  keeping  of  swine  is  of  es- 
sential advantage  to  the  husband- 
man ;  because  they  feed  much 
upon  things,  which  would  other- 
wise be  of  no  considerable  service 
to  him.  The  roads,  and  commons, 
in  the  farming  towns  of  this  coun- 
try, aiford  swine,  excepting  in  win- 
ter, the  greatest  part  of  their  scan- 
ty living.  For  they  feed  heartily, 
not  only  on  grass,  but  many  sorts 
of  weeds,  the  tops  and  roots  of  fern, 
the  roots  of  several  kinds  of  aqua- 
tic plants,  &c.  They  pick  up 
grain  and  seeds  that  are  necessarily 
scattered  about  the  barn  and  out 
houses,  besides  eating  worms  and 
many  kinds  of  insects. 

Besides,  the  farmer's  house  af- 
fords many  things  which  contribute 
to  their  support,  which  would 
otherwise  be  lost,  such  as  whey, 
sour  skimmed  milk,  and  butter 
milk,  the  washing  of  tubs  and  dish- 
es ;  animal  and  vegetable  food  that 
has  accidentally  got  corrupted,  de- 
cayed and  rotten  fruit,  the  offal  of 


beasts,  fowls  and  fish,  and  the 
grounds  of  cider,  beer  and  other  li- 
quors. 

As  this  animal  is  much  disposed 
and  adapted  to  do  mischief,  those 
that  are  permitted  to  go  at  large, 
should  be  well  yoked,  that  they 
may  not  break  through  fences. 
And  whether  they  go  at  large  or  in 
pastures,  they  should  always  be 
ringed  in  the  nose,  to  prevent  their 
tearing  up  the  ground  too  much,  in 
search  of  roots.  When  kept  in  pens, 
they  need  ringing  also,  that  they 
may  live  the  more  quietly  together, 
and  not  tear  and  wound  each  other. 

Their  running  at  large  is,  per- 
haps, not  advisable,  unless  it  be  in 
wide  roads,  or  in  places  where 
there  is  a  large  outlet  for  them  ; 
or  where  grass,  brakes,  acorns,  or 
nuts  of  be(>ch,  chesnut,  or  hickory, 
are  not  to  be  found  in  plenty.  For 
they  are  exposed  to  the  more  acci- 
dents ;  and  in  some  of  our  settle- 
ments, which  border  on  the  wilder- 
ness, the  bears  are  apt  to  catch 
them.  And  the  most  of  our  pub- 
lic roads  are  so  much  frequented  by 
other  hungry  beasts,  that  the  swine 
can  have  but  little  advantage  from 
the  grass. 

But  in  case  of  necessity,  when 
the  farmer  happens  to  have  no 
suitable  pasture  for  his  swine,  let 
the  wash  from  the  house  be  regu- 
larly given  them,  morning  and  ev- 
ening, to  prevent  their  wandering 
away  too  far  from  home.  This 
will  induce  them  always  to  lodge 
at  home,  especially  if  they  have  a 
good  sty  to  receive  them  in  inclem- 
ent weather ;  by  means  of  which 
they  will  be  the  less  in  danger  of 
being  lost,  or  of  straying  too  far 
from  home. 


S  WI 


S  WI 


443 


I  am  sensible  that  the  mfethofi  of 
management  1  here  recomaiead,  is 
liable  to  one  considerable  objec- 
tion ;  which  is,  that  if  they  be  fed 
at  all  at  home,  thev  will  be  apt  to 
haunt  the  house  all  the  time, 
cryirio;  for  more,  and  never  go 
way  far  in  quest  of  food. 

Instead  ofattemptinii;  to  answer 
this  objeetion,  I  wish  I  could  make 
it  appear  a  sufficient  ar<;;ument  to 
convince  farmers  of  the  great  ad- 
vantage, or  the  necessity  of  having 
good  enclosed  pastures  for  their 
swine.  They  will  be  safer,  and 
fare  better  ;  and  the  cost  of  it  is  not 
great. 

The  hog  pasture  should  be  so 
near  to  the  dwelling  house,  that  it 
may  not  be  troublesome  to  carry 
the  wash  to  the  swine  :  And  yet 
so  far  off  that  the  people  in  the 
house  may  not  be  stunned  with 
their  noise.  And  a  warm  cot  must 
be  made  in  some  convenient  part 
of  their  pasture,  for  them  to  lodge 
in. 

To  prepare  a  pasture  for  them, 
let  the  ground  be  broken  up,  tilled 
and  manured,  and  then  laid  down 
with  clover.  For  swine  are  more 
fond  of  this  grass  than  of  any  other 
which  our  country  produces.  Let 
the  quantity  of  land  be  so  propor- 
tioned to  thenu'rber  of  swine,  that 
they  may  keep  the  grass  from  run- 
ning up  to  seed.  For  this  will  pre- 
vent waste ;  and  the  shorter  the 
grass  is.  the  sweeter  it  will  be,  and 
the  more  tender  and  agreeable  to 
their  palates. 

I  suppose  that  one  acre  of  rich 
land  in  clover,  will  support  twenty 
or  more  swine,  large  and  small  to- 
gether, through  the  summer  :  and 


bring  them  well  forward  in  their 
growth,  but  they  should  have  rings 
in  their  noses  to  prevent  their  root- 
ing out  the  clover. 

It  has  been  proved,  by  many 
trials,  that  hogs,  in  such  a  pasture, 
may  be  kept  in  good  plight,  with- 
out any  other  food.  Some  say 
they  may  be  half  fattened. 

Arthur  Young,  Esq.  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  summer  of  the  year 
1  "66,  pastured  sixty  four  swine  of 
various  sizes,  on  two  acres  of  clo- 
ver ground.  And  allowing  two 
pence  half  penny  per  week,  one 
with  another,  their  feedings  a- 
mounted  to  seventeen  pounds,  six- 
teen shilhngs  sterling.  Their  keep- 
ing was  set  at  a  low  rate,  six  months 
feeding  for  one  swine  being  5^.  5d. 
and  the  protit  of  the  clover  put  to 
this  use  is  astonishir>g.  He  assures 
the  public  that  all  these  swine  grew 
very  fast.  And  in  his  opinion,  this 
use  of  clover  is  greatly  preferable 
to  making  it  into  hay.  1  think  this 
IS  not  to  be  doubted,  though  the 
rropof  hay  were  supposed  to  be 
the  greatest  that  is  ever  obtained. 

It  sliould  be  remembered,  that 
the  pasturing  with  swine  will  en- 
rich land  more  than  pasturing  with 
other  beasts,  and  ht^reby  the  pro- 
tit  of  the  farmer  will  be  increased. 
And  if  a  common  clover  lay  will 
produce  a  good  crop  of  wheat, 
much  more  may  be  expected  of  the 
same  kind  of  ground,  after  pastur- 
ing swine  upon  it  ;  as  their  dung 
adds  much  to  the  fertilit}  of  the  soil. 

Hogs  ma)  be  turned  into  their 
pasture  about  the  first  of  May,  and 
kept  in  it  till  the  last  of  October. 
And  if,  in  iMay  and  October,  the 
grass  should   not  be  quite    sufli 


444 


s  wi 


S  Wl 


cient  for  their  support,  some  pota- 
toes or  other  roots  may  be  thrown 
to  them. 

The  fence  about  the  pasture 
should  be  so  tight  and  strong  that 
the  swine  will  not  need  lo  be  yoked: 
Because  yokes  do  much  towards 
preventing  their  growth,  as  1  have 
found  by  letting  yoked  and  unyoked 
ones  of  the  same  litter  run  together 
in  a  pasture. 

It  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  a 
hog  pasti.re,  to  have  plenty  of  wa- 
ter in  it  through  the  summer.  Run 
ning  water  is  best,  as  it  will  alTbrd 
them  the  most  wholesome  drink, 
and  attiie  same  time,  serve  as  well 
as  any  other  for  them  to  wallow  in  ; 
and  it  will  keep  them  clean,  which 
is  no  small  advantage. 

But  the  most  dirty  puddle  water 
is  better  than  none,  as  they  can  cool 
theni!<elves  in  it  in  hot  weather, 
which  is  greatly  refreshing  lo  them, 
and  conducive  to  keep  them  in 
health. 

The  best  way  of  managing  swine 
is,  to  keep  them  always  in  middling 
plight  :  Not  too  fat,  lest  their 
health  should  be  in  danger,  espe 
cially  when  the  weather  is  hot : 
Not  too  lean,  because  this  is  apt  to 
give  them  a  ravenous  appetite,  and 
tempt  them  to  eat  things  that  are 
not  wholesome  for  them.  ^J'hose 
that  have  been  long  starved,  can 
not  be  made  fat  without  great  ex- 
pense :  Sometimes  more  than  they 
will  repay  with  their  flesh. 

When  it  can  with  convenience 
be  so  ordered,  it  is  an  excellent 
piece  of  husbandry,  to  make  a  hog 
pasture  of  an  orchard.  Their  dung 
is  alloveed  to  be  the  very  best  of 
manure  for  the  trees.     They  will 


keep  the  ground  light  and  loose  ; 
destroy  insects  that  infest  the  trees, 
and  feed  heartily  on  the  premature 
apples  that  fall,  which  the  farmer  is 
too  often  tempted  to  grind  up  for 
cider.  And  the  shadow  of  the  trees 
will  be  very  grateful  and  comforta- 
ble to  them  in  summer.  An  orch- 
ard may  be  prepared  with  clover 
as  well  as  any  otherspot  of  ground. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that, 
when  the  trees  in  an  orchard  are 
young  and  small,  swine  should  not 
be  permitted  to  go  among  them  : 
For  there  will  be  danger  of  their 
wounding  them,  and  stripping  off 
some  of  the  bark. 

I  would  not  wish  to  have  the 
keeping  of  swine  wholly  engrossed 
by  the  farmer.  In  populous  towns, 
where  there  is  so  much  as  room  for 
gardens,  every  family  should  keep 
at  least  one,  to  take  off  the  refuse  of 
the  kitchen,  dish  water,  &c,  which 
would  be  otherwise  thrown  away. 

Let  him  be  kept  in  a  pen,  or  sty, 
perpetually.  For  the  weeds  even 
of  a  small  garden,  thrown  into  his 
pen,  will  be  ten  times  better  for 
him,  than  all  he  can  pick  up  in  the 
streets,  though  there  may  happen 
to  be  a  little  grass  in^  the  bye  lanes. 

Me  should  be  fatted  and  killed  in 
the  fall;  and  i  half  year  old  shoot, 
bought  in,  to  supply  his  place. 
They  who  keep  but  one  swine,  or 
even  two,  had  better  purchase 
their  pigs  than  attempt  to  breed 
them. 

It  is  perhaps  of  more  consequence 
Ihan  some  are  aware  of,  to  be  fur- 
nished with  the  best  breed  of  swine. 
There  has  been  very  little  care 
hitherto, in  ourcountry,taken  about 
'  this  matter. 


SWi 


SWI 


445 


It  would  far  exceed  our  limits  to 
give  a  description  of  the  diff^rMi! 
breeds  of  this  animal.  Among  (tie 
best  are  the  B)  tield  breed,  the  Bed- 
ford breed,  and  the  recent  impor- 
tations from  England,  whicti  seem 
to  be  a  cross  of  the  Chinese  breed, 
with  the  larger  and  coarser  breeds 
of  Great  Britain. 

In  the  breeding  of  swine  care 
should  be  taken  to  have  them  pig- 
ged in  the  right  season,  about 
March  or  April.  These  will  bear 
the  rigour  of  the  following  wiiiter, 
much  better  than  those  which  come 
later  :  Though  a  sow  will  farrow 
three  times  in  a  year,  it  is  better 
that  they  should  do  it  only  twice. 

The  above  mentioned  writers 
say,  "  It  is  common  for  sows  to 
have  thirteerPor  fourteen  pigs  at  a 
litter:  But  the  sow  can  rear  no 
more  than  she  has  teats  to  suckle 
them  with  :  the  rest  must  therefore 
be  destroyed,  or  put  to  other  sows. 
If  a  sow  miss  the  time  of  going  to 
boar,  that  she  might  in  course  have 
done,  give  her  some  oats  parched 
in  a  pan,  in  her  wash,  or  the  small 
end  of  a  runnet  bag,  and  it  will 
cause  her  quickly  to  go  to  boar. 
The  pigs  which  you  rear,  after  you 
have  chosen  out  the  best  for  boars 
and  sows,  the  males  must  be  gelt, 
and  th:;  sows  spayed." 

The  most  eligible  food  for  store 
hogs  in  winter  ought  to  be  known, 
regard  being  had  to  the  cost  of  the 
food,  and  the  advantage  gained  in 
the  growth  of  the  swine.  Raw 
potatoes  seem  to  be  the  most  fash- 
ionable food  in  the  northern  parts 
of  New  England.  But  if  swine 
are  wholly  confined  to  this  food, 
they  will  but  just  live,  without  in- 


creasing much  in  their  growth. 
Ivjt  boiled  potatoes  will  make  them 
grow  and  even  fatten  them.  Roast- 
ed potatoes  are  still  better  for 
them  than  boiled,  as  they  are  less 
watery. 

From  some  late  experience  I 
have  had  of  feeding  them  with  raw 
carrots,  1  judge  them  to  be  a  more 
fattening  food  than  even  boiled  po- 
tatoes. The  swine  are  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  them,  sometimes  pre- 
ferring them  to  Indian  corn.  And 
I  think  the  cost  of  raising  carrots 
will  not  be  found  greater  on  the 
whole,  where  the  soil  is  suitable 
for  them,  than  that  of  raising  pota- 
toes. 

The  feeding  of  store  swine  con- 
stantly with  any  kind  of  corn, 
seems  to  be  too  expensive.  Possi- 
bly it  will  be  found,  upon  further 
trial,  that  carrots  are  the  best  sub- 
stitute. Red  beets  are  also  a  good 
food  for  them,  and  parsneps  excel- 
lent :  But  turnips  at'.d  cabbage  are 
improper. 

Mr.  Young  made  many  accurate 
experimei  ts  in  order  to  find  out 
the  cheapest  and  best  method  of 
feeding  swine  in  sties.  The  result 
of  the  whole  was,  that  boiled  car- 
rots had  the  preference. 

Sows  and  pigs  on  a  farm,  as  he 
justly  observes,  should  have  the 
benefit  that  arises  to  swine  from 
the  dairy.  The  rest  of  the  swine 
may  be  fed  chiefly  on  clover  in 
the  summer,  and  on  roots  in  the 
winter,  if  this  rule  be  observed, 
the  dairy  farmer  may  keep  a 
very  great  number  of  swine  to  ad- 
vantage. 

But  it  should  not  be  forgotten, 
that  swine  are,  in  one   respect  at 


446 


SWi 


S  WI 


least,  like  human  creatures,  apt  to 
be  cloyed  when  confined  wholly  to 
one  kind  of  food.  They  should 
therefore  be,  in  some  measure  gra- 
tified with  variety.  It  has  been 
often  remarked,  that  potatoes  suit 
hogs  better  in  summer  than  in  win- 
ter. The  secret  is.  that  in  summer 
no  hog  is  wholly  confined  to  pota- 
toes ;  for  ho  gets  at  least  some 
grass  and  weeds. 

I  know  not  whether  it  has  ever 
yet  been  determined,  at  what  age 
it  is  best,  or  most  for  the  owner's 
interest,  that  swine  should  be  fat- 
ted and  killed.  That  it  is  in  no 
part  of  the  first  year,  excepting  the 
China  breed,  1  suppose  will  be  gen- 
erally granted.  For  as  they  have 
not  near  attained  to  their  full 
growth,  it  cannot  be  expected  that 
they  should  be  so  quickly,  or  so  ea- 
sily fatted  by  feeding.  But  as  the 
you!)g  pork  is  more  palatable,  some 
will  prefer  it  on  the  whole,  though 
it  should  be  more  dearly  obtained- 

The  more  common  practice  is, 
to  kill  them  at  about  the  age  of  a 
year  and  a  ha|(f.  But  i  suspect  the 
profit  would  be  greater,  if  they 
were  kept  one  year  longer.  For  it 
is  wel'  known,  that  they  bear  the 
cold  of  the  second  winter  much  bet- 
ter than  that  of  the  first.  As  their 
growth  is  nearly  or  quite  complet- 
ed, they  are  the  more  easily  fat- 
tened ;  and  I  never  could  perceive 
but  tha  the  pork  was  equally  good 
and  palatable,  as  those  killed  at 
eighteen  months  old. 

According  to  the  opinion  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  the  best  time  in 
the  year  to  shut  up  hogs  to  fatten 
them,  is  the  month  of  August.  I 
rather  prefer  the  month  of  Sep- 


tember, when  it  may  be  depended 
on,  that  they  will  not  sulfer  at  all 
by  the  heat  in  their  confinement: 
And  there  will  be  time  enough  to 
make  them  fat,  before  the  weather 
comes  to  be  extremely  cold. 

He  that  attempts  to  fatten  his 
hogs  in  winter  will  be  a  loser :  For 
it  has  been  found  by  long  experi- 
ence, that  they  do  not  gain  in  their 
flesh  near  so  fast  in  a  frosty,  as  in  a 
temperate  season.  1  therefore 
take  care  to  get  them  fit  for  the 
knife  by  the  begmning  or  middle  of 
December,  and  I  should  choose  to 
kill  Ihem  still  earlier,  were  it  not 
for  the  advantage  of  keeping  the 
lean  part  of  the  pork  for  some  time 
without  salting ;  as  it  most  com- 
monly may  be  done  by  exposing  it 
to  frost,  in  the  coolest  part  of  a 
house. 

But  a  very  important  question  is, 
what  food  and  management  is  best 
in  fattening  swine  ?  Pease  answer 
well,  when  the  price  of  them  is  low. 
But  I  am  consirained  to  give  the 
preference  to  Indian  corn.  Let 
them  be  fed  in  September  with 
green  ears  from  the  field.  There 
is  nothing  they  will  devour  more 
greedily  than  this  corn,  and  even 
tlie  cobs  with  it. 

In  Indian  harvest,  the  unripe  ears 
should  be  picked  out,  and  given  to 
the  hogs  that  are  fatting,  without 
delay  :  Or  as  fast  as  they  can  eat 
them  :  For  it  will  do  them  four 
times  as  much  good  in  this  state, 
as  it  will  after  it  is  dried,  it  being 
difficult  to  dry  it  without  its  turning 
mouldy,  or  rotten  ;  so  that  they 
will  scarcely  eat  any  of  it  in  this 
state,  unless  they  be  kept  shorter 
of  food  than  fatting  hogs  should  be. 


SVVI 


S  WI 


447 


After  the  unripe  corn  is  used, 
that  which  is  ripened  must  be  given 
them. 

If  it  be  thought  most  convenient 
to  feed  them  with  corn  of  the 
preceding;  year,  it  should  not  be 
given  them  without  soaking,  or 
boihng,  or  grinding  it  into  meal. 
For  they  will  not  perfectly  digest 
much  of  the  hard  kernels ;  it  be- 
ing often  too  hard  for  their  teeth. 
It  has  been  thought  by  good  judges, 
that  the  corn  will  be  at  least  a  sixth 
part  more  advantage  to  the  swine, 
for  soaking  it  in  water.  But  there 
is,  if  I  mistake  not,  still  more  ad- 
vantage in  grinding  it.  What  new 
corn  is  given  them,  may  be  in  ears, 
as  it  is  not  hardened  enough  for 
grinding.  I  know  of  nothing  that 
will  fatten  hogs  faster  than  a  dough 
of  meal  and  water.  But  as  this  is 
expensive  food,  the  dough  may 
be  mixed  with  boiled  potatoes,  or 
boiled  carrots.  They  eat  these 
mixtures  as  well  as  dough  by  it- 
self; and  it  appears  to  make  no 
material  4>fft*''f '»C6  in  their  fatten- 
ing. In  this  mixture,  barley  meal 
will  answer  instead  of  Indian : 
Which  should  be  attended  to  in 
our  more  northern  parts,  where 
two  bushels  of  Barley  may  be  as 
easily  raised,  as  one  of  Indian  corn. 
Both  kinds  of  meal  I  have  found  to 
be  a  good  mixture  with  boiled  po- 
tatoes; but  it  should  by  all  means 
be  a  little  salted  to  give  it  a  good 
relish. 

While  hogs  are  fatting,  little  or 
none  of  the  wash  from  the  kitchen 
should  be  given  them.  Their 
drink  should  be  fair  water,  which 
they  relish  better  than  any  other 
drink,  and  of  which  they  will  drink 


a  good  deal,  when  they  are  fed  only 
o.i  corn,  or  stiff  dough. 

To  prevent  measles,  and  other 
disorders  in  hogs,  while  they  are 
fatting,  and  to  increase  their  health 
and  appetite,  a  dose  or  two  of  brim- 
stone, or  antimony,  given  them  in 
their  dough,  is  useful,  and  should 
not  be  neglected. 

Some  change  of  food  may  be 
advisable,  in  every  stage  of  their 
existence,  as  it  always  seems  to  in- 
crease their  appetite.  But  while 
they  are  fatting,  laxative  food  in 
general  should  be  avoided,  as  these 
animals  are  seldom  known  to  suflfer 
by  costiveness,  especially  when 
they  are  full  fed,  but  often  from  the 
contrary  disorder.  If  they  chance 
to  be  costive,  a  little  rye  will  help 
them. 

In  feeding,  steady  care  should 
be  taken  that  not  one  meal  should 
be  missed,  nor  mistimed,  and  their 
water  should  never  be  forgotten. 
They  should  always  have  as  much 
food  as  they  will  eat  up  clean  ;  but 
never  more  than  that  quantity,  lest 
they  defile  it,  and  it  be  wasted.  A 
little  at  a  time,  and  often,  is  a  good 
rule. 

If  their  skins  be  scurfy,  or  in- 
clining to  manginess,  a  little  oil 
poured  upon  their  backs,  win  cause 
it  to  come  oflf.  And  some  say,  a 
small  mess  of  rye  now  and  then,  as 
a  change  in  their  food,  is  good 
against  these  and  other  disorders. 

If  the  issues  in  their  fore  legs 
should  chance  to  get  stopped,  every 
attempt  to  fatten  them  will  be  in 
vain.  These  therefore  should  be 
watched ;  and  if  found  to  be  stop- 
ped, they  should  be  rubbed  open 
with  a  corn  cob. 


448 


SWI 


S  W  1 


Rubbing  and  currjing  their  hides 
very  frequeiill}',  is  of  advantage  to 
keep  up  perspiration.  It  is  grate- 
ful to  the  animals,  as  well  as  con- 
ducive to  their  health  and  growth. 
A  proper  sciubbing  post  in  the 
middle  of  their  pen  will  not  be 
amiss.  And  daring  the  whole  time 
of  their  fatting,  they  should  have 
plenty  of  litter.  They  will  lie 
the  more  dry  and  warm,  and  it 
will  be  more  than  paid  tor,  by  the 
increase  of  good  manure. 

When  hogs  are  killed,  a  single 
one  should  not  be  left  to  live  alone 
in  a  pen.  He  will  be  apt  to  pine 
too  much  after  his  former  compa- 
nions :  And  in  cold  weather  he  will 
suffer  for  want  of  lodging  so  warm 
as  he  has  been  accustomed  to  do. 

The  fat  part  of  pork  should  be 
plentifully  salted  with  the  best  and 
strongest  clean  salt.  It  will  take 
three  pecks  for  a  barrel.  The 
pork  should  be  kept  continually 
under  pickle  ■,  for  if  it  be  exposed 
ever  so  liltle  to  the  air,  it  will  be- 
come rusty  and  unpalatable.  See 
Hog  sty. 

Boiled  or  steamed  clover  hay 
will  serve  to  keep  hogs  during  win- 
ter, but  the  addition  of  potatoes  or 
carrots,  boiled  or  steamed  with  the 
hay  will  be  an  improvement.  For 
the  best  mode  of  boiling  or  steam- 
ing, see  Stenmboiler. 

Mr.  Young  directs  soiling  swine 
in  a  yard  in  preference  to  feeding 
them  on  clover  in  the  field  during 
summer.  But  Judge  Peters,  of 
Pennsylvania,  says,  "  In  summer 
my  hogs  chiefly  run  on  clover. 
Swiiie  feeding  on  clover  in  the 
fields  will  thrive  wonderfully ; 
when  those,  (confined  or  not)  fed 


on  cut  clover  will  fall  away.'' 
(Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  Vol.  11.  p.  33.) 
The  same  gentleman  asserts  that 
hogs,  while  fatting,  should  con- 
stantly have  some  dry  rotten  wood, 
kept  in  the  pen,  which  they  will 
eat  occasionally,  and  it  proves  very 
beneficial  to  them.  It  is  also  de- 
clared, as  well  by  that  gentleman 
as  other  writers,  that  food  when 
soured  by  a  proper  degree  of  fer- 
mentation is  much  the  best  for  fat- 
ting swine,  and  that  one  gallon  of 
sour  wash  will  go  as  far  as  two  of 
sweet  for  that  purpose.  Mr  Young 
says,  that  the  best  method  of  feed- 
ing all  kinds  of  grain  to  hogs  is  to 
grind  it  to  meal,  and  mix  it  with 
water  in  cisterns  for  that  purpose, 
at  the  rate  of  live  bushels  of  meal 
to  a  hundred  gallons  of  water. 

"Mr.  Timothy  Kirk,  of  York- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  fed  one  pig 
with  boiled  potatoes  and  Indian 
corn,  and  another  with  the  same 
articles  unboiled.  The  two  ani- 
mals were  weighed  every  week, 
and  the  difference  between  thern 
was  as  6  to  9.  The  experiment  was 
continued  several  weeks,  and  the 
animals  alternately  fed  upon  boil- 
ed and  unboiled  food,  with  an  uni- 
formity of  result,  which  sufficiently 
proved  the  very  great  profit  arising 
from  boiled  food." — Domestic  En- 
cyclopedia. 

We  shall  here  take  notice  of 
some  of  the  diseases  to  which 
swine  are  liable,  and  point  out 
their  remedies. 

The  Mange  is  an  eruption  in  the 
skin,  caused  by  the  want  of  cleanli- 
ness in  the  hogstye.  It  causes  so 
great  an  irritation,  that  the  animals 


S  Wl 


TAl 


449 


rub  themselves  till  a  scab  is  pro- 
duced, and  in  a  short  lime  ulcera- 
tion ensues. 

Dr.  Norford  {Annals  of  Agri- 
culture^  Vol.  XV.)  recommends  the 
foilowing  ointment,  which  seldom 
fails  to  effect  a  perfect  cure,  pro- 
vided it  be  piopt.-rl}  applied,  and 
the  animals  kept  clean  after  the 
disease  is  removed.  Take  three 
ounces  of  hog's  lard,  one  ounce  ol 
tine  flour  of  sulphur,  two  drachms 
of  white  hellebore,  newly  pulveriz- 
ed, and  half  an  ounce  of  the  water 
of  kali,  prepared  in  the  shops. 
These  ingredients  are  to  be  tho- 
roughly incorporated,  so  as  to  form 
an  unguent ;  the  whole  of  which  is 
directed  to  be  rubbed  on  to  ihf 
animal  at  one  time,  and  is  said  to 
be  sufficient  for  a  hog  of  six  or 
seven  stone  :  if  the  ointment  be 
properly  applied,  there  will  be  no 
need  of  a  repetition.  If  the  hog 
has  a  slight  cough,  doses  of  anti- 
mony from  half  an  ounce  to  an 
ounce  and  an  half,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  animal,  should  be  hnely 
pulverized,  and  mixed  with  his 
food,  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight. 
When  from  long  neglect,  the  neck, 
ears,  and  other  parts  become  ul- 
cerated, they  should  be  anointed 
every  third  or  fourth  day  with  an 
ointment  made  of  equal  parts  of  tar 
and  mutton  suit,  melted  together, 
till  the  cure  is  com[)ieted. 

The  Murrain  is  known  by  the 
animal's  hanging  down  his  head 
which  is  swollen  ;  short  and  hot 
breathing ;  palpitation  of  the  heart, 
staggerings,  and  an  abundant  se- 
cretion of  viscid  matter  from  the 
eyes. 

The   36th  volume  of  Annals  of 
57 


Agriculture^  gives  the  following 
remedy  :  A  handful  of  nettles  is  to 
be  previously  boiled  in  a  gallon  of 
small  beer,  when  half  a  pound  of 
tlour  of  sulphur,  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  elecampane,  three  ounces 
of  liqiiorice,  and  a  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  aniseeds  are  to  be  added 
in  a  pulverized  state.  This  pre- 
paration should  be  administered  in 
milk,  and  the  quantity  here  stated 
is  said  to  be  sufficient  for  six  doses. 

Staggers. — hi  tins  disorder  the 
animal  turns  round  rapidly,  and  if 
not  assisted  wdl  die  in  half  an  hour. 

Remedy. — You  will  see  a  bare 
knob  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 
Cut  it  and  let  it  bleed.  Take  the 
powder  of  loam  and  salt,  rub  it 
with  it,  and  then  give  the  hog  a 
little  urine.  8ee  a  letter  from  J. 
P.  De  Gruchy  to  Hon.  Richard 
Peters,  published  in  '■'■Memoirs  of 
the  Philadelphia  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, Vol.  11.  p.  28. 


T. 

TAIL  SICKNESS,  a  distemper 
attended  with  weakness  arid  slug- 
gishness, to  which  horned  cattle 
are  liable  in  the  spring.  The  end 
of  the  tail  becomes  hollow  and  re- 
laxed, but  not,  as  some  have  as- 
serted, destitute  ot'  feeling.  A  cure 
is  easily  etfectcd,  by  the  amputa- 
tion of  a  s^mall  piece  of  the  tail, 
which  will  be  attended  with  a  dis- 
charge  of  some  blood.  But  when 
the  tail  is  but  little  affected,  and 
near  to  the  end,  a  slit  of  one  inch, 
or  an  inch  and  a  half,  in  the  end  of 
the  tail,  is  preferable  to  amputa' 
tion. 


450 


TEA 


TEA 


TEAM,  the  beasts  that  are  used 
tog'  ther  in  draught. 

The  right  ordering  and  manage- 
ment of  a  teann  is  a  matter  of  no 
little  consequence  to  the  farmer, 
not  ou\y  in  ploughing  and  harrow- 
ing, but  in  carting  and  sledding. 

In  some  countries,  teams  consist 
only  of  horses,  but  in  a  new 
country,  wliere  roads  are  bad,  and 
the  ground  full  of  obstacles,  this 
will  not  answer.  A  horse  team 
travels  so  much  quicker  than  oxen, 
that  where  there  are  many  obsta- 
cles, no  harness  will  hold  them  ; 
and  violent  jerks  would  injure  and 
discourage  if  not  ruin,  the  horses. 

But  in  fields  that  are  perfectly 
cleared,  ploughing  with  horses  may 
be  performed  with  much  greater 
despatch  and  advantage.  An  acre 
and  a  half  is  but  a  moderate  day's 
work  for  a  team  of  horses,  whereas 
an  ox  team  seldom  does  more  than 
an  acre.  And  there  is  a  propor- 
tionable advantage  in  teaming  on  a 
good  road  with  horses. 

But  when  it  is  considered  how 
much  more  expensive  the  support 
of  horses  is,  than  that  of  oxen,  and 
that  an  ox,  when  past  labouring,  is 
valuable  for  beef,  the  general  use 
of  horses  in  the  draught  is  not  to 
be  accounted  eligible,  in  any  coun- 
try. Mr.  Marshall  computes  that 
a  million  sterling  annually  is  lost 
in  Britain,  by  the  using  of  horses 
for  draught  instead  of  oxen  :  And 
that  a  hundred  thousand  persons 
might  be  supplied  with  a  pound  of 
animal  food  per  day,  without  con- 
suming one  additional  blade  of 
grass,  if  oxen  were  used  in  general. 

The  slowness  of  oxen  is  partly 
natural,  and  partly  acquired.    That 


excessive  slowness  may  be  prevent- 
ed, care  should  be  taken  never  to 
overload  them.  When  their  work 
is  easy,  they  may  be  quickened 
without  danger  of  hurting  ihem  ; 
and  their  contracting  a  habit  of 
moving  slowly  may  be  thus  pre- 
vented. 

It  IS  also  found,  that  old  oxen  are 
always  apt  to  be  slower  thaji  young 
ones.  It  is  not  advisable,  there- 
fore, to  continue  to  work  them  till 
they  are  old  ;  but  to  turn  them  off 
at  six  or  seven  years  old,  at  which 
age  they  will  be  better  beef  than 
older  cattle. 

Perhaps  a  team  consisting  partly 
of  oxen  and  partly  of  horses,  may 
be  found  to  be,  upon  the  whole,  of 
the  greatest  advantage,  especially 
among  small  farmers.  For  they 
find  it  needful  to  keep  one  horse  or 
more,  which  will  be  idle  most  of 
the  time,  unless  they  work  him  in 
the  team  with  the  oxen. 

The  methods  of  harnessing  a 
team,  are  so  well  known  to  farmers 
by  their  experience,  that  they 
would  perhaps  scorn  to  be  instruct- 
ed in  it.  But  I  would  recommend 
it  to  them  to  take  it  into  conside- 
ration, whether  improvements 
might  not  be  made  in  this  article 
of  ruial  economy-  Particularly, 
whether  the  hard  and  heavy  wood- 
en yokes  with  which  oxen  are 
worked,  should  not  give  place  to  a 
mode  of  harnessing  similar  to  that 
of  horses.  Collars,  to  open  and 
shut  at  the  top,  with  hames  and 
traces,  for  oxen,  are  used  in  Eng- 
land, and  have  been  recommended 
by  some  of  its  ingenious  writers. 
But  if  this  advise  'should  be  gene- 
rally followed  in  this  country,  the 


TEA 


TH  r 


451 


use  of  two-wheelt  d  carts  must  be 
laid  aside,  (he  wooden  yokes  being; 
necessarii)  connected  witli  them. 
See  the  article  Wog(ron. 

TKASEL,  CARDUUS  FUL- 
LONL'M,  or  Fuller's  Thistle.  Dip- 
sacns.  a  species  of  thistle,  the  heads 
of  which  are  ot  use  to  raise  the 
naj>  on  woollen  cloth.  They  are 
fitter  lo  work  on  fine  than  on  coarse 
cloths. 

Tliis  is  a  plant  which  onglit  to  be 
cultivated  in  this  country,  in  order 
to  facilitate  and  improve  the  manu- 
facture of  woollen.  And  from 
some  trials  that  have  been  made 
it  appears  that  it  may  be  done 
without  difficulty. 

J>lr.  IMiller  says,  "This  plant  is 
propagated  by  sowing  the  seeds  in 
March,  upon  a  soil  that  has  been 
well  prepared."  Any  time  in  April 
will  answer  in  this  country.  "About 
one  peck  of  seed  will  sow  an  acre  ; 
for  the  plants  should  have  room  to 
grow,  otherwise  the  heads  will  not 
be  so  large,  nor  in  so  great  quan- 
tity. When  the  plants  are  come 
up,  they  must  be  hoed  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  practised  for  turnips, 
cutting  out  all  the  weeds,  and  sing- 
ling out  the  plants  to  about  eight 
inches  distance.  And  as  the  plants 
advance,  and  the  weeds  begin  to 
grow  again,  they  must  be  hoed  a 
second  time,  cutting  out  the  plants 
to  a  wider  distance  ;  for  they  should 
be  left,  at  last,  a  foot  asunder,  and 
should  be  kept  clear  from  weeds, 
especially  the  first  summer  :  For 
when  the  plants  have  spread  so  as 
to  cover  the  ground,  the  weeds 
will  not  so  readily  grow  be- 
tween them.  The  second  year 
after  sowing,  the  plants  will  shoot 


up  heads,  which  will  be  fit  to  cut 
about  the  beginning  of  August ;  at 
which  time  they  should  be  cut, 
and  tied  up  in  bunches,  seltiiig 
them  in  the  sun,  if  the  weather  be 
fair ;  but  if  not,  they  m(jst  be  set  in 
rooms  to  dry  them.  The  common 
produce  is  about  a  hundred  and 
sixty  bundles,  or  staves,  upon  an 
acre,  which  they  sell  for  one  shil- 
ling a  stave." 

Those  who  would  see  a  more 
particular  account  of  this  useful 
plant,  may  consult  the  Complete 
Farmer. 

TETHER,  or  TEDDER,  a 
rope  with  which  a  horse  is  tied  in 
the  field.  He  may  be  fastened  by 
the  neck,  or  the  foot,  or  head, 
shifting  his  situation  as  often  as 
needful.  Where  gra.^s  grows  in 
part  of  a  lot,  with  a  tillage  crop 
growing  on  part  of  it,  it  is  often 
convenient  to  feed  off  the  grass  in 
this  way. 

THATCH,  straw  laid  on  the 
top  of  a  building,  or  stacks,  to  keep 
out  the  weather.  In  this  country 
it  is  used  only  for  stacks,  sheds  and 
hovels. 

THILL  HORSE,  the  hinder- 
most  horse  in  a  team,  which  goes 
between  the  thills  or  shafts. 

THISTLE,  Carduus,  a  prickly 
weed  found  in  tillage  and  pasture 
lands.  It  indicates  a  rich  soil ;  but 
it  is  a  very  troublesome  weed,  as  it 
exhausts  much  of  the  strength  of 
the  soil,  and  easily  propagates  itself 
far  and  wide,  by  its  downy  seeds, 
which  are  wafted  by  the  wind  to 
considerable  distances. 

An  effectual  way  to  subdue  this- 
tles is,  to  pull  them  up  by  hand 
while  they  are  small,  or  before  the 


452 


THR 


THR 


usual  time  of  cutting  tliem.  It 
may  be  easily  done  after  a  consi- 
derable ram,  while  the  ground  is 
soft  by  being  moistened.  But  the 
operator  nnust  have  his  hands  well 
defended  by  gloves  of  stout  leather. 
They  may  be  taken  out  at  any 
time  with  a  strong  spade.  Or 
thislles  may  be  cut  up  in  autunui, 
about  the  beginning  of  .September, 
and  burnt  before  they  have  scat- 
tered their  seed.  A  thorough  til- 
lage of  the  land,  or  a  good  summer 
fallowing,  will  subdue  them. 

But  it  signifies  little  for  one  far- 
mer to  destroy  the  thistles  in  his 
ground,  so  long  as  they  are  sutler 
ed  to  tlourish  in  contiguous  fields  ; 
because  the  seeds  are  wafted  in 
the  air  from  field  to  field,  to  a  con- 
siderable distance.  For  this  rea- 
son it  is,  that  in  France,  a  man  may 
sue  his  neighbour  for  neglecting  to 
thistle  his  ground  in  the  proper 
season ;  or  may  employ  people  to 
do  it  at  his  expense. 

Not  only  tlie  fields,  but  the  bor- 
ders and  hedges  around  them, 
should  be  cleared  of  thistles,  or  a 
complete  conquest  over  them  will 
never  be  obtained.  And  this  is  the 
most  difficult  part  of  the  work. 

Thistles,  cut  an  inch  above 
the  ground,  will  not  be  so  difficult 
to  subdue  as  those  cut  at  the  same 
time  with  the  hoe,  and  below  the 
surface.  In  the  former  case,  the 
remaining  stub  of  the  thistle  gets 
filled  with  water,  which  rots  and 
destroys  the  plant. 

THRASHING,  beating  out  corn, 
seeds,  &:c. 

This  is  commonly  done  with  a 
flail.  But  it  is  greatly  suspected 
that  many  seeds  are  so  bruised  by 


this  instrument,  that  they  wtfl  not 
vegetate.  That  which  is  to  be 
sowed,  should  therefore  be  extri- 
cated from  the  heads  in  some  bet- 
ter method.  Striking  the  grain  by 
handfulls,  against  a  beam  or  post,  is 
recommended.  Some  sorts  of 
seeds  should  be  beaten  out  with  a 
staff,  or  a  slender  rod. 

Turning  a  heavy  wooden  wheel 
upon  grain,  by  a  horse,  might  be  the 
means  of  saving  a  good  deal  of  la- 
bour. This  is  the  common  method 
of  getting  out  the  seeds  of  clover: 
And  it  might  answer  equally  well 
for  any  other  kind  of  smooth  and 
slippery  seeds.  The  wheel  holds 
the  chatTin  its  place  and  drives  the 
seeds  before  it. 

An  engine  was  once  made  by  a 
gentleman  in  the  state  of  New- 
Hampshire,  consisting  of  a  broad 
framed  wheel,  filled  with  heavy 
fliers,  which,  as  the  wheel  turned, 
fell  out  forwards  upon  the  grain, 
with  considerable  force.  There 
was  thus  two  kinds  of  force  at  once 
applied  to  the  grain,  the  pressure  of 
the  wheel,  and  the  strokes  of  the 
fliers. 

The  ancient  practice  of  treading 
out  corn  with  oxen  and  horses  must 
have  been  exceedingly  inconven- 
ient, ft  is  no  wonder  that  it  has 
been  long  disused  in  most  places. 

When  the  work  is  performed, 
with  a  flail  or  otherwise,  the  work- 
man should  either  be  bare  footed, 
or  have  soft  shoes,  or  Indian  moc- 
kasins  on  his  feel,  that  he  may  not 
crush  thecornsby  treadingon  them. 
Wheat,  when  it  is  new,  is  particu- 
larly liable  to  he  crushed. 

Mr.  Mortimer  thinks  it  a  day's 
work  for  a  man  with  a  flail  to  thrash 


THR 


THR 


453 


lour  bushels  of  wheat,  or  rye  ;  six 
of  barley,  or  five  of  oats,  beans,  or 
pease.  But  Mr.  Lisle  says,  a  good 
thrasher  assured  hi  rp,  that  twelve 
bushels  ot  oats,  or  barley,  are 
reckoned  a  good  day's  thrashing, 
and  five  or  six  bushels  of  wheal. 
But  no  certain  rule  can  be  given, 
by  reason  of  ihe  difference  in  grain. 
Every  one  knows  that  large  plump 
grain  is  more  easil}  thrashed,  than 
that  which  is  poor  and  blighted. 

This  work  should  be  performed 
when  the  weather  is  dry,  both  on 
account  of  the  ease  of  the  labourer, 
and  the  grain  itself,  which  will  keep 
the  better  afterwards. 

The  beards  of  barley  conne  off 
the  more  easily  in  thrashing,  when 
the  swaths  of  this  corn  have  taken 
the  dew  before  it  is  housed.  It 
often  requires  much  thrashing  after 
it  is  extricated  from  the  straw.  It 
will  keep  well  in  a  mow  unthrash 
ed,  for  a  year,  or  longer. 

Beans  and  peas  always  thrash 
best  after  sweating  in  the  mow, 
which  they  are  apt  to  do.  After 
kiln  drying,  or  drying  in  the  sun, 
they  will  keep  a  long  time  in  the 
granary,  though  laid  ever  so  thick. 

Threshing  Machines,  of  vari- 
ous kinds  have  been  invented 
and  put  in  use  since  Mr.  Deane 
wrote.  Sir  John  Sinclair  says  that 
the  threshing  machine  is  consider- 
ed to  be  the  most  valuable  imple- 
ment that  modern  times  have  pro 
duced,  and  states  the  following  ad- 
vantages as  resulting  from  them. 

"•  1.  From  the  superiority  of  the 
mode  one  twentieth  part  more  is 
gained  from  the  same  quantity  of 
straw  than  by  the  old  fashioned 
method.    *?,  The  work   is    done 


much  more  expeditiously.  3.  Pil- 
fering is  avoided.  4.  The  grain  is 
less  subject  to  injury.  5.  Seed 
corn  can  be  procured  without  dif- 
ficulty from  the  new  crops.  6. 
The  market  may  be  supplied  with 
grain  more  quickly  in  times  of  scar- 
city. 7.  The  straw,  softened  by  the 
mill  is  more  useful  in  feeding  cattle. 
8.  If  a  stack  of  corn  be  heated,  it 
may  be  threshed  in  a  day  and  the 
grain  preserved  from  injury.  9. 
The  threshing  mill  lessons  the  in- 
jury from  smutty  grain;  and  10. 
By  the  same  machine,  the  grain 
may  be  separated  from  the  chaff 
and  small  seeds,  as  well  as  from  the 
straw.  Before  the  invention  of 
threshing  mills,  farm  servants  and 
labourers  endured  much  drugery ; 
the  large  corn  farmer  sustained 
much  damage  from  bad  threshing; 
and  had  much  trouble,  vexation 
and  loss  from  careless  and  wicked 
servants  ;  but  now,  since  the  intro- 
duction of  this  valuable  machine, 
all  his  difficulties,  in  these  respects 
are  obviated." 

The  ILdinburgh  Encyclopedia, 
New  York  edition, gives  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  threshing  machine,  invent- 
ed by  Mr.  Mickle,  which,  on  a 
large  scale,  and  driven  by  water, 
threshes,  fans  and  cleans  wheat,  at 
the  rate  of  sixty  bushels  an  hour. 
On  a  smaller  scale,  worked  by  two 
horses  and  three  hands  to  attend  to 
it,  this  machine  will  thresh  and 
clean  sixty  bushels  of  wheat,  or 
double  that  quantity  of  oats  in  eight 
hours.  Rollers,  or  small  mill  stones 
are  added  to  many  of  these  ma- 
chines for  crushing  or  grinding 
grain.  Knives  for  cutting  hay 
might  be  added. 


454 


TIL 


TI  L 


Mr.  Elihu  Hotchkiss.  of  Brattle- 
borough,  Vermont,  has  invetited, 
and  taken  a  patent  for  a  threshing; 
machine,  which  obtained  a  pre 
mium  from  the  Massachusetts  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  in  1B18.  The 
Society  likewise  purchased  the  pa- 
tent right  for  Massachusetts,  and  it 
maybe  found  annong'the  imple- 
ments belonging  to  that  Society. 

TIKE,  a  most  disagreeable  in- 
sect, bred  in  the  woods,  and  found 
on  sheep,  dogs,  cattle,  &c.  B) 
drawing  nourishment  from  animals, 
they  swell  themselves  up  to  a  large 
size.     See  Insect, 

TILLAGE,  the  work  or  business 
of  tilling,  or  working  the  ground, 
including  ploughing,  hoeing  and 
harrowing.     See  those  articles. 

The  same  field  should  not  be 
kept  in  tillage  perpetually.  It  an- 
swers a  better  purpose  to  lay  a 
field  sometimes  to  grass.  No  rota- 
tion of  tillage  crops  can  be  so  good, 
as  to  have  some  years  of  grass  taken 
into  the  course.  It  makes  thevari- 
ty  greater,  and  it  checks  the  in- 
crease of  certain  insects,  as  well  as 
destroys  some  kinds  of  weeds. 

High  lands  are  usually  selected 
for  tillage.  But  low  and  moisi 
lands,  well  drained,  ridged,  and 
water  furrowed,  are  often  more 
productive ;  and  there  is  less  dan- 
ger of  exhausting  them,  and  reduc 
ing  them  to  a  barren  state. 

A  correspondent  of  the  editors 
of  the  Museum  Rusticum,  says. 
"  The  inhabitants  of  Mi  rket  Weigh- 
ton  have  five  fields,  two  of  a  sand} 
soil,  and  three  of  a  strong  clayey 
soil :  The  two  former  destined  to 
rye,  and  the  others  to  wheat.  Their 
sandy  lands  are  disposed  in  ridges, 


lands,  or  beds  to  four  swaths 
breadth  :  And  finding  by  experi- 
ence, that  considerable  parts  of 
each  land,  towards  each  furrow, 
are  starved  by  the  coldness  of  the 
water  dripping  from  the  higher 
parts  of  the  lands,  they  have  for 
many  years  altered  their  former 
method  :  And  only  ploughed  the 
half  of  each  land.  viz.  the  two  mid- 
dle swaths  :  So  that  they  have  now 
excellent  r}e  growing  on  the  high- 
er and  drier  half  of  every  land,  and 
excellent  meadow  on  the  lower  and 
wetter  half,  which  being  just  two 
swaths,  IS  mowed  with  great  ease 
and  exactness. 

"It  will  perhaps  be  thought  by 
some,  that  by  making  narrower 
lands,  they  might  have  more  dry 
land,  and  consequently  more  corn. 
But  I  apprehend  that  these  indus- 
trious husbandmen  find  by  experi- 
ence, that  when  they  make  their 
lands  narrower,  and  consequently 
with  less  descent,  the  water  stag- 
nates in  the  higher  parts,  and  con- 
sequjtMitly  spoils  their  whole  crop. 
Nor  could  they,  I  suppose,  sow 
more  corn  on  their  lands,  in  their 
present  disposition,  with  conveni- 
ence,as  their  present  method  allows 
them  just  one   swath  on  each  side. 

"  They  have  rye  and  meadow  in 
one  of  their  two  sandy  fields  every 
other  year,  and  a  fallow  the  next 
year.  The  saving  half  of  the  field 
III  grass  affords  good  grass  for  their 
slieep,  &;c.  in  that  year;  and  allows 
them  to  keep  a  good  stock  there- 
on ;  and  this  stock,  in  return,  ma- 
nures the  ground  considerably, 
both  the  fallow  and  the  swath. 
One  of  their  fields  aflfords  them 
plenty  of   spring  corn ;  and  thus 


TIM 


TIM 


455 


they  are  supplied  with  wheat,  rye, 
spring  corn,  meadow  and  summer 
grass,  from  their  five  fields,  which 
in  any  other  management  they 
could  scarcely  be."  Museum  Rusti- 
tum:\o\.  VI.  page  8j. 

To  TILLER,  to  spread,  or  mul- 
ply  shoots. 

Grain  that  is  sown  tljin,  in  a  good 
soil,  will  produce  a  considerable 
number  of  stalks  and  ears  from  one 
root.  Winter  grain  will  tiller  more 
than  that  which  is  sown  in  the 
spring;  for  which  reason  spring 
grain  should  be  sown  thicker. 

TILTH,  the  state  in*  which 
ground  is  after  tilling.  When  it  is 
well  pulverised,  and  made  light  to 
a  sufficient  depth,  it  is  said  to  be  in 
good  tilth. 

TIMBER,  wood  for  building, 
mechanism,  &c. 

It  has  been  and  still  continues  to 
be  a  very  general  opinion,  that  tim- 
ber should  be  felled  in  the  winter, 
while  the  sap  is  down. 

This  has  been  for  many  years 
past  disputed,  and  an  abundant 
mass  of  evidence  has  been  produc- 
ed to  shew  that  timber  should  be 
cut  or  felled  in  mid  summer,  with 
a  view  to  its  durability.  It  is  so 
very  much  opposed  to  vulgar  opin- 
ion that  it  requires  much  inquiry, 
and  frequent  experiments  to  settle 
it.  But  it  is  proper,  in  such  a 
work  as  this,  to  announce  the  mo- 
dern opinion,  in  order  to  induce  far- 
mers to  make  the  experiment. 

When  the  bark  of  timber  trees 
is  wanted  for  use,  the  bark  may  be 
stripped  off  from  the  trunks  in  May 
or  June,  while  the  trees  are  stand- 
ing, and  the  trees  felled  in  autumn 
following,  or  rather  in  winter. 


M.  Buffon,  of  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy of  Paris,  haspioved  by  a  va- 
riety of  experiments,  that  the  tim- 
ber of  trees  thus  barked  is  more 
solid,  hard,  weighty  and  strong, 
than  the  timber  of  trees  felled  in 
their  bark,  and  thence  concluded, 
with  probability,  that  it  is  more 
durable.  1  suspect  that  the  in- 
creased strengtti  and  solidity  of  the 
wood  were  in  the  blea,  or  what  is 
vulgarly  called  the  sap  of  the  tree. 
The  surface  so  exposed  will  soon 
be  too  hard  to  permit  the  entrance 
of  any  worm.  The  saving  of  the 
bark  for  tanning  is  sometimes  so 
important  an  object,  where  wood 
has  become  scarce,  that  it  may 
well  be  worth  while  to  go  into  this 
practice.  It  is  douhtless  better 
than  the  practice  in  England, 
where  felling  begins  about  the  end 
of  April  ;  a  statute  requiring  it  to 
be  done  then,  that  the  bark  may 
be  saved  for  the  advantage  of  tan- 
ning leather. 

The  ancients  chiefly  regarded 
the  age  of  the  moon  in  felling  their 
timber.  Their  rule  was  to  fell  it 
in  the  wane,  or  four  days  after  the 
new  moon,  or  sometimes  in  the 
last  quarter.  But  this  is  of  little 
consequence.  For  the  sap  will  be 
down  when  the  weather  continues 
day  and  night  to  be  frosty,  be  the 
moon's  place  as  it  may. 

Timber  should  be  cut  at  the 
right  age.  For  if  the  trees  be  too 
young,  or  too  old,  the  timber  will 
be  less  durable.  It  is  said  that  oak 
trees  should  not  be  cut  under  sixty 
years  old,  nor  above  two  hundred. 
Trees  should  however  be  cut  in 
their  prime,  when  almost  fully 
grown,  and  before  they  begin  to 


4d6 


TOB 


TOB 


decay ;  and  this  will  be  sooner  or 
later  according  to  the   quality  of 
the  soil,  or  the  nature  of  the  cli 
mate. 

While  timber  is  seasoning,  it 
should  not  be  much  exposed  to  the 
weather,  or  the  heat  of  the  sun,  that 
it  may  not  dry  too  rapidly,  and 
spring,  warp,  or  crack.  Neither 
should  pieces  be  piled  too  close  on 
each  other,  but  kept  apart  by  short 
sticks  across,  to  prevent  mouldi- 
ness  and  decay,  by  permitting  the 
air  to  pass  through  the  pile.  The 
same  observations  will  apply  to  all 
kinds  of  valuable  boards. 

"  In  order  to  preserve  timber 
from  cracking  while  seasoning,  let 
it  be  blocked  out  for  the  purpose? 
wanted,  and  laid  in  a  hay-mow, 
vsrhen  the  hay  is  carted  in.  When 
the  hay  is  dealt  out  the  next  winter, 
the  timber  may  be  taken  out,  well 
seasoned,  and  free  from  cracks. 
This  is  an  excellent  plan  for  sea- 
soning all  kinds  of  timber  for  car- 
riages, &ic.  When  this  is  to  be 
done,  if  the  trees  be  felled  in  the 
winter,  let  them  lie  in  logs,  until 
hay  time  arrives." — Farmer''s  As- 
sistant. 

It  is  published  in  the  'Memoirs 
of  the  Philadelphia  Society,  for  the 
promotion  of  Agriculture,'  that  sa- 
tisfactory experiments  have  proved 
that  timber  used  for  posts  will  last 
considerably  longer,  by  setting  the 
end  in  the  ground,  which  was  up- 
permost as  it  grew. 

TIMOTHY  GRASS.  Sec  gras- 
ses. 

TOBACCO,  mcotiana,  a  well 
known  narcotic  plant,  which  has 
become  very  important,  in  Europe 
and  America,  since  Sir  Walter  Ra- 


leigh imported  it  into  England,  and 
is  very  generally  used,  in  one  way 
or  other,  by  persons  of  both  eexes. 
It  need  not  to  be  told  how  m  ich 
many  abuse  themselves  with  it.  It 
has  its  name  from  Tobago,  one  of 
the  Caribbee  islands. 

To  cultivate  this  vegetable  suc- 
cessfully, burn  the  surface  of  a  piece 
of  ground,  as  early  as  possible  in 
the  spring;  rake  it  well,  and  sow 
the  seeds  pretty  thin.  Or  if  the 
goodness  of  the  seeds  be  suspected, 
they  may  be  sown  a  little  thicker. 
When  the  leaves  are  as  large  as  the 
nails  of  one's  tingers,  the  plants 
may  be  removed. 

A  sandy  or  gravelly  soil  should 
be  chosen,  as  most  suitable  to  the 
Mature  of  this  plant,  which  requires 
^nuch  heat,  and  is  not  apt  to  suffer 
by  drought  ;  and  a  southern  expo- 
sure is  best. 

The  ground  should  be  prepared 
for  the  plants,  by  several  plough- 
ings  andharrowings ;  and  be  made 
rich  by  folding.  Or,  if  the  folding 
be  omitted,  old  dung  of  the  hottest 
kinds  should  be  put  in  the  holes. 

But  the  common  way  of  raising 
tobacco  in  cow  pens,  and  barn 
yards,  without  pulverising  the  soil, 
is  detestable.  The  taste  of  such 
tobacco  is  intolerable. 

The  ground  being  well  prepared, 
let  the  young  plants  be  transplanted 
into  it  in  a  wet  day  about  three  feet 
asunder,  or  three  feet  and  a  half. 

After  this  it  will  be  needful  to 
keep  the  ground  clear  of  weeds,  and 
the  plants  should  be  daily  viewed 
and  examined,  to  clear  them  of  the 
worms  that  eat  them  ;  for  there  is 
a  sort  which  have  a  voracious  appe- 
tite for  this  kind  of  food,  though  ii 


TOB 


TOB 


457 


IS  a  sovereign  antidote  to  all  other 
insects. 

The  tops  of  the  plants  should 
be  broken  or  cut  oflT,  at  the  height 
of  three  feet,  or  a  little  less  or  more, 
according  to  the  greater  or  less  vi- 
gour of  the  ditferent  plants  ;  those 
excepted  which  are  to  bear  seed, 
which  should  be  some  of  the  stout- 
est and  most  thrifty.  It  should  be 
done  so  early  in  the  summer,  as  to 
allow  time  for  the  upper  leaves  to 
grow  to  the  same  size  as  the  lower 
ones  ;  of  which  the  cultivator  must 
be  his  own  judge,  attending  to  cir- 
cumstances. All  the  plants  should 
be  topped  about  the  same  time,  let 
their  height  be  greater  or  less ;  for 
if  this  be  done  too  late,  though 
there  will  be  a  greater  number  of 
leaves,  the  tobacco  will  be  of  a 
worse  quality,  nor  will  the  quantity 
in  weight  be  much,  if  at  all,  in- 
creased, because  the  leaves  will  be 
thinner  and  lighter. 

The  suckers  which  shoot  out  at 
the  foot  stalks  of  the  leaves,  should 
be  broken  off  as  often  as  they  ap- 
pear ;  that  so  the  leaves  may  have 
all  possible  advantage  of  the  sap  of 
the  plants  to  perfect  tliem. 

The  maturity  of  tobacco  is  known 
by  certain  small  dusky  spots  ap- 
pearing on  the  leaves.  When  it  is 
in  this  state,  it  should  be  cut  down 
carefully  with  a  strong  knife,  below 
tht  lower  leaf,  on  the  morning  of 
a  sunny  day,  and  the  plants  laid 
singly  in  the  sun  to  wither,  which 
iftiiey  do  not  stitficietitly  in  one 
day,  must  be  in  the  same  maimer 
exposed  the  next  day. 

Being  entirely  withered,  the 
plants  shcMjld  be  laid  in  clo^e  heaps, 
in  the  barn,  or  some  other  building, 
58 


to  sweat,  for  the  time  of  forty- 
eight  hours  at  least.  After  which 
let  lioles  be  made  witha  gimbletin 
the  lower  ends  of  the  stems,  and 
the  plants  connected  by  two  and 
two,  with  sticks  about  eight  inches 
long  thrust  into  those  holes  ;  then 
hang  them  upon  smooth  poles, 
placed  about  sixteen  inches  apart, 
in  an  apartment  which  is  pretty 
tight. 

As  the  tobacco  turns  dry  and 
brown,  the  plants  should  be  slip- 
ped nearer  together  on  the  poles. 
But  this  should  be  done  only  whea 
the  air  is  damp,  and  when  the  leaves 
do  not  crumble.  It  is  often  found 
convenient  to  reduce  them  to  close 
order  to  make  room  for  the  re- 
mainder of  a  crop,  which  will  be 
ripe  later. 

From  the  roots  of  plants  which 
are  cut  early,  suckers  will  arise, 
and  give  a  second  crop  ;  but  it 
will  be  of  an  inferior  quality.  It 
may  stand  out  till  late  in  autumn,  as 
a  small  degree  of  frost  will  not  in- 
jure it. 

When  the  tobacco  has  hung  till 
all  the  greenness  is  gone  out  of  the 
leaves,  and  at  a  time  when  the  air 
is  da«np,  the  leaves  should  be  strip- 
ped from  the  stalks,  tied  up  in 
hands,  packed  in  ca^ks  or  chests, 
well  pressed  down,  and  kept  in  a 
dry  place.  But  by  no  means  in  a 
cellar,  which  would  so<>n  spoil  it. 
It  will  not  be  so  tit  for  use  the  first 
year  as  afterwards. 

That  is  the  best  tobacco  which 
is  raised  with  the  least  assistance 
from  manure.  And,  as  high  ma- 
nuring is  required  when  it  is  culti- 
vated in  cold  climates,  1  cannot 
wish  to  see  many  attempts  to  do  it 


458 


TOP 


TOP 


in  any  place  that  is  north  of  the 
forty  second  degree  of  latitude. 
In  cold  countries,  the  leaves  are  apt 
to  be  very  thin,  and  so  weak  that 
they  will  scarcely  hold  together 
in  the  curing  ;  and  it  is  far  from 
being  so  well  flavoured  as  that 
which  comes  from  the  southern 
states ;  from  whence  I  wish  it  may 
be  always  imported.  For  I  sup- 
pose we  ought  in  general  to  culti- 
vate only  those  vegetables,  to 
which  our  climate  is  most  suitable. 

TOP  DRESSING.  Dung  or 
other  manures,  spread  over  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  for  the  nour- 
ishing of  plants  that  are  growing  in 
it.  These  manures  should  be  well 
pulverised,  that  they  may  be  spread 
evenly. 

Top  dressings  are  used  with  ad- 
vantage, for  grain,  grass,  flax,  &:c. 
The  timing  them  judiciously  is  a 
matter  of  no  small  importance. 
They  should  not  be  too  freely  given 
to  winter  grain  in  autumn,  lest  they 
unseasonably  produce  a  luxuriant 
growth,  at  a  time  when  it  exposes 
the  tender  plants  to  be  the  more 
injured  by  frost.  The  right  time 
to  give  this  culture  to  grain,  is  just 
at  the  season  when  it  is  earing;  for 
then  is  the  time  when  it  seems  to 
require  the  greatest  supply  of  nour- 
ishment. 

If  the  application  of  top  dressings 
to  mowing  grounds  were  generally 
practised  in  this  country,  and  year- 
ly repeated  as  it  ought  to  be,  in- 
stead of  the  present  general,  or  ra- 
ther, universal  neglect  of  it,  it 
would  put  a  new  face  upon  things. 
A  va>t  plenty  of  hay,  double  crops, 
two  cuttings  in  a  year,  and  much 
increase  of  wealth  to  farmers,  and 


the  country  in  general,  would  soon 
appear  to  be  the  happy  consequen- 
ces. 

The  materials  used  for  top  dres- 
sings are  numerous,  and  various. 
See  the  article  Manure. 

There  is  scarcely  any  question,  on 
which  farmers  are  more  divided, 
than  as  to  the  policy  of  applying 
manure  as  a  top  dressing  to  grass 
lands,  in  the  spring  or  fall,  'i  he 
reasoning  seems  to  be  in  favour  of 
spring  dressing,  and  it  is  supported 
by  many  excellent  names.  But,  it 
ought  to  be  known,  that  intelligent 
farmers,  near  the  metropolis,  most 
generally  dress  their  lands  in  au- 
tumn. Besides,  the  reason  stated 
above,  that  grass  lands  are  less  in- 
jured by  carting  over  them  in  the 
fall ;  it  may  be  added,  that  it  is  a 
season  of  greater  leisure,  and  al- 
though it  is  confidently  asserted, 
that  the  manure  is  wasted  by  rains 
and  snows,  yet  much  ought  to  be 
allowed  on  the  other  side,  for  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  top  dres- 
sing, to  the  tender  roots  of  the 
plants  during  winter,  and  ought  we 
not  to  add  something  for  the  low 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere  in 
winter,  which  prevents  evapora- 
tion ?  Whatever  principles  of  fer- 
tility exist  in  manure,  are  in  winter 
carried  down  into  the  soil.  We  are 
fully  convinced,  that  a  scorching 
sun,  and  drying  air,  are  more  per- 
nicious to  manures,  spread  thinly 
over  the  surface  than  any  drench- 
ingrains  can  be,  unless  on  declivi- 
ties, where  top  dressings  are  un- 
questionably of  less  value  than  on 
level  grounds.  The  fact,  that  far- 
mers who  grow  rich  by  supplying 
the  great  towns  with  hay,  generally 


TRA 


TR  A 


459 


adopt  the  practice  of  fall  dressing 
their  grass  lands,  deserves  weight. 

Sir  Jo!in  Sinclair  recommends 
top  dressing  the  growing  crop, 
when  it  is  suspected  that  the  land 
is  not  rich  enough  to  bring  a  full 
crop  to  perfection,  and  says,  '  this 
should  be  done  early  in  the  spring, 
when  the  land  is  sufiicienti)'  dry  to 
bear  the  treading  of  a  horse  with- 
out poaching ;  and  after  the  ma- 
nure has  been  applied,  the  land 
should  generally  be  harrowed  or 
rolled.  Soot,  ashes,  and  other 
light  manures,  are  thus  most  ad- 
vantageously made  use  of.' 

TRANSPLANTING.  Remov- 
ing plants  from  their  seed  bed,  and 
setting  them  in  other  places,  where 
they  will  have  better  room  to  per- 
fect their  growth. 

Some  vegetables  indeed,  need 
to  be  transplanted  twice,  especial- 
ly some  kinds  of  trees,  first  from  the 
seed  bed  into  the  nursery,  after- 
wards from  the  nursery  into  orch- 
ards, groves,  forests,  &lc. 

The  fiist  thing  in  the  latter  trans- 
planting of  trees  is,  to  have  the 
ground  prepared  before  the  trees 
are  taken  up,  that  so  they  may  re- 
main out  of  the  earth  as  short  a 
time  as  possible;  the  next  is,  to 
take  up  the  trees.  In  doing  this, 
carefully  dig  away  the  earth  round 
the  roots,  so  as  to  come  at  their 
several  parts  to  cut  them  ofT:  For 
if  they  are  torn  out  of  the  ground 
without  care,  the  roots  will  be  bro- 
ken and  bruised,  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  trees.  When  you  have  ta- 
ken them  up,  prepare  them  for 
planting,  by  pruning  the  roots  and 
heads.  All  the  small  fibres  are  to 
be  cut  off,  as  near  to  the  place  from 


whence  they  are  produced  as  may 
be,  excepting  perhaps  when  they 
are  to  be  replanted  immediately 
after  they  are  taken  up.  But  it 
will  require  great  care  to  plant 
them  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to 
distort,  or  entangle  the  fibrous 
roots,  which,  if  done,  will  be  worse 
for  the  plant  than  if  they  were  cut 
off.  Then  prune  off  all  the  bruised 
or  broken  roots,  all  such  as  are  ir- 
regular, and  cross  each  other,  and 
all  downright  roots,  especially  in 
fruit  trees.  Shorten  the  lateral 
roots  in  proportion  to  the  age, 
the  strength,  and  nature  of  the 
trees ;  observing  that  the  walnut, 
mulberry,  and  some  other  ten- 
der rooted  kinds,  should  not  be 
pruned  so  close  as  the  more  hardy 
sorts  of  fruit  and  forest  trees.  In 
young  fruit  trees,  such  as  pears,  ap- 
ples, plums,  peaches,  &c.  that  are 
one  year  old  from  the  time  of  their 
budding  or  grafting,  the  roots  may 
be  left  only  about  eight  or  nine  in- 
ches long :  But  in  older  trees,  they 
must  be  left  of  a  much  greater 
length.  But  this  is  only  to  be  un- 
derstood of  the  larger  roots. 

"  The  next  thing  is  the  pruning 
of  their  heads,  which  must  be  dif- 
ferently performed  in  different 
trees  ;  and  the  design  of  the  trees 
must  be  considered  ;  Thus,  if  they 
are  designed  for  walls  or  espaliers, 
it  is  best  to  plant  them  with  the 
greatest  part  of  the  heads,  which 
should  remain  on  till  they  begin  to 
shoot  in  the  spring,  when  they 
must  be  cut  down  to  five  or  six 
eyes,  at  the  same  time  taking  care 
not  to  disturb  the  roots.  But  if  the 
trees  are  designed  for  standards, 
you  should  prune  oflf  all  the  small 


460 


TRA 


TR  A 


branches  close  to  the  place  where 
ihey  are  prioduced,  as  ais^o  irreji,iilar 
ones,  whicfi  cross  each  other;  and 
after  having  displaced  these  branch 
es,  you  should  also  cut  off  all  suet; 
parts  ot'  branches  as  have  by  an) 
means  been  broken  or  wounded  ; 
but  by  no  means  cut  off  the  main 
leading  shoots,  which  are  necessa 
ry  to  attract  the  sap  from  the  root, 
and  thereby  promote  the  growth  of 
the  tree. 

"  Having  thus  prepared  the  trees 
for  planting,  you  must  now  pro- 
ceed to  place  them  in  the  earth  : 
But  (irst,  if  the  trees  have  been  long 
out  of  the  ground,  so  that  the  fibres 
of  the  roots  are  dried,  place  them 
eight  or  ten  hours  jn  water,  before 
they  are  planted,  with  their  heads 
erect ;  and  the  roots  onty  immers 
ed  therein,  which  will  swell  the 
dried  vessels  of  the  roots,  and  pre- 
pare them  to  imbibe  nourishment 
from  the  earth.  In  planting  them, 
great  regard  should  be  had  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil  ;  for  if  that  be 
cold  and  moist,  the  trees  should  be 
planted  very  shallow;  and  if  it  be 
a  hard  rock  or  gravel,  it  will  be  bet- 
ter to  raise  a  hill  of  earth  where 
each  tree  is  to  be  planted,  than  to 
dig  into  the  rock  or  gravel,  and  fill 
it  up  with  earth,  as  is  loo  often 
practised  ;  by  which  means  the 
trees  are  planted,  as  it  were  in  a 
tub,  and  have  but  little  room  to  ex- 
tend their  roots, 

"  The  next  thing  to  be  observed 
is,  to  place  the  trees  in  the  hole,  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  roots  may 
be  about  the  same  depth  in  the 
ground,  as  before  they  were  taken 
up  :  'i'hen  break  the  earth  fine  with 
a  spade,  and  scatter  it  into  the  hole, 


so  that  it  may  fall  in  between  every 
root,  that  there  may  be  no  hollow- 
ness  in  the  earth.  Then  having  fil- 
led up  the  hole,  gently  tread 
down  the  eaith  with  your  feet,  but 
do  not  make  it  too  hard  ;  which  is 
a  great  fault,  especially  if  the 
ground  be  stroi.g  and  wet. 

'•  Having  ihus  planted  the  trees, 
they  should  be  fastened  to  slakes 
driven  into  the  ground,  to  prevent 
their  being  displaced  by  the  wind, 
and  some  mulch  laid  on  the  surface 
of  the  ground  about  their  roots.  As 
to  such  as  are  planted  against  walls, 
their  roots  should  be  placed  about 
five  or  six  inc  hes  from  the  wall,  to 
which  their  heads  should  be  nailed, 
to  prevent  their  being  blown  up  by 
the  wind."     Diet,  of  Arts. 

'i'he  smaller  species  of  vegeta- 
bles, and  particularly  annuals,  are 
removed  but  once,  if  at  all.  A 
rainy  or  damp  season,  if  such  a  one 
happens,  should  be  chosen  for  this 
operation,  as  the  plants  will  need 
the  le>s  watering  b)  hand,  or  shel- 
tering from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

But  when  it  is  found  necessary 
to  do  it  in  dry  weather,  the  evening 
should  alwa)s  be  preferred  to  the 
morning,  as  the  coolness  and  damp- 
ness of  the  night  will  do  much  to 
prevent  the  withering  of  the  plants. 

Plants  which  are  ordy  to  be  car- 
ried a  few  steps  should  be  remov- 
ed with  a  gardener's  trowel,  for 
when  a  good  ball  of  earth  is  taken 
up,  and  put  into  a  hole  with  a  plant, 
the  roots  are  but  little  disturbed, 
or  altered,  and  the  plant  not  at 
all  affected  by  its  removal. 

Mr.  Forsyth  says  "  in  transplant- 
ing trees,  especially  large  ones,  I 
consider  it  to    be   of  great  conse- 


TUM 


TUM 


461 


quence,  that  they  be  placed  in  the 
same  position,  (that  is,  havinji  the 
same  pari;;  facing  the  same  poirils 
of  compass)  as  formerK.  If  }ou 
take  notice  vv  hen  a  tree  is  cut  down, 
you  will  tiiid  that  three  parts  in  four 
of  t[ie  growth  are  on  the  north 
side." 

For  the  mode  of  transplanting 
turnips,  which  will  apply  to  cabba- 
ges, iLc.     8ee  article  Turnip. 

TREE,  a  large  vegetable,  with 
one  woody  stem,  arising  to  a  con- 
siderable height. 

Trees  are  distinguished  into  ev- 
ergreens and  deciduous  ;  the  for- 
mer hold  their  leaves  during  the 
winter,  the  latter  shed  them  in  au- 
tumn. They  are  otherwise  dis- 
tinguished into  standards  and 
dwarfs ;  and  again  into  timber  and 
fruit  trees. 

TROWEL,  a  tool  which  is  of 
great  use  and  advantage,  in  gar- 
dening; ;  especially  in  transplanting 
small  and  tender  plants,  as  b)  tak- 
ing up  a  ball  of  earth  about  their 
roots,  it  prevents  injury  to  the 
plants.  It  is  made  like  the  trowel 
used  by  bricklayers,  excepting  that 
it  is  hollowed  into  the  shape  of  a 
large  gouge. 

TUMOUR.  "  a  preternatural 
swelling  in  any  part  of  a  horse,  aris- 
ing from  external  injuries,  or  inter- 
nal causes. 

"Swellings  caused  by  external 
accidents,  as  blows  and  bruises, 
should  at  first  be  treated  with  res 
tringents.  Let  the  part  be  bathed 
frequently  with  hot  vinegar  or  ver- 
juice, and,  where  it  will  admit  of  a 
bandage,  let  a  flannel  wetted  with 
the  same  be  rolled  on.  If  by  this 
method  the  swelling  do  not  abate, 


apply,  especially  to  the  legs,  a 
poultice  of  red  wine  lees,  or  beer 
grounds,  and  oatmeal  ;  or  vinegar, 
oil  and  oameal  ;  either  of  these 
may  be  continued  twice  a  day,  after 
bathing,  till  the  swelling  abates  ; 
when,  in  order  to  disperse  it  entire- 
ly, the  vinegar  should  be  changed 
for  camphorated  spirit  of  wine,  to 
four  ounces  of  which  niay  be  added 
one  of  spirit  of  sal  an.nioiiiac  ;  or 
it  may  be  bathed  with  a  mixture  of 
two  ounces  of  crude  sal  ammoniac, 
boiled  in  a  quart  of  chamber  ley, 
twice  a  da),  and  rag?  dipped  in 
the  same  may  be  rolled  on. 

''  Fomentations  iiade  b\  boiling 
wormwood,  ba}  leaves,  and  rose- 
mary, and  adding  a  proper  quanti- 
ty of  spirits,  are  often  of  great  ser- 
vice to  thin  the  juices,  and  fit  them 
for  transpiration  ;  especiall)  if  the 
injury  has  affected  the  joints. 

"  But  in  bruises,  where  the  ex- 
travasatcd  blood  will  not  bv  these 
means  be  dispersed,  the  shortest 
way  is  to  open  the  skin,  and  let  out 
the  grumes. 

"  If  the  swelling  fixes  under  the 
jaws,  behind  the  ears,  on  the  poll, 
withers,  or  in  the  groins  and  sheath, 
&c.  it  should  be  encouraged  and 
forwarded  by  ripening  poultices, 
wherever  they  can  be  applied. 
Oatmeal  boiled  soft  in  milk,  to 
which  a  proper  quantity  of  oil  and 
lard  is  added,  may  answer  this  pur- 
pose, applied  twice  a  day,  till  the 
matter  is  perceived  to  fluctuate 
under  the  fingers,  when  it  ought  to 
be  let  out.  For  which  purpose, 
let  the  tumour  be  opened  with  a 
knife  or  strong  lancet,  the  whole 
length  of  the  swelling,  if  it  can  be 
done  safely,  for  nothing  contributes 


462 


TUM 


T  U  R 


so  much  to  a  kind  healing,  as  the 
matter's  having  a  free  discharge, 
and  the  opening  being  big  enough 
to  dress  to  the  bottom. 

'•  Pledgets  of  tow  spread  with 
black  or  yellow  basilicon  (or  the 
wound  ointment)  and  dipped  in  the 
same,  melted  down  with  a  fifth  part 
©f  oil  of  turpentine,  should  be  ap- 
plied to  the  bottom  of  the  sore,  and 
filled  up  lightly  with  the  same  with- 
out warmJiig.  It  may  be  thus 
dressed  once  or  twice  a  day,  if  the 
discharge  is  great,  till  a  proper  di- 
gestion is  procured,  when  it  should 
be  changed  for  pledgets  spread  with 
the  red  precipitate  ointment,  ap- 
plied in  the  same  maruier. 

"Should  the  sore  not  digest  kind- 
ly, but  run  a  thin  water  and  look 
pale,  foment  as  olten  as  you  dress 
with  the  above  fomentation;  and 
apply  over  your  diessing  the  strong 
beer  poultice,  and  continue  this 
method  till  the  matter  grows  thick, 
and  the  sore  florid. 

"The  following  ointments  will 
generally  answer  3  our  expectations 
in  ail  <  onmion  cases,  and  may  be 
prepared  without,  as  well  as  with 
the  verdigrise. 

Take  Venice  turpentine  and  bees 
wax  ;  oil  of  olives  one  pound  and 
a  half  :  yellow  rosin  twelve 
ounces  ;  when  melted  together, 
two  or  three  ounces  of  verdigris 
finel\  powdered  may  be  stirred 
in,  and  kept  so  till  cold,  to  pre- 
vent its  subsiding. 
Take  of  yellow  basilicon,  or  the 
above  ointment  without  verdi- 
gris, four  ounces  ;  and  red  pre- 
cipitate finely  powdered  half  an 
ounce  ;  mix  them  together  cold, 
with  a  knife  or  spatula. 


"This  last,  applied  early,  will 
prevent  a  fungus,  or  proud  flesh, 
from  shooting  out ;  for  if  you  dress 
too  long  with  the  above  digestive, 
the  fungus  will  rise  fast  and  give 
some  trouble  to  suppress  it;  when 
it  will  be  necessary  to  wash  the 
sore  as  often  as  you  dress,  with  a 
solution  of  blue  vitriol  in  water,  or 
to  sprinkle  it  with  burnt  alum  and 
precipitate.  If  these  should  not  be 
powerful  enough,  touch  with  a 
caustic,  or  wash  with  the  subli- 
mate water,  made  by  dissolving 
half  an  ounce  of  corrosive  sublime 
in  a  pint  of  water. 

"  But  this  trouble  may  in  great 
measure  be  prevented,  if  the  sore 
is  on  a  part  where  bandage  can  be 
applied  with  compresses  of  linen 
cloth  ;  for  even  when  these  ex- 
crescences regerminatc,  as  it  were, 
under  the  knife,  and  spring  up  in 
spite  of  the  caustics  above  men- 
tioned, they  are  to  be  subdued  by 
moderate  compression  made  on  the 
sprouting  fibres  by  these  means." 
See  more  on  this  subject  in  Bar- 
tlel''s  Farriery,  page  236. 

TURF,  a  clod  filled  with  grass 
roots,  taken  from  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 

That  which  is  used  as  fuel  in 
some  countries,  is  properly  the 
sward  of  a  wet  and  boggy  soil,  and 
consists  of  a  sulphureous  earth, 
and  the  roots  of  aquatic  vegetables. 

In  Flanders,  they  pare  their  turf 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
cut  it  in  the  form  of  bricks. 

The  Du'ch  take  their  turf  from 
the  bottom  of  the  canals  which  di- 
vide their  lands  ;  by  means  of  which 
they  keep  their  dikes  clear  and 
navigable. 


TUR 


TUR 


463 


In  the  north  of  England  and 
Scotland,  turf  is  dug  out  of  soft, 
moist,  rotten  earth,  which  they  call 
peat  moss.  It  is  decayed  moss 
mixed  with  moory  earth,  and  aqua- 
tic grass  roots. 

Some  writers  confound  turf  with 
peat,  as  if  they  were  the  same  sub- 
stance. Peat  consists  of  decayed 
wood,  large  trees  in  a  sound  state 
being  often  found  in  a  peat  soil, 
and  those  that  are  changed  into 
peat  retain  their  shape.  Nut  shells 
and  leaves  are  observed  in  it,  which 
indicate  that  peat  was  originally 
wood.  Turf  is  therefore  quite  a 
different  substance,  of  much  less 
value  as  fuel;  and  yields  a  weaker 
kind  of  ashes. 

Turf  also  differs  from  peat,  as  in 
places  where  turf  is  cut  out  it  will 
in  some  years  be  renewed  ;  but 
this  is  not  the  case  with  peat,  which 
being  once  dug  out  is  never  renew- 
ed. 

TURKEY,  a  large  domestic 
fowl,  brought  from  Turkey,  and  is 
called  by  the  name  of  its  country. 

As  many  of  them  are  reared  in 
the  farming  towns  in  this  country, 
I  shall  here  give  directions  from  a 
good  writer,  how  it  may  be  done 
with  success. 

"  Most  of  our  housewives,  says  a 
Swedish  author  on  husbandry,  have 
long  despaired  of  success  in  rearing 
turkies;  and  complained  that  the 
profit  rarely  indennnfies  them  for 
their  trouble,  and  loss  of  time  : 
Whereas,  continues  he,  little  more 
is  to  be  done  than  to  plunge  the 
chick  into  a  vessel  of  cold  water, 
the  very  hour,  or  if  that  cannot  be, 
the  day  it  is  hatched,  forcing  it  to 
swallow  one    whole  pepper  corn, 


and  then  restoring  it  to  its  mother. 
From  that  time  it  will  become 
hardy,  and  fear  the  cold  no  rrore 
than  a  hen's  chick.  After  which  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  these 
useful  creatures  are  subject  to  one 
particular  malady  whilst  they  are 
young,  which  carries  them  off  in  a 
few  days.  When  they  begin  to 
droop,  examine  carefully  the  fea- 
thers on  their  rumps,  and  you  will 
find  two  or  three,  whose  quill  part 
is  filled  with  blood.  Upon  draw- 
ing these  the  chick  recovers,  and 
after  that  requires  no  other  care 
than  what  is  commonly  bestowed 
on  poultry  that  range  in  the  court 
yard. 

"  These  articles  are  too  true  to 
be  denied  ;  and  in  proof  of  the  suc- 
cess, three  parishes  in  Sweden 
have,  for  many  years,  gained  seve- 
ral hundred  pounds  by  rearing  and 
selling  turkeys." — Rural  Economy ^ 
page  7S9. 

Buck  wheat  is  accounted  a  good 
food  for  turkeys  ;  but  insects  con- 
tribute much  to  their  living  in  sum- 
mer. When  grasshoppers  are 
plenty,  they  will  fatten  upon  them. 

R.  Weston,  Esq.  recommends 
fatiening  turkeys  with  walnuts, 
given  them  whole.  See  his  Tracts, 
page  190. 

TURNIP,  a  white  esculent  root. 

The  sorts,  according  to  Mr.  Mil- 
ler, are  three  ;  the  ilat,  or  round 
shaped  turnip,  the  long-rooted,  and 
the  French  turnip. 

Of  the  first  sort  some  are  green 
topped,  otiiers  red  purple  topped; 
the  yellow  ;  and  tlie  early  Dutch 
turnip,  which  are  not  of  so  much 
vahie.  The  last  sort  is  sown  early 
in  the  spring,  to  supply  the  markets 


464 


TUR 


TUR 


in  the  beginning  of  summer.     The! 
green  topped  turnip  is  preferred  to 
the   rest,    as  it  grows  to  a  larger 
size. 

Turnips  love  a  light  sandy  or 
gravelly  soil,  or  a  sandy  loam.  It 
should  be  made  soft  and  fine,  but 
not  too  rich,  lest  the  turnips  be 
rank  and  ill-tasted. 

Ground  that  has  been  newly 
cleared,  yields  the  largest  and 
sweetest  turnips ;  and  on  such  a 
spot  there  is  the  least  danger  from 
insects. 

Next  to  new  land,  swarded 
ground  is  to  be  chosen  for  a  crop 
of  turnips  ;  and  the  way  to  prepare 
it  is,  to  plough  it  pretty  deep  in  the 
spring,  and  fold  it  by  turning  in  the 
stock  for  a  good  number  of  nights. 
For  there  is  scarcely  any  of  our 
fields  sufficiently  rich  to  produce 
turnips  without  manuring :  And 
folding  hitherto  appears  to  be  the 
best  method  of  enriching  the 
ground  for  this  purpose.  It  should 
be  well  harrowed  as  often  as  once 
a  week,  while  the  folding  is  con- 
tinued, to  mix  the  excrements  of 
the  cattle  with  the  soil. 

The  ground  should  he  cross 
ploughed  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  sutfi- 
ciently  rotten,  and  reduced  by  har- 
rowing to  a  tine  tilth,  before  it  is 
sowed.  Where  a  good  stock  is 
kept,  as  much  as  an  acre  may  bo 
sufficiently   folded. — See  Folding. 

The  time  for  sowino;  the  seed  is 
about  the  middle  of  July.  Doiiij^ 
it  on  a  set  day  is  ridiculous  :  For  a 
time  should  be  chosen  when  the 
ground  has  the  right  degree  of 
moisture  to  make  tl>e  see(i  vege- 
tate ;  and  if  this  should  hiippeu  a 
week  earlier,  or  a  foitnight  later 


than  the  usual  time,  it  need  not  be 
regretted  ;  but  the  opportunity 
ought  to  be  embraced. 

I  have  sown  them  it)  drills  the 
first  week  in  August,  and  had  a 
good  crop.  One  great  advantage 
of  sowing  so  late  is,  that  the  tur- 
nips will  escape  insects.  And  if 
the  crop  should  not  happen  to  be 
quite  so  large  as  if  the  sowing  had 
been  earlier,  the  roots  will  not  fail 
of  being  better  for  the  table. 

One  pound  of  seed  is  the  com- 
mon allowance  for  an  acre  of  land. 
But  to  guard  against  the  fly,  the 
quantity  may  be  a  little  increased. 
And  it  is  recommended  b^  judicious 
writers,  that  it  be  a  nnxtuie  of  equal 
parts  of  new  and  old  seed,  that  the 
plants  coming  up  at  dilTerent  times, 
the  one  sort  or  the  other  may 
chance  to  escape  the  insects.  With 
this  view,  .\1r.  Full  constructed  his 
turnip  drill  to  lodge  the  seeds  at 
diflferent  depths,  which  it  seems 
had  the  desired  effect. 

The  seed  sown  broadcast  must 
be  harrowed  in  with  a  short  tined 
harrow,  and  then  rolled  with  a 
wooden  roller,  to  break  the  clods, 
and  level  the  surface. 

[n  a  week,  or  thereabouts,  the 
young  plants  will  be  up  :  And  if  it 
be  a  dry  season,  the  fly  will  be  apt 
to  destroy  them  :  To  prevent  which, 
some  powdered  soot,  or  lime,  may 
be  sowed  very  thinkly  over  them, 
by  sifting,  in  a  dewy  morning. 
This  will  quicken  the  growth  of 
the  pl:n!ts.  as  well  as  otherwise  de- 
feiid  them.  Aiid  the  faster  the 
pi  I! its  grow,  the  sooner  they  will 
unfidd  iheir  rough  leaves,  and  be 
out  of  danger  of  the  fly.  Or  it 
may   answer  well  to  sprinkle  the 


TUR 


TUR 


465 


ground  with  an  infusion  of  elder, 
wormwood,  or  tobacco.  But  it 
must  be  done  seasonably,  as  soon 
as  the  plants  are  up. 

But  if  the  young  plants  cannot 
be  saved,  as  it  may  sometimes  so 
happen,  the  ground  ma)*  be  har- 
rowed, and  sowed  ac;ain,  the  cost 
of  seed  being  but  little,  to  com- 
pare with  the  loss  of  a  crop. 

When  the  plants  have  got  five 
or  SIX  leaves,  they  should  be  hoed, 
and  the  plants  cut  out  to  six  or 
eight  inches  asunder.  In  the  se- 
cond hoeing,  which  should  be  three 
or  four  weeks  after  the  first,  they 
should  be  further  thinned,  to  the 
distance  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  in- 
ches ;  especially  if  they  are  design- 
ed for  the  feeding  of  cattle.  The 
roots  growing  at  such  a  distance 
will  be  large,  so  that  what  is  want- 
ing in  number,  will  be  more  than 
made  up  by  their  bulk.  But  if 
they  are  designed  for  the  table, 
they  need  not  be  more  than  from 
six  to  ten  inches  apart,  as  over- 
grown ones  are  not  so  fit  for  this 
purpose. 

Biit  few  have  been  hitherto  rais- 
ed in  this  country,  tor  the  feeding 
of  cattle.  But  if  our  farmers  would 
follow  the  directions  given  above, 
they  would  find  it  easy  to  raise 
hundreds  of  bushels  for  their  stocks. 
Forty-seven  tons  have  been  the 
crop  of  an  Irish  acre,  as  Mr  Winn 
Baker  testifies,  under  his  culture. 
Those  who  have  made  no  spirited 
trials,  will  hardly  conceive  how 
much  the  hoeings  will  increase 
their  crops.  Even  without  hoeing, 
where  the  weeds  are  suti'ered  al- 
most to  stifle  (hem.  a  crop  of  tur- 
nips sometimes  turns  out  to  be 
r,9 


profitable  :  How  much  more  pro- 
fitable may  it  be  expected,  if  they 
had  sufficient  room,  and  were  not 
robbed  of  their  nourishment  by 
slaiiditig  too  near  'ogether  ? 

In  Engjlaiid,  the  drill  husbandry 
has  been  applied  to  turnips,  and 
the  produce  has  exceeded  those 
sown  broadcast,  which  have  been 
hand-hoed.  The  late  Lord  Vis- 
count Townsend  made  a  fair  trial, 
and  found  that  the  crop  of  an  acre 
of  drilled  turnips  weighed  a  ton 
and  a  half  more  than  that  of  an 
acre  in  the  old  husbandry,  though 
the  latter  were  well  hand-hoed. 
For  two  years  past,  I  have  sown 
turnips  in  the  drill  way,  in  the 
poorest  part  of  my  garden,  where 
a  crop  of  pease  had  grown  the 
same  summer,  and  never  had  bet- 
ter turnips.  They  were  sufficient- 
ly large  for  the  table,  though  they 
crew  so  near  tojiether  in  the  rows 
that  the  roots  crowded  each  other, 
and  were  not  sown  earlier  than 
about  the  tenth  of  August.  The 
earth  was  hoed  into  ridges  three 
feet  apart,  and  a  single  channel 
seeded  on  each  of  the  ridges.  This 
is  the  more  observable,  as  I  have 
often  sown  turnips  in  the  broadcast 
way,  on  ihe  same  spot,  and  at  the 
usual  time  of  sowing  fall  turnips, 
and  never  before  rai«ed  any  Hiat 
were  fit  to  eat.  1  have  also  tor 
several  years  raised  turnips  in  (he 
field  in  the  drill  way.  The  ridges 
were  raised  in  May  with  the  culti- 
vator, about  three  feet  apart.  Th<'y 
were  kept  clear  from  weeds  till 
about  the  last  of  July,  by  the  cul- 
tivator and  the  hand-hoe,  and  then 
sown  in  single  drills.  Nothing 
more    was    necessarv    afterwards. 


466 


T  U  K 


TUR 


except  thinning  and  once  hoeing. 
The  crops  were  so  much  better 
than  1  have  obtained  from  broad 
cast  sowing,  that  1  am  induced  to 
persist  in,  and  recommend  this 
uielhod. 

A  crop  of  turnips  in  tlie  oid  hus- 
bandry prepares  tlie  ground  excel- 
lerttl)  for  a  crop  of  wheat,  or  flax, 
the  following  year.  But  it  would 
be  in  much  better  order,  if  the 
turnif)S  were  horse-hoed. 

In  other  countries,  they  feed  the 
tnrni{)s  ofTof  the  ground  with  sheep ; 
or  draw  them  up  for  neat  cattle, 
through  the  winter,  as  fast  as  they 
are  wanted  ;  and  even  let  them 
stand  until  spring,  when  it  is  con- 
venient. 

But  in  this  country,  they  must  be 
harvested  in  autumn,  about  the 
end  of  October,  or  even  eailier  in 
some  places  ;  and  then  stored  in 
cellars,  out  of  the  way  of  the  frost; 
which  must  needs  be  a  drawback 
on  the  profit  of  this  crop.  Those 
that  are  designed  for  the  table  in 
winter,  should  be  buried  in,  or  co- 
vered with,  dry  pit  sand,  to  pre- 
vent their  becoming  corky. 

The  most  excellent  mutton  is 
fatted  on  turnips,  and  they  are  a 
good  food  for  horned  cattle.  But 
milch  cows  should  not  be  fed  very 
plentifully  on  turnips,  as  there  is 
some  danger  of  their  giving  the 
milk  an  ill  taste. 

To  produce  good  turnip  seeds, 
some  of  the  best  roots,  of  the  mid- 
dlirig  size,  which  have  begun  to 
sprout,  should  be  planted  early  in 
the  spring,  in  a  good  spot,  free  from 
shade.  They  should  be  in  rows, 
eighteen  inches  asunder,  and  the 
ground  must  be  kept  clear  of  weeds 


till  the  seed  is  ripe.  Stakes  and 
laths  may  be  needful  round  the 
outside,  to  keep  the  branches  from 
falling  to  the  ground  before  the 
seed  is  fully  ripe. 

The  right  culture  of  the  French 
turnip  is  much  the  same  as  the 
above,  excepting  that  they  should  be 
allowed  more  room,  and  that  the 
ground  should  be  tilled  to  a  greater 
depth  than  is  necessary  for  the 
other  sort,  and  sowed  at  the  end  of 
June. 

They  should  not  be  sown  in  the 
spring;  for  this  will  make  them 
hard  and  sticky  ;  nor  more  than 
about  a  month  earlier  than  other 
fall  turnips.  I  have  known  it  an- 
swer well  to  sow  both  kinds  mixed 
together,  where  the  soil  has  been 
mellow  and  deep.  But  I  rather 
prefer  sowing  each  kind  by  itself; 
because  the  one  requires  to  be  ear- 
lier sowed  than  the  other. 

As  there  are  some  other  insects 
which  prey  upon  turnips,|besides the 
fly,  while  they  are  in  seed  leaf  or 
afterwards,  it  has  led  some  to  set 
plants  of  tobacco,  perhaps  six  or 
eight  feet  apart,  among  their  tur- 
nips, wliich  is  thought  to  have  an 
excellent  eflfect. 

Mr.  M.  Mahon  gives  the  follow- 
ing directions  for  the  field  culture 
of  turnips. 

"  The  ground  intended  for  the 
production  of  turnips  in  the  ensu- 
ing season  ought  to  be  deeply 
ploughed  in  October  or  November, 
and  to  be  left  in  that  rough  state, 
to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  win- 
ter frosts,  &c.  In  the  April  fol- 
lowing, when  it  is  perfectly  dry, 
harrow  it,  and  let  it  lie  so  till  the. 
middle  of  May,    when    it  should 


TUR 


TUR 


4GT 


have  another  deep  ploughing  across, 
or  contrawise  to  the  former ;  the 
first  week  in  June  harrow  it,  and 
towards  the  end  of  that  month, 
give  the  field  a  hght  coat  of  well 
rotted  manure,  and  immediately 
plough  it  in  lightly;  after  which 
the  soil  and  manure  are  to  be  in- 
corporated, by  harrowing  the 
ground  eflfectually  with  a  weighty 
harrow. 

"  The  time  of  sowing  depends 
much  on  the  application ;  when 
turnips  are  intc  nded  for  early  con- 
sumption, they  may  be  sown  soon 
after  the  middle  of  July.  '1  he 
general  mode  in  the  middle  states, 
is  to  begin  to  sow  about  the  twen- 
tieth of  July,  and  to  continue  sow- 
ing as  convenient,  from  this  time 
to  the  middle  of  August,  or  a  few 
days  after. 

"  If  the  farmer  could  insure  his 
first  crop,  1  would  not  advise  him 
to  sovp  till  the  last  four  days  in 
July,  or  even  to  the  third  or  fourth 
day  of  August,  but  liable  as  the 
turnip  crop  is  to  numerous  ac- 
cidents and  miscarriages,  it  is  pru- 
dent to  have  a  week  or  two  in  re- 
serve for  a  second  sowing,  in  case 
the  first  should  fail. 

The  quantity  of  seed  sovpn  on 
an  acre,  by  the  great  turnip  far- 
mers, is  never  less  than  one  pound  ; 
more  frequently  a  pound  and  an 
half,  and  by  some  two.  If  every 
grain  was  to  come  to  perfection,  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  would  be  more 
than  sufiicient;  but  having  to  en 
counter  so  many  accidents,  a  pound 
is  the  least  quantity  that  ought  to 
be  sown  on  an  acre. 

"The  period  in  which  you  in- 
tend to  sow  being  arrived,  plough 


your  prepared  turnip  ground  once 
more,  lightly;  give  it  one  or  two 
strokes  with  the  harrow  all  over, 
and  sow  the  seeds  immediately  on 
the  fresh  surface.  The  method  of 
sowing  is  generally  by  broadcast, 
with  a  higti  and  even  hand  ;  but 
some  sow  it  in  rows  by  m(!ans  of  a 
machine  called  a  lurmp  drill  which 
method  is  greatly  approved  of,  par- 
ticularly, as  by  it  much  labour  is 
saved  in  hoeing  and  thinning  the 
plants. 

"  In  the  former  method  the  seed 
is  covered  by  drawing  a  light  har- 
row backward,  that  is,  wrong  end 
foremost,  to  prevent  the  lines, 
which  are  generally  set  somewhat 
pointed  forward  from  tearing  up 
the  sods,  and  burying  the  seed  too 
deep. 

"  One  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  the  treatment  due  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  turnip  yet  re* 
mains  to  be  done,  that  is,  to  roll 
the  field  with  a  heavy  roller  imme- 
diately after  harrowing  in  the  seed, 
(irovided  the  ground  is  sufficiently 
dry,  or  as  soon  after  as  it  is  in  a  fit 
condition.  B^  this  means  the  clods 
are  broken,  and  much  of  the  seed 
that  would  otherwise  be  exposed  to 
birds,  &c.  will  be  covered  and  the 
surface  rendered  smooth  and  com- 
pact thereby,  and  consequently 
more  retentive  of  moisture,  which 
will  greatly  promote  the  vegetation 
of  the  seed  and  growth  of  the 
plants. 

"  But  the  all  important  point  is, 
that  the  rolling  of  the  ground,  is 
experimentally  found  to  be  the 
most  elfectual  method,  hitherto 
discovered  for  the  preservation  of 
the  rising  crop  from  the  dcstruc 


468 


TUR 


'1'  U  K 


tive  depredations  of  the  fly.  "^  he 
turnu)  tl}  Id  always  foiitio  mos^t  nu- 
merous u\  rouglj-worked  ground, 
as  there  ihey  can  retreat  and  take 
sheher  under  the  clods  or  lumps  of" 
earth,  f'roin  such  changes  of  wi  a- 
ther  as  are  disagreeable  to  them, 
or  fr  in  the  attacks  of  small  birds 
and  ot!,er  animal?. 

"  E  periments  have  been  tried, 
on  coa mg  the  seed  with  sulphur, 
soot,  &c.  and  of  steeping  it  in  train 
oii  and  in  solutions  of  various  kinds, 
as  a  security  against  the  tlj,  but 
the  result  has  not  been  such  as  to 
establish  any  practice  of  this  na- 
ture. 

"  Hoeing  the  plants,  and  setting 
them  out  as  it  is  called,  comes 
next  under  consideration.  Ihe 
methrd  of  doii:g  tliis  dexterous!)  is 
ditlicuh  to  describe;  nothing  but 
practice  can  teach  it.  A  boy  in 
the  turnip  counties,  b)  the  time  he 
is  the  height  of  the  lioe,  begins  to 
make  use  of  it ;  consequently  every 
man  who  has  been  bred  there  to 
coui.try  business,  is  a  turnip  hoer, 
yet  not  always,  even  with  this  ad- 
vantage, an  expert  one. 

"  The  operation  to  be  perform- 
ed dexterously  and  well,  requires 
a  quickness  of  eye  and  a  dexterity 
of  hand  that  eveiy  man  is  not  fa- 
voured with  ;  while  some  men 
catch  the  proper  plants  to  be  sing- 
led, and  set  them  out  with  a  rapi- 
dity and  neatness  of  extcution  very 
pleasing  to  the  observer. 

"  The  critical  time  of  the  first 
hoeing  is,  when  the  plants  as  they 
lie  spread  upon  the  ground,  are 
nearly  the  size  of  the  palm  of  the 
band;  if,  however,  se  d  weeds  be 
numerous  and  luxuriant,  they  ought 


to  be  checked  before  the  turnip 
plants  arrive  at  that  size  ;  lest  by 
being  drawn  up  tall  and  slender, 
they  should  acquire  a  week,  sickly 
habit. 

"  A  second  hoeing  should  be 
given  when  the  leaves  are  grown 
to  the  height  of  eight  or  nine  in- 
ches, in  order  to  destroy  weeds, 
loosen  the  earth,  and  finally  to  re- 
gulate the  plants  ;  a  third,  if  found 
necessary,  may  be  given  at  any 
subsequent  period." 

The  common  white  turnips 
should  be  used  before  spring,  as 
they  are  apt  to  become  spongy  ; 
but  the  ruta  baga  will  keep  longer, 
and  may  be  used  after  the  hrst 
mentioned  are  exhausted. 

For  further  information  relative 
to  the  culture  of  this  plant,  see 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  V.  p.  21.  Vol.  VI.  p. 
36.'  39.  265. 

A  treatise  upon  the  Ruta  Baga, 
or  Swedish  turnip,  has  been  writ- 
ten by  William  Cobbet,  from  which 
the  following  notices  are  extracted. 

Description  of  the  Plant. — "  The 
leaf  of  everv  other  sort  of  turnip  is 
of  a  yeilowish  green  ;  but  the  leaf 
of  the  Ruta  Bage  is  of  a  blueish 
green,  like  the  green  of  peas  when 
of  their  full  size,  or  like  the  green 
of  a  young  and  thrift)  Yorkshire 
cabbage  ;  hence  it  is  called  the 
Cabbage  Turnip.  The  outside  of 
the  bulb  of  the  Ruta  Baga  is  of  a 
greenish  hue,  mixed  towards  the 
top  with  a  colour  bordering  upon 
the  red  ;  and  the  inside,  if  they  are 
true  and  pure,  is  of  peep  yellozv, 
near!)  the  colour  of  gold." 

Mode  of  saving  and  preserving 
the  seed. — "  The  Ruta  Baga  is  apt 


TUR 


TUR 


46<) 


to  degenerate,  if  the  seed  is  not 
saved  with  care.  In  England,  we 
select  the  fairest  roots,  and  of  the 
best  form,  for  seed,  rejecting  all 
such  as  are  of  a  whitish  colour,  or 
greenish  towards  the  neck,  prefer- 
ring such  as  are  of  a  reddish  cast. 
These,  when  selected,  should  be 
carefully  preserved  over  the  wni- 
ter,  and  set  in  the  month  of  March 
or  April  in  a  rich  soil,  remote  from 
any  roots  of  the  turnip  or  cabbage 
kind,  to  preserve  the  seed  pure 
and  unmixed.  Two  or  three  roots, 
if  they  do  well,  will  yield  seed 
sufficient  for  an  acre  of  land.  Let 
the  seed  remain  in  the  pods  until 
the  time  of  sowing." 

Time  of  sow>ng. — ''  The  time  of 
sowing  may  be  from  the  25th  of 
June   to  the    16th  of  July,  as  cir 
cumstances  may  be." 

Qualitij  and  preparation  of  the 
Land. — "  As  a  tine,  rich,  loose 
garden  mould,  of  great  depth,  and 
having  a  porous  substratum,  is  best 
for  every  thing  that  vegetates,  ex- 
cept plants  that  live  best  in  water, 
so  it  is  best  with  Ruta  Baga.  1 
know  of  no  soil  in  the  United 
States,  upon  which  this  root  may 
not  be  cultivated  with  the  greatest 
facility,  excepting  di  pure  sand,  and 
a  stiff  clay,  which  are  very  rare  in 
this  country. 

Manner  of  sowing. — "  My  plough- 
man puts  the  ground  up  in  little 
ridges,  having  two  furrows  on  each 
side  of  the  ridge,  so  that  each  rid^e 
consisted  of  four  furrows,  and  the 
tops  of  the  ridges  were  about  four 
feet  from  each  other ;  and  as  the 
ploughing  was  performed  to  a  great 
depth,  there  was  of  course  a  very 
deep  gutter  between  every  two 
ridge?. 


"  I  took  care  to  have  the  rranure 
placed  so  as  to  be  under  the  ii.id- 
dle  of  each  ridge,  that  is  to  say, 
just  beneath  where  my  seed  was 
to  come,  which  was  sown  priiici- 
pall)  m  this  manner  :— A  man  went 
along  by  the  side  of  each  ridge, 
and  put  down  two  or  three  seeds 
in  places  ten  or  twelve  inches  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  just  draw- 
ing a  little  earth  over,  and  pressing 
it  lightly  upon  the  seed,  in  order 
to  make  it  vegetate  quickly,  before 
the  earth  became  toodr).  lii  this 
method  four  pounds  of  seed  sowed 
seven  acres.  Two  men  sowed  the 
whole  seven  acres  in  two  da>s. 

"Broadcast  sowing  will,  how- 
ever, generally  be  preferred  ;  but 
when  1  have  spoken  of  the  after- 
culture, I  shall  compare  the  two 
methods,  that  the  reader  may  de- 
cide for  himself. 

Jifter-Cidlure. "  When     the 

plants  were  fairly  up,  we  went  with 
a  small  hoe,  and  took  out  all  but 
one  in  each  ten  or  twelve  inches, 
and  thus  left  them  to  stand  single. 
We  next  went  with  a  hoe,  and  hoed 
the  tops  of  the  ridges,  about  six 
inches  wide  on  each  side  of  the 
rows  of  plants,  and  then  horse- 
hoed  between  the  rows,  with  a 
common  horse-plough,  after  the 
manner  of  tilling  Indian  corn,  or 
potatoes,  by  first  turning  the  earth 
from  the  plants,  and  next  towards 
the  plants  at  the  second  hoeing. 
There  is  no  ground  lost  in  these 
wide  intervals,  for  the  lateral  roots 
of  the  large  turnip,  as  well  as  the 
Ruta  Baga,  will  extend  six  ieei 
from  the  ball  of  the  plant ;  and  my 
crop  of  thirty  three  tons,  or  thir- 
teen hundred  and  twenty  bushels 


470 


T  U  K 


TUK 


to  the  acre,  taking  the  whole  field 
together,  had  the  same  intervals ; 
and  less  than  this,  as  was  practised 
by  nr^y  neighbours,  always  dimin- 
ished the  crop.  Wide  as  the  in- 
vals  were,  the  leaves  of  sonrie  of 
the  plants  would  nearly  nneet  across 
the  rows,  and  1  have  had  them  fre- 
quently meet  in  England. 

"  In  the  broad  cast  method,  the 
after  culture  must  of  course  bn  con- 
fined to  hoeing,  orasTuil  calls  it, 
scratching. 

"  In  England,  the  hoer  gcos  in 
when  the  plants  are  about  tour  in- 
ches high,  and  hoes  all  ihe  ground 
over,  setting  out  the  plants  at  the 
distance  of  about  eighteen  inches  ; 
and  if  the  ground  becomes  foul,  he 
is  obliged,  in  about  a  month  after- 
wards to  hoe  the  ground  over 
again.  This  is  all  that  is  done,  and 
a  very  poor  all  it  is,  as  the  crops  on 
the  very  best  lands  invariably  show, 
when  compared  with  the  ridge- 
crops." 

Transplanting. — "This  is  a 
third  mode  of  cultivating  the  Ruta 
Baga,  and  in  certain  cases  far  pre- 
ferable to  either  of  the  others.  My 
large  crops  at  Botley,  (England.) 
were  from  roots  transplanted. 

'"  I  prepared  one  field  of  five 
acres,  and  another  of  twelve,  with 
ridges,  m  the  manner  described  for 
sowing,  and  on  the  7th  of  June  in 
the.  first  field,  and  on  the  20th  of 
July  in  the  2nd,  1  set  my  plants,  as 
in  sowing,  twelve  inches  asunder. 
I  ascertained  to  an  exactn€;ss,  that 
there  were  thirty  three  tons  to  the 
acre,  throughout  the  whole  seven 


four  feet  asunder  on  the  ridges, 
there  are  ten  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty  turnips,  on  each 
acre  of  ground  and  therefore,  for 
an  acre  of  ground  to  produce  thir- 
ty-three tons,  each  turuip  must 
weigh  nearly  seven  pounds. 

"  From  a  large  fi-!d  I  afterwards 
set  on  the  13th  of  July,  1  weighed 
one  waggon  load,  which  averaged 
eleven  pounds  each,  and  several 
weighed  fourteen  pounds,  which 
would  probably  give  fifty  tons  to 
the  acre. 

"  The  plants  will  succeed  best 
when  set  in  fresh  earth,  or  earth  re- 
cent it/  proved  hy  the  plough. 

"  VVlien  we  have  our  plants, 
and  hands  all  ready,  the  plough- 
man begins,  and  turns  in  the  ridg- 
es, (which  have  been  prepared  as 
before  staled  •,)  that  is,  he  turns  the 
ground  bade  againj  so  that  the  top 
of  tlie  new  ploughed  ridge  stands 
over  the  place  where  the  deep 
furrow  was  before  he  began.  As 
soon  as  he  has  finished  the  first 
ridge  the  planters  begin  to  set, 
while  he  is  ploughing  the  second, 
and  so  on  through  the  field.  This 
process  is  not  very  tedious,  for  in 
18 16, 1  had  fifty-two  acres  of  Ruta 
Baga  planted  in  this  way,  and  a 
crop  of  more  than  fifty  thousand 
bushels.  A  smart  lad  will  set  half 
an  acre  per  day,  with  a  girl  or  boy, 
to  drop  the  plants,  and  1  had  a  man 
who  would  set  often  an  acre  a  day. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  bury 
the  heart  of  the  plant.  I  observed 
how  necessary  it  was  to  fix  the 
plant  firmly  in  the  ground  ;  and  as 


teen  acres,  and  after  this,  I  have  i  the  planter  is  strictly  charged  to  do 
never  used  any  other  method.  I  this,  he  is  apt  to  pay  little  atten- 

"  In  my  usual  order,   the    rows  |  tion  to  the  means  by  which  the  ob- 


TUR 


T  UR 


471 


ject  is  accomplished.  The  thing  is 
done  easily  enough,  if  you  cram  the 
butts  of  the  leaves  down  below  the 
surface.  But  this  brings  the  earth 
with  the  tirst  rain  at  least  over  the 
heart  of  the  plant ;  and  then  it  will 
never  grow  at  all." 

"  Observe  well  what  has  been 
said  about  fresh  earth,  and  never 
forgetting  this,  let  us  talk  about 
the  art  of  planting.  We  have  a 
setting  stick,  which  should  be  the 
top  of  a  spade  handle  cut  off  about 
ten  inches  below  the  eye,  and 
pointed  smoothly,  the  planting  is 
then  done  in  the  manner  of  setting 
cabbages.  Choose  a  dry  time  for 
your  transplanting  for  this  reason  ; 
if  your  plants  are  put  into  wet 
ground,  the  setting  stick  squeeses 
the  earth  up  against  the  plant  in  a 
mortar  like  stale  ^  the  sun  comes 
and  bakes  this  morlar  into  a  hard 
glassed  clod  ;  the  hole  also,  made 
with  the  stick  is  smooth  upon  its 
sides,  and  presents  an  impenetra 
ble  substance  to  the  roots  and  fibres 
of  the  plant,  and  thus  the  vegeta- 
tion is  greatly  cherished  ;  but  when 
plants  are  set  in  dry  earth,  the  re- 
verse of  all  this  is  true,  and  the 
fresh  earth  will  supply  proper 
moisture,  under  any  degree  of 
drought.  The  hole  thus  being 
made  i  i  dry  weather,  set  your  plant 
Toithout  bending  the  point  ^  support 
it  with  one  hand  firm  in  the  hole, 
and  with  lue  other  hand,  apply  the 
setting  stick  to  the  earth  on  one 
side  of  the  hole,  so  as  Xo  form  a 
sharp  triangle  with  the  plant,  then 
thrust  the  stick  down  a  little  below 
the  bottom  or  the  point  of  the  plant, 
and  with  a  little  twist,  press  the 
earth  up  to  the  plant,  at  the  point 
or  bottom  of  the  root,  and   it  is 


done.  But  if  a  vacancy  remains 
below  the  bottom  of  the  plant,  it 
will  not  thrive  well.  This  is  true 
in  all  transplantings,  both  of  roots 
and  trees." 

The  reasons  which  Mr.  Cobbett 
gives,  in  favour  of  transplanting  are 
as  follow. 

1.  ''Time  may  be  gained  for 
one  or  two    extra   ploughings,   be- 

j  tween  the  23th  of  June,  and  the 
25th  of  July,  or  even  the  25th  of 
August. 

2.  "•  This  transplanted  crop,  may 
follow  some  other  crop,  such  as 
early  June  cabbages,  early  peas, 
or  potatoes,  kidney  beans,  peas, 
white  onions,  &;o. 

Time  and  manner  of  harvesting. — ■ 
Mr.  Cobbett,  here  recommends, 
that  the  earth  be  turned  off  from 
the  roots  by  an  ox  plough,  in  dry 
weather,  before  the  hard  frosts 
set  in,  and  then  gathered  by  hand, 
which  will  save  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  loosening  them  by  the 
spade,  and  greatly  expedite  the 
work. 

"  The  crop  when  pulled,  may 
be  secured  over  winter  in  the  usual 
manner  of  securing  potatoes,  eilher 
in  the  cellar  or  in  the  pits  dug  in 
some  dry  part  of  the  field  and  co- 
vered close  and  secure." 

Uses  and  mode  of  applying  the 
crop. —  I .  "As  food  for  cattle,  cows, 
sheep  and  hogs  both  raw  and  boil- 
ed or  steamed,  (which  IS  prefera- 
ble,) or  even  poultry  when  boiled 
or  steamed. 

2.  '•  Cows  that  give  milk,  breed- 
ing  sows,  ewes    with    lamb,  tht-ir 
lambs  and  even  |»igs,at  weaning  are 
I  greatly    benefitted  by  the   u.^e    of 
]  Ruta  Baga,  especially  when  boiled 
or  steamed. 


472 


TUR 


TUR 


3.  "This  root  by  far  surpasses 
the  turnip  when  ted  off  by  sh<^ep 
with  hurdles,  or  otherwise,  or  by 
hogs  upon  the  field. 

4.  "  The  tops  when  cut  before 
the  roots  are  gathered,  are  vahiaole 
as  green  feed  for  all  the  stock  men- 
tioned above.  An  acre  will  yield 
about  four  waggon  loads." 

•Vir.  Cobbett  says,  that  the  Ruta 
Baga  is  not  so  good  till  it  arrives  at 
a  mature  state,  which  will  be  in 
February. 

Common  salt  is  said  to  be  an  ex- 
cellent manure  for  turnips,  but  it 
would  probably  do  best  to  be  mixed 
with  dung  or  compost. 

The  ruta  baga,  may  be  consider- 
ed as  an  important  acquisition  to 
our  Agricultural  productions,  af- 
fording an  excellent  fresh  forage  for 
horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine, 
throughout  the  season.  The  requi- 
sites for  its  cultivation  are  ;  1  st.deep 
ploughing,  and  plentiful  manuring  ; 
2nd,  pulverising  the  earth  in  the 
most  effectual  manner ;  3rd,  plant- 
ing the  seed,  and  transplanting  the 
plants  as  speedily  as  possible,  after 
manuring  and  ploughing,  th^t  the 
germs  and  r  'ots  may  receive  all  the 
advantage  of  a  fresh  fermentation, 
and  rolling  down  and  pressing 
down  the  earth  after  sowing  ;  4th, 
deep  ploughing  between  the  roots, 
by  which  the  mould  is  exposed  to 
the  influence  of  the  air,  and  those 
chemical  changes  facilitated,  on 
which  the  growth  of  vegetables  es- 
sentially depends.  Ridging  on 
land  naturally  dry  is  injuriotis, 
and  intervals  between  the  rows  of 
two  and  an  half,  or  three  feet,  in- 
stead of  four  foet  as  recommended 
by  Mr.  Cobbett,  are  preferred  by 


some.  See  remarks,  by  Mr.  James 
Thacher,  Massachusetts  Agricultu- 
ral Rep.  vol.  vi.  p.  39,  40. 

TURNIPCABBAGE.  "A  spe- 
cies of  cabbage,  so  called,  because 
the  stolk,  at  some  distance  from 
the  ground,  after  rising  of  the  usual 
thickness,  and  in  the  manner  of 
those  of  other  cabbages,  enlarges 
suddenly  to  such  a  degree,  that  it 
forms  a  knob  of  a  ver*y  large  tur- 
nip, of  which  likewise  it  has  some- 
times the  figure,  though  it  is  in  ge- 
neral more  oblong. 

"  By  this  peculiar  formation  of 
the  stalk,  or  production  of  the  tur- 
nip like  knop,  together  with  its  be- 
ing perennial,  this  species  of  cab- 
bage is  distinguished  from  all  others. 
From  the  lop  of  this  turnip  rise  a 
number  of  leaves,  of  a  greenish  red, 
or  sometimes  greenish  purple  co- 
lour; which  answer  to  the  radical 
leaves  in  other  plants.  They  do 
not,  though  this  plant  is  truly  of  the 
cabbage  kind,  ever  close  together, 
and  form  a  compact  globular,  or 
oblong  mass,  as  in  the  common 
species ;  but  keep  their  erect 
growth,  or  turn  outwards. 

"  From  among  these  leaves 
spring  a  number  of  other  stalks,  of 
which  those  that  are  nearer  the  ex- 
tremity, branch,  and  send  out  flow- 
er stalks,  spreading  horizontally  ; 
and  those  that  are  more  in  the  cen- 
tre grow  erect,  and  without  branch- 
es. On  these  stocks  are  leaves, 
springing  out  alternately,  and  of 
the  same  colour  with  the  others. 
The  flowers  are  small  and  yellow, 
and  succeeded  by  long  cods,  full 
of  seed,  of  the  size  of  that  of  mus- 
tard, and  a  lighter  brown  colour. — 
Complete,  Farmer, 


TUR 


TUR 


473 


It  grows  wild  near  Dover,  in 
England ;  but  it  is  doubted  whe- 
ther it  be  indigenous.  When  it  is 
cultivated  in  gardens,  it  is  rather  as 
a  curious  than  as  an  esculent  plant : 
Yet  it  is  eatable,  and  is  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  W.  Baker,  for  the 
use  of  seamen  :  And  he  thinks  it 
of  importance  as  winter  food  for 
cattle.  I  have  not  jet  known  tii- 
als  enough  of  it  in  this  country,  to 
be  able  to  ascertain  its  value.  But 
its  bidding  defiance  to  all  inclemen- 
cies of  weather,  after  it  is  once 
firmly  rooted,  is  a  circumstance 
that  ought  to  incline  us  to  make 
trial  of  it. 

"  The  turnip  cabbage,"  says  a 
Mr.  North,  "  is  one  of  the  hardiest 
roots  that  grow ;  and  I  dare  affirm, 
might  be  propagated  to  great  ad- 
vantage, for  feeding  sheep,  &c. 
For  in  the  most  severe  winter  that 
I  can  remember,  when  cabbages, 
turnips,  &ic.  have  all  been  demol- 
ished by  the  extremity  of  the  wea- 
ther, the  turnip  cabbages  have  not 
been  hurt.  They  are  a  very  solid 
and  juicy  root,  and  do  not  grow 
spongy  when  they  are  old,  as  tur- 
nips do.  The  tops  may  be  cut  off, 
and  given  to  sheep  in  the  spring, 
and  the  root  laid  by  in  an  out  house, 
to  feed  them  in  April  and  May, 
when  no  other  roots  can  be  had. 
Sheep  are  so  fond  of  these  roots, 
that  they  will  leave  the  best  tur- 
nips for  them.  They  will  eat  them 
tops  and  bottoms  as  they  are  grow- 
ing in  the  fields."  Mr.  North  is 
not  very  accurate,  in  calling  the 
turnip  part  of  this  cabbage  a  root, 
as  it  is  only  an  enlargement  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  stem,  and  seve- 
ral inches  above  the  ground. 
CO 


In  the  Bath  Society  papers,  is  the 
following  account  of  Sir  Thomas 
Reevor's  method  of  cultivating  this 
root.  "  In  the  first  or  second  week 
of  June,  I  sow  the  same  quantity 
of  seed,  hoe  the  plants  at  the  same 
size,  leave  them  at  the  same  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  aiid  treat 
them  in  all  respects  like  the  com- 
mon turnip.  In  this  method  I  have 
always  obtained  a  plentiful  crop  of 
them.  On  the  23rd  of  April  last, 
having  two  acres  left  of  my  crop,  I 
divided  them  by  hurdles  into  three 
equal  parts.  Into  the  first  part  I 
put  twenty  four  small  bullocks  and 
thirty  middle  sized  wethers,  which, 
at  the  end  of  the  first  week,  1  shift- 
ed into  the  second  division,  and 
then  put  seventy  lean  sheep  into 
what  was  left  of  the  first:  These 
fed  off  the  remainder  of  the  turnips 
left  by  the  fat  stock  :  And  so  they 
were  shifted  through  the  three  di- 
visions, the  lean  flock  following  the 
fat,  till  the  whole  was  consumed. 
The  twenty  four  bullocks,  and  the 
thirty  fat  wethers,  were  fed  four 
weeks,  and  the  seventy  lean 
sheep  as  long.  So  that  the  two 
acres  kept  twenty  four  bullocks 
and  one  hundred  sheep  four 
weeks.  The  value,  at  the  rate  of 
keeping  at  that  season,  cannot  be 
less  than  4d.  a  week  for  each  sheep, 
and  Is.  6d.  a  week  for  each  bul- 
lock, which  amount  together  to 
£  14  10  8,  for  the  two  acres.  Thus 
you  see  that  in  providing  a  most 
incomparable  food  for  cattle,  in  that 
season  of  the  year  in  which  the 
farmer  is  most  distressed,  and  his 
cattle  almost  starved,  a  consider- 
able profit  may  be  likewise  obtain- 
ed. 


474 


V  1  N 


VIN 


"  The  land  on  which  1  pow  tur- 
nip rooted  cabbage  is  a  dry  mixed 
soil,  worth  only  tilteon  shillings  per 
acre/' 

The  Bath  Society  have  subjoin- 
ed, "  that  this  account  is  as  iiiter- 
estin^  as  any  they  have  been  ever 
favoured  with,  and  recommend  it  to 
farmers  in  general,  that  they  adopt 
a  mode  of  practice  so  decisively 
ascertained  to  he  highly  jLidicions 
and   pi ofitable." — Encyclopctdia. 

Whether  this  plant,  wnich  ha? 
but  newly  found  its  wa\  into  our 
comitry,  is  hardy  enou<i,h  to  bear 
the  tVost  of  our  winters,  1  suppose 
is  yet  to  be  proved. 

V. 

VETCH.  A  small  species  of 
pulse  or  pea.  much  usid  ui  En- 
gland, as  well  for  a  green  crop  to 
be  ploughed  in,  to  enrich  the 
ground,  as  for  a  crop  sometimes 
njade  i.'ohay,  and  soinitimes  suf- 
fered to  ripen,  and  the  seeds  given 
to  anniiah.  In  the  tiorUiern  parts 
-of  this  countr},  though  often  trit  u 
they  have  not  been  found  to  ahswer. 
It  is  doubted  whether  tiie)  «  an  be 
SL'CcessfuUy  cultivated  in  any  part 
of  our  country. 

VINE,  ^'^/^s,  an  important  plant 
of  the  creeping  kmd,  famous  for  it.- 
fruit,  the  grape,  and  the  generous 
liquor  it  atTords  for  the  use  of  man- 
kind. 

Those  who  would  cultivate  vines 
in  gardens,  should  procure  those 
sort*  which  liave  been  found  to 
prosper  well  in  cold  coun'ries : 
Part'cularly  those  which  ripen  their 
fruit  well  in  Great  Britain,  Ge'-ma- 
ny,  or  the  northerly  parts  of  France. 


The  white  sweet  water,  the  Chas- 
seias  blanc.  the  white  muscadine, 
and  other  white  grapes,  ma)  be 
best  to  cullivaie  in  gardens,  as  they 
are  in  general  more  palatable  for 
eating. 

M)  account  of  the  culture  of 
vines,  shall  be  an  abridgment  of 
what  Mr.  IViiiler  has  written  on 
this  subject,  in  his  Gardener''s  Die- 
tionary. 

"  Ail  sorts  of  grapes  arc  propa- 
gated either  from  layers  or  cuttings  : 
J'he  latter  is  preferred ;  bfcause 
the  roots,  being  slender,  r.re  apt 
to  get  dried,  and  die  by  transplant- 
ing. 

"  Make  choice  of  such  shoots  as 
are  strong,  and  of  the  last  year's 
growth.  Cut  them  from  the  old 
vii;e,  just  below  where  tiiey  were 
produced,  taking  a  knob,  or  piece 
of  the  two  years  wood,  to  each, 
which  shonld  be  pruned  smooth. 
Then  cut  off  the  upper  part  of  the 
?hoots.  so  as  to  leave  the  cutting 
about  sixteen  inches  long.  When 
tlie  piece  of  old  wood  is  cut  at 
both  ends,  near  the  young  shoot, 
the  cuttings  will  resemble  a  little 
mallet.  In  making  the  cuttings  af- 
ter this  manner,  there  can  be  but 
oi!'^  lak'  n  from  each  shoot ;  where- 
in niost  persons  cut  them  into 
ff»?\^ihs  of  about  a  foot,  and  plant 
theiii  all.  winch  is  very  wrong;  for 
they  win  not  be  so  fruitful. 

''Cuttmgs,  thu.i  prepared,  if  not 
then  planted,  should  be  placed  with 
their  lower  pari  m  thf  ground,  in 
a  dry  soil,  with  litter  over  their  up- 
per parts  to  prevent  their  drying. 
They  may  thu«  remain  till  the  be- 
giiuiing  of  April,  (May  in  ihi*  conn- 
try)  then  take  them  out,  and  wash 


VIN 


VIN 


475 


them  Trom  the  filth  they  have  con- 
tracted. H!id  if  you  find  thern  voiy 
dry,  let  thcfu  stand  with  the  lower 
pa;(&  ill  water  six  or  eight  hours, 
which  will  distend  their  vessels, 
and  dispose  them  tc  take  root. 

'"Then,  the  ground  heiiig  pre 
pared,  the  cuttings  should  be  plan- 
ted. Open  the  holes  about  six 
feet  distance  from  each  other,  put- 
tiui^  one  good  strong  cutting  into 
each  hole,  which  should  be  laid  a 
little  sloping,  that  their  tops  may 
incline  to  the  wall :  It  must  be  put 
in  so  deep,  that  the  uppermost  eye 
ma)^  be  level  with  the  surface  of 
the  grouiid. 

"  Having  placed  the  cutting  in 
the  ground,  fill  up  the  hole  gently, 
pressing  down  the  earth  with  your 
foot  close  about  it,  and  raise  a  lit- 
tle hill  just  upon  the  top  of  the  cut- 
ting, to  cover  the  upper  eye  quite 
over,  which  will  prevent  its  drying. 
Nothing  more  is  necessary,  but  to 
keep  the  ground  clear  from  weeds 
till  the  cuttings  begin  to  shoot;  at 
whicli  time  look,  over  them  careful- 
ly, to  rub  off  any  small  shoots,  if 
such  are  produced.  You  must 
continue  to  look  over  them  once  in 
three  weeks  during  the  summer 
season,  and  rub  off  all  lateral 
shoots  that  are  produced,  and  keep 
the  ground  clear  from  weeds. 

'•  The  Michaelni^.s  following,  if 
your  cuttijigs  have  produced  strong 
shoots,  prune  them  down  to  two, 
eyes.  Being  rut  thus  early  in  au- 
tuiaii,  the  wounds  will  heal  before 
the  bad  weather  comes  on,  and  the 
root-  will  be  strengthened. 

"  hi  ifio  followiiig  'piing.  gentiv 
dig  the  bordeis,  to  loosen  the  cartii, 
but  be  careful  not  to  injure  the  roots 


of  your  vines.  Also  raise  the  earth 
ujjto  the  stems  of  the  plants,  so  as 
•  o  cover  the  old  wood,  but  not  so 
ieep  as  to  cover  either  of  the  eyes 
of  the  last  year's  wood.  After  this 
they  will  require  no  further  care  till 
they  begin  to  shoot,  when  you 
should  look  them  over  carefully,  to 
rub  otr  all  weak  dangling  shoots 
leaving  no  more  than  the  two  shoots 
which  are  produced  from  the  two 
eyes  of  the  last  \  ear's  wood,  wliich 
should  be  fastened  to  the  wall.  And 
till  the  vines  have  done  shooting 
look  them  over  in  three  or  four 
weeks,  to  rub  off  all  the  lateral 
shoots  as  tliey  are  produced,  and 
to  fasten  the  main  shoots  to  the 
wall  as  they  are  extended  in  length, 
which  must  be  shortened  before 
the  middle  or  end  of  July,  when 
it  will  be  proper  to  nip  ofT  their 
tops,  which  will  strengthen  the 
lower  eyes.  And  during  the  sum- 
mer keep  the  grouted  clear  from 
weeds ;  and  permit  no  plant  to 
grow  near  the  vines,  which  would 
not  only  rob  them  of  their  nourish- 
ment, but  shade  the  lower  parts  of 
their  shoots,  and  prevent  their  ri- 
pening: Which  will  not,  only 
cause  their  wood  to  be  spongy  and 
luxuriant,  but  rniider  it  less  fruitful. 
"  As  soon  as  ti)e  leaves  begin  to 
drop  in  autumn^  prune  these  young 
vines  again,  leaving  three  buds  to 
each  of  the  shoc^ts,  provided  they 
are  strong  :  Otherwise  shorten 
thern  down  to  two  eyes :  For  it  is 
a  very  wrong  practice  to  leave 
much  wood  upon  young  vines,  oi  io 
leave  their  shoots  too  long,  as  it 
weakens  tiicir  roots.  Then  you 
shoijld  fasten  them  to  the  wall, 
spreading    them   out    horizontally 


47fci 


VI  N 


VIN 


each  way,  that  there  may  be  room 
to  train  the  new  shoots  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  And  in  the  spring 
tlie  borders  must  be  digged  as  be- 
fore. 

"  The  third  season,  you  must  go 
over  the  vines  again,  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  shoot,  to  rub  otT  all 
danglers  as  before,  and  train  the 
strong  shoot?  in  their  prop^^r  places, 
whicli  m:\y  be  supposed  to  be  two 
from  each  shoot  of  last  year's  wood. 
Bui  il  they  at'.empt  to  produce  two 
shoota  lr:^m  each  eye,  the  weakest 
of  them  niuat  be  rubbed  off.  If  any 
of  theift  produce  fruit,  as  many 
times  they  will  the  third  year, 
vou  should  not  stop  them  sO  soon 
as  is  generally  practised  upon  the 
bearing  shoots  of  old  vines;  but 
permit  them  to  shoot  forward  till  a 
month  after  mid-summer,  at  which 
time  you  may  pinch  off  the  tops  of 
the  shoots :  For  if  this  were  done 
too  soon,  it  would  spoil  the  buds 
for  the  next  year's  wood,  which  in 
young  vines  must  be  more  care- 
fully preserved  than  on  older 
plants. 

"  During  the  summer,  you  must 
constantly  go  over  your  vines,  and 
displace  ail  weak  lateral  shoots  as 
they  are  produced,  and  carefully 
keep  the  ground  clear  from  v/eeds, 
that  the  shoots  may  ripen  well." 

After  three  years,  the  vines  are 
considered  as  grown  up ;  and  con- 
cerning the  management  of  grown 
up  vines,  the  same  writer  says; 
*'  Vines  rarely  produce  aiiy  bear- 
ing shoots  from  wood  that  is  more 
than  one  year  old  ;  therefore  great 
care  should  be  taketi  to  have  such 
wood  in  every  part  of  the  trees  ; 
for  the  fruit  is  always  produced  up- 


on the  shoots  of  the  same  year, 
which  come  out  of  the  buds  of  the 
last  year's  wood. 

"  The  best  method  is  to  shorten 
the  bearing  shoots  to  about  four 
eyes  in  length,  because  the  lower- 
most seldom  is  good,  and  three 
buds  are  sufficient ;  for  each  of 
these  will  produce  a  shoot,  which 
generally  has  two  or  three  bunches 
of  grapes :  So  that  from  each  of 
those  shoots  may  be  expected  six 
or  eight  bunches,  which  are  a  suffi- 
cient quantity.  These  shoots  must 
be  laid  about  eighteen  inches  asun- 
der, for  if  they  are  closer,  when  the 
side  shoots  are  produced,  there  will 
not  be  room  enough  to  train  them 
against  the  wall. 

"  At  the  winter  pruning  of  your 
vines,  you  should  always  observe 
to  make  the  cut  just  above  the  eye, 
sloping  it  backward  from  it,  that  if 
it  should  bleed  the  sap  might  not 
tlow  upon  the  bud.  And  where 
there  is  opportunity  of  cutting 
down  some  young  shoots  to  two 
eyes,  in  order  to  produce  vigorous 
shoots  for  the  next  year's  bear- 
ing, it  should  always  be  done  ;  be- 
cause in  stopping  those  shoots 
which  have  fruit  on  them,  as  soon 
as  the  grapes  are  formed,  which  is 
frequently  practised,  it  often  spoils 
the  eyes  for  producing  bearing 
branches  the  following  year,  and 
this  reserving  of  new  wood  is  what 
the  Vignerons  abroad  always  prac- 
tice in  their  vineyards.  The  best 
season  for  pruning  of  vines  is  about 
the  middle  or  end  of  October. 

"  The  latter  end  of  April,  or 
the  beginning  of  May,  when  the 
vines  begin  to  shoot,  carefully  look 
them  over,   rubbing  otT  all   small 


VIN 


VIN 


477 


buds,  which  may  come  from  the 
old  wood,  which  only  produces 
weak  dangling  branches,  as  also 
when  two  shoots  are  produced  from 
the  same  bud,  the  weakest  of  them 
should  be  displaced,  which  will 
cause  the  others  to  be  stronger ; 
and  the  sooner  this  is  done  the  bet- 
ter for  the  vines. 

"  After  one  month,  go  over  them 
ag;>in,  rubbing  off  all  the  dangling 
shoots  as  before  ;  at  the  same  time 
fasten  up  all  the  strong  branches, 
that  they  may  not  hang  from  the 
wall.  Towards  the  middle  of 
June,  stop  the  bearing  branches, 
which  will  strengthen  the  fruit,  pro- 
vided you  leave  three  eyes  above 
the  bunches:  For  if  you  stop  them 
too  soon  it  will  injure  the  fruit,  by 
taking  away  that  part  of  the  branch 
which  is  necessary  to  attract  the 
nourishment  to  the  fruit,  as  also 
to  perspire  off  the  crudities  of  the 
sap. 

"  But  though  I  recommend  the 
stopping  thosfe  shoots  which  have 
fruit  at  this  season,  it  is  not  to  be 
practised  upon  those  shoots  which 
are  intended  for  bearing  the  next 
year;  for  these  must  not  be  stop- 
ped before  the  middle  of  July,  lest 
you  cause  the  eyes  to  shoot  out 
strong  lateral  branches. 

"  During  summer  rub  off  dang- 
ling branches,  and  train  the  shoots 
to  the  wall  as  before,  which  will  ac- 
celerate the  growth  of  the  fruit, 
and  admit  the  air  to  them,  which 
is  needful  to  ripen,  and  give  them 
a  rich  flavour.  But  you  must 
never  divest  the  branches  of  their 
leaves." 

The  same  directions   should  be 


followed,  when  the  vines  are  train- 
ed to  espaliers,  or  to  w<iodcn  fen- 
ces; and  the  pruning,  stopping,  &c. 
in  vineyards,  are  the  same  as  in 
gardens,  or  green  houses. 

The  vines  in  vineyards  must  be 
supported  by  stakes  ;  by  two  short 
ones  the  first  year,  by  longer  ones 
the  next,  and  so  on  as  there  shall 
be  occasion.  Bui  as  to  those 
things  which  are  most  peculiar  to 
vineyards,  the  above  author  di- 
rects that  the  soil  which  is  to  be 
chosen  for  the  purpose,  is  that 
the  surface  of  which  is  a  light  san- 
dy loam,  not  more  than  a  foot  and 
a  half  or  two  feet  deep,  with  a  grav- 
elly or  chalky  bottom;  but  if  the 
soil  have  a  bottom  of  strong  clay  or 
loam,  it  is  not  fit  for  this  purpose. 
As  to  the  situation  of  the  place,  it 
should  incline  to  the  south,  with  a 
gradual  descent,  that  the  water  may 
drain  off;  but  a  steep  slope  is  not 
good  as  it  will  not  so  well  hold  the 
manure. 

To  prepare  the  soil  for  planting, 
he  says,  "  In  the  spring,  if  the 
ground  is  green  sward,  it  should 
be  ploughed  as  deep  as  the  surface 
will  permit;  then  well  harrowed  to 
break  the  clods,  and  cleanse  it 
from  the  roots  of  noxious  weeds. 
After  this,  it  must  be  frequently 
ploughed  and  harrowed  for  one 
year,  to  render  the  surface  light. 
The  following  spring  the  ground 
should  be  ploughed  again,  and  af- 
ter making  the  surface  even,  the 
rows  should  be  marked  out  from 
south-east  to  north-west,  at  the  dis- 
tance often  feet  from  each  other; 
and  these  rows  should  be  crossed 
again  at  five  or  six  feet   distance, 


VIN 


V  I  N 


which  will  mark  out  tlie  places 
where  the  plants  i«hciild  be  placed'- 
B'lt  as  we  are  favour  ;d  witlia  drier 
atmosphere,  I  should  thirsk  the  rows 
may  as  well  be  planted  nearer  to- 
gether, as  it  will  be  a  saving  of 
ground  and  labour. 

He  adds,  '  the  proper  kinds  of 
grapes  should  be  chosen.  The 
Vignerons  abroad  always  observe 
that  the  grapes  which  are  good  for 
eating  never  make  good  wine  ; 
and  therefore  make  choice  of  those, 
whose  juice,  after  ferme:itin^,  af- 
fords a  noble  rich  liquor.  These 
grapes  are  always  austere,  and  not 
so  palatable.'  He  supposes  the 
sort  most  proper  for  vineyards  in 
England,  is  the  Jluvernat.  or  true 
Burgundy  grape  ;  and  thinks  it  best 
that  a  vineyard  should  produce  on- 
ly one  kind  of  grapes ;  because  t!)e 
mixing  of  the  juice  of  several  toge- 
ther, will  cause  the  wine  to  fer- 
ment at  different  times." 

After  the  cuttings  are  planted, 
he  recommends  keeping  them  clean 
from  weeds ;  and  as  the  rows  are 
at  a  great  distance  from  each  other, 
he  allows  (hat  the  spaces  between 
may  be  sown,  or  planted  with  any 
kinds  of  esculent  roots,  which  do 
not  grow  tail,  provided  there  is  pro- 
per distance  left  from  the  vines, 
and  care  taken  that  the  vines  be 
not  injured  by  the  crops,  or  in  gath- 
ering, or  carrying  them  off  the 
ground.  And  this  liusbandry  mas 
be  continued  till  the  vines  come  to 
bearing;  after  which  there  should 
be  no  sort  of  crop  put  between 
them,  because  the  cleaner  tlie 
ground  is  kept,  the  more  heat  will 
be  reflected  to  the  ^^rapes. 

'•  The  ground  should   be  yearly 


well  dug  or  ploughed,  and  always 
kept  free  from  weeds ;  because 
tiie  roots  of  the  vnies  will  otht-r- 
wise  be  robbed  of  their  uouriah- 
inent. 

"  Wlien  a  vineyard  is  arrived  to 
a  bearing  state,  it  should  be  so 
prunr'd,  t!)af  there  fhould  be  never 
too  many  branches  ieff  on  a  root, 
nor  tho«e  too  long ;  for  though  there 
ma)  be  a  greater  quaritity  of  fruit 
produced,  yet  the  juice  will  not  be 
so  good  as  when  tht^re  is  a  moder- 
ate quantity  ;  and  the  roots  will  be 
weakened,  which  is  found  to  be  of 
bad  consecjuence.  The  number  of 
branches  which  the  Italians  leave 
upon  a  strong  vine  are  four; 
two  of  the  strongest  have  four 
eyes  ;  and  the  two  weaker  are 
short«Mied  down  to  two  eyes  each. 
Shoots  that  have  borne  fruit,  are 
either  cut  quite  away,  or  reduced  to 
two  eyes, 

•'The  ground  of  a  vineyard 
should  not  only  be  constantly  well 
tilled,  but  a  dressing  of  some  good 
manure  applied  to  it  every  third 
yea>*.  in  tba  spring,  and  well  mixed 
with  the  soil. 

"  When  a  vineyard  is  carefully 
dressed,  it  will  be  as  pleasing  a 
si^ht,  as  any  plantation  of  trees  or 
shrubs  whatever.  If  the  rows  be 
regular,  and  the  stakes  exactly 
placed,  and  the  upright  shoots 
stopped  to  an  equal  height,  there  is 
nothing  in  nature  which  will  make 
a  more  beautifufappear^mce.  And 
during  the  season  that  the  vines  are 
in  flower  they  emit  a  most  grateful 
scent,  especially  its  the  morning  and 
pvenring.  And  w!ien  the  grapes  be- 
gin to  ripen  there  wi'i  be  fresh  plea- 
sure in  viewing  them." 


V  IN 


VIN 


479 


A  vineyard  'that  is  well  managed 
will  b^'ar  fruit  the  third  yeav  from 
the  pi.'iiiting ;  the  crops  will  be 
growing  larger  till  the  seventh  or 
eighth  year;  and  reoiain  fruitful 
till  about  the  hftieth  vear;  after 
which  it  will  begin  to  decline,  and 
die  away. 

But  instead  of  the  cutting  culture 
of  the  vine  sonne  have  recommend- 
ed that  a  plantation  of  trees  ot  low 
growth  be  made,  placed  at  proper 
distances,  with  a  vine  planted  at 
the  root  of  each,  which  wili  chmb 
up  the  trees,  and  bear  fruit  without 
cutting.  The  ground  between  the 
rows  should  be  continually  well 
tilled  and  manured. 

Much  labour  might  be  saved  by 
this  mode  of  culture;  and  that  it 
might  answer,  the  fruitfulness  we 
often  observe  in  wild  grapes  may 
lead  us  to  conclude.  It  seems  to 
be  following  nature;  but  the  fruit 
must  be  waited  for,  a  considerable 
number  of  jears  after  planting. 
And  after  all,  it  never  wili  yield  so 
good  a  wine,  as  vines  that  are  kept 
low  by  cutting ;  for  the  low  vine- 
yards in  France  afford  a  much 
richer  wine  than  the  high  ones, 
though  less  in  quantity.  The  for- 
mer are  but  three  or  four  feet  high, 
the  latter  seven  or  eight,  and  both 
cultivated  by  cutting. 

For  further  directions  respecting 
the  culture  of  vine,  see  Forsyth  on 
Fruit  Trees,  chap.  VII 1.  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Repositor}', 
vol.  VI.  p.^66. 

VINEGAR,  sour  wine.  But  the 
name  is  also  applied  to  any  acid 
penetrating  liquor,  prepared  from 
wine,  cyder,  beer,  &c- 

The  process  of  turning  vegeta- 


ble matters  to  vinegar,  is  thus  de- 
livered by  Dr.  Shaw  :  "  Take  the 
skins  of  raisins,  after  they  liave 
been  used  in  making  wine ;  ;.nd 
pour  three  or  four  times  their  own 
quantity  of  boiliiig  water  upon 
them,  so  as  to  make  a  thin  aque- 
ous mixture.  Then  set  the  con- 
taining cask,  loosel})  covered,  in  a 
warmer  place  than  is  used  for  vi- 
nous fermentation  ;  and  ihe  liquor, 
in  a  few  weeks  time,  will  become 
a  clear  and  sound  vineirar;  which 
being  drawn  off  from  its  sediu^ent, 
and  preserved  in  another  cask, 
well  stopped  down,  will  continue 
perfect,  and  fit  for  use." 

All  such  things  as  have  under- 
gone, or  are  tit  for.  a  vinous  fer- 
mejitation,  wili  afford  vinegar. 
Our  common  summer  fruits,  sap  of 
maple  trees,  and  other  vegetables, 
and  even  the  pomace  from  which 
cyder  has  been  pressed,  will  make 
vinegar,  by  means  of  only  the  ad- 
dition o{  w-iter,  and  exposing  it  to 
the  open  air,  and  warmth.  But 
some  spirit  should  be  added  to 
weak  vinegar,  to  give  it  a  body, 
and  fit  it  for  keeping. 

"  Liquor  to  be  changed  into 
vinegar,  being  kept  warmer  than 
in  vinous  fermentation,  it  begins  in 
a  few  days  to  grow  thick  and  tur- 
bid ;  and  without  throwing  up  bub- 
bles, or  hissing,  as  happens  in  vi- 
nous fermentation,  deposits  a  co- 
pious sediment.  The  effect  of  this 
separation  begins  first  to  appear  on 
the  surface  of  the  liquor,  which  ga- 
thers a  white  skin  that  daily  in- 
sreases  in  thickness,  till  at  length 
M;  becomes  like  leather;  and  now 
\i  it  continues  longer  in  this  state, 
the  skin  turns  blue,  or  green,  and 


480 


V  I  \ 


U  LC 


would  at  last  grow  fetid  and  pu- 
trefy. Therefore,  in  keeping  down 
this  skin,  as  it  grows,  and  thrusting 
it  genUy  to  the  bottom  of  the  ves- 
sel, rorisists  much  of  the  art  of 
vinegar-making,  especially  from 
mall." 

Mr,  Genet,  of  New- York,  gives 
the  following  directions  for  making 
vinegar  of  whey. 

"  A  '"t.ir  liaving  clarified  the  whey, 
it  is  poured  iiito  casks  with  some 
aroir^at'c  plants  or  elder  blossoms, 
as  .^uits  the  fancy,  and  exposed  in 
open  air  to  the  sun,  where  it  soon 
acquires  an  uncommon  degree  of 
acidiiy." 

VIVES,  a  disease  in  horses, 
whici)  ^rtfers  from  the  strangles 
only  in  this,  that  the  swellings  of 
the  kernels  under  the  ears  of  the 
horse  (which  are  the  parts  at  tirst 
chiefly  affected)  seldom  gather,  or 
come  to  matter,  but  by  degrees 
perspire  off,  and  disperse,  by  warm 
clotfiing-  anointing  vtiih  the  marsh 
mallow  ointment,  nnd  a  moderate 
bleeding  or  two.  But  sIjouI-i  the 
inflammation  continue  notwith 
standing  these  means,  a  suppura 
tion  must  be  promoted. 

"  VVhen  these  swellings  appear 
in  an  old  or  full  aged  horse,  they 
are  signs   of  great  malignity,  and 
often  of  an  inward  decay,  as  well 
as  forerimners  of  the  glanders. 
Take  of  crude  mercury,  or  quick- 
silver, one  ounce  ;  Venice  tur- 
pentine, half  an  ounce  ;  rub  to- 
gether in  a  mortar  till  the  glo- 
bules of  the  quicksilver  are  no 
longer   visible ;    then    add  two 
ounces  of  hog's  lard. 
"  Some  authors  recommend  this 
ointment  to  be  used  at  first,  in  or- 


der to  disperse  the  swellings,  and 
prevent  their  coming  to  matter ; 
bleeding  and  purging  at  the  same 
time  for  that  purpose  ;  but  as  in 
young  horses  they  seem  to  be  cri- 
tical, the  practice  by  suppuration 
is  certainly  more  eligible  and  safe  : 
For  want  of  properly  affecting 
which,  the  humours  frequently  set- 
tle, or  are  translated  to  the  lungs, 
and  other  bowels,  or  falling  on  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  hind  quarters, 
form  deep  imposthumes  between 
the  muscles,  which  discharge  such 
large  quantities  of  matter  as  some- 
times kill  the  horse,  and  very  often 
endanger  his  life.'' — Bartlet'^s  Far- 
riery, pag*^  99. 

ULCER,  '"  a  solution  of  the  soft 
part  of  an  annual  body,  together 
with  the  skin. 

"  The  first  intention  in  the  cure 
of  ulcers,  is  bringing  them  to  digest, 
or  discharge  a  thick  mutter ;  which 
will  in  general  be  effected  by  the 
green  ointment,  or  that  with  pre- 
cipitate. But  should  the  so»e  not 
digest  kindly  by  these  means,  but 
discharge  a  gleety  thin  matter,  and 
look  pale,  you  must  then  have  re- 
course to  warmer  dressings,  such 
as  balsam,  or  oil  of  turpentine, 
melted  down  with  your  common 
digestive,  and  the  strong  beer 
poultice  over  them.  !t  is  proper 
also  in  these  sores,  where  the  cir- 
culation is  languid,  and  the  natural 
heat  abated,  to  warm  the  part,  and 
quicken  the  motion  of  the  blood, 
by  fomenting  it  well  at  the  time  of 
dressing ;  which  method  will  thick- 
en the  matter,  and  rouse  the  native 
heat  of  the  part,  and  then  the  for- 
mer dressings  may  be  reapplied. 

"  If  the  lips  of  the  ulcer  grow 


ULC 


ULC 


481 


hard  or  callous,  they  must  be  pared 
down  with  a  knife,  and  afterwards 
rubbed  with  the  caustic. 

"  Where  soft  fungous  flesh  be- 
gins to  rise,  it  should  carefully  be 
suppressed  in  time,  otherwise  the 
cure  will  go  on  but  slowly.  If  it 
has  already  sprouted  above  the  sur- 
face, pare  it  down  with  a  knife, 
and  rub  the  remainder  with  a  bit 
of  caustic  ;  and  to  prevent  it?  rising 
again,  sprinkle  the  sore  with  equal 
parts  of  burnt  alum,  and  red  pre- 
cipitate; or  wash  with  the  subli- 
mate water,  and  dress  with  dry  lint 
even  to  tlie  surface,  and  then  roll 
over  a  compress  of  linen  as  tight 
as  can  be  borne  ;  for  a  proper  de- 
gree of  pressure,  «with  mild  appli- 
cations, will  always  oblige  these 
spongy  excrescences  to  subside, 
but  without  bandage  the  strongest 
will  not  so  well  succeed. 

"  All  sinuses,  or  cavities,  should 
be  laid  open  as  soon  as  discovered, 
after  bandages  have  been  ineffec- 
tually tried;  but  where  the  cavity 
penetrates  deep  into  the  muscles, 
and  a  counter  opening  is  impracti- 
cable or  hazardous  ;  where,  by  a 
continuance,  the  integuments  of 
the  muscles  are  constantly  dripping 
and  melting  down  ;  in  these  cases 
injections  may  be  used,  and  will 
frequently  be  attended  with  suc- 
cess. A  decoction  of  colcothar 
boiled  in  forge  water,  or  solution 
of  lapis  medicamentosus  in  lime 
water,  with  a  fifth  part  of  hon^.7 
and  tincture  of  myrrh,  may  be  first 
tried,  injecting  three  or  four  ounces 
twice  a  day,  or  some  rosin  melted 
down  with  oil  of  turpentine  may  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  If  these 
should  not  succeed,  the  following, 
61 


which  is  of  a  sharp  and  caustic  na- 
ture, is  recommended  on  Mr.  Gib- 
son's experience. 

Take  of  Roman  vitriol  half  an 
ounce,  dissolve  a  pint  of  water, 
then  decant  and  pour  off  gently 
into  a  large  quart  bottle  ;  add 
half  a  pint  of  campborafed  spirit 
of  witie,  tlie  same  quantity  of 
the  best  vinegar,  and  two  ounces 
of  iEgyptiacum. 

"  This  mixture  is  also  very  suc- 
cessfully applied  to  ulcerated  grea- 
sy heels,  which  it  will  both  cleanse 
and  dry  up. 

"  These  sinuses,  or  cavities,  fre- 
quently degenerate  into  fistulae, 
that  is,  grow  pipey,  having  the  in- 
side thickened,  and  lined  as  it  were 
with  a  horny  callous  substance.  In 
order  to  their  cure,  they  must  be 
laid  open,  and  the  hard  substance 
all  cut  away.  Where  this  is  im- 
practicable, scarify  them  well,  and 
trust  to  the  precipitate  medicine 
made  strong,  rubbing  now  and  then 
with  caustic,  butter  of  antimony,  of 
equal  parts  of  quicksilver  and  aqua 
fortis. 

"  When  a  rotten  or  foul  bone  is 
an  attendant  on  an  ulcer,  the  flesh 
is  generally  loose  and  flabby,  the 
discharge  oily,  thin  and  stinking, 
and  the  bone  discovered  to  be  ca- 
rious, by  its  feeling  rough  to  the 
probe  passed  through  the  flesh.  In 
order  to  a  cure,  the  bone  must  be 
laid  bare,  that  the  rotten  part  of  it 
be  removed :  for  which  purpose, 
destroy  the  loose  flesh,  and  dress 
with  dry  lint;  or  the  dossils  may 
be  pressed  out  of  tincture  of  myrrh 
or  euphorbium.  The  throwing  off 
the  scale  is  generally  a  work  of 
nature,  which  is  effected  in  more 


482 


URi 


WAG 


or  less  time,  in  proportion  to  tlie  i 
depth  the  bone  is  atTected,  though 
burning  the  foul  bone  is  thought  by  \ 
some  to  hasten  its  separation.  , 

"  Where  the  cure  does  not  pro-  i 
perly   succeed,    mercurial    physic 
should  be  given,  and  repealed  at 
piopcr  intervals  :  And  to  correct 
and  mend  the  blood  and  juices,  the 
antimonial  and  alterative  powders, '' 
with  a  decoction  of  guaiacum  and 
lime  water,    are    proper    for  that  I 
purpose." — Bartlet'^s  Farriery,  p.  ! 
253.  I 

URINE,  a  serous  and  saline 
fluid,  separated  from  the  blood,  and 
emitted  by  the  canal  of  the  ure- 
thra. 

Considered  as  a  manure,  this  is 
an  important  liquor;  it  is  supposed 
to  be  richer  than  the  stale  of  beasts. 
The  difference  may  be  as  that  of 
human  ordure  to  barn  dung. 

Mr.  Bradley  relates,  as  of  his 
own  knowledge,  that  human  urine 
was  thrown  into  a  little  pit  con- 
stantly every  day,  for  three  or  four 
years.  Two  years  after  some  earth 
was  taken  out  of  this  pit,  and  mixed 
with  twice  as  much  other  earth,  to 
till  up  a  hollow  place  in  a  grass 
walk.  The  turf  which  was  laid 
upon  this  spot  grew  so  largely  and 
vigorously,  besides  being  much 
greener  than  the  rest,  that  by  the 
best  computation  he  could  make, 
its  grass  in  a  month's  time,  was 
above  four  times  as  much  in  quan- 
tity as  that  of  any  other  spot  of  the 
same  size,  though  the  whole  walk 
was  laid  on  very  rich  ground. 

And  Mr.  Hartlib  instances  a  wi- 
ndow woman    near    Canterbury   in 
England,  who  saved  iri  a  pail  all 
the  urine  she  could,  and  when  the 


pail  was  full,  sprinkled  it  on  her 
me;>dow,  the  grass  of  which  looked 
yellow  at  iirst,  but  afterwards  grew 
surprisingl). 

Human  urine  therefore  should 
be  considered  as  of  great  value  to 
the  farmer.  A  good  method  of 
using  it  is,  to  throw  it  upon  com- 
post dunghills  which  are  under  co- 
ver. 

Also,  old  urine  is  preferable  to 
dung  for  manuring  of  trees,  as  it 
penetrates  better  to  their  roots ; 
and  it  is  said  to  remove  divers  in- 
firmities of  plants. 


W. 

WAGGON,  a  carriage,  or  cart, 
mounted  on  four  wheels. 

Waggons  answer  much  the  same 
ends  as  common  carts ;  but  are 
greatly  to  be  preferred,  especially 
in  journeying;  and  they  are  quite 
necessary  for  horse-teams,  espe- 
cially when  the  horses  are  harnes- 
sed by  two  and  two,  as  they  ought 
to  be  in  large  teams.  And  if  oxen 
are  used  they  should  be  harnessed 
in  the  same  manner  as.  horses. 
The  advantages  of  waggons  are  es- 
pecially these  two. 

1.  They  are  far  less  fatiguing  to 
the  oxen  than  carts ;  because  they 
have  to  bear  only  the  weight  of  the 
tongue  upon  their  necks  ;  whereas, 
in  carts,  and  on  descending  ground, 
the  oxen  are  crushed  to  death,  as 
it  were,  with  bearing  a  great  part 
of  the  load  ;  or  in  ascending  a  hill, 
the  load  pulls  their  necks  upwards, 
so  that  they  are  almost  choked  and 
rendered  incapable  of  drawing  the 
load.     Bulky  loads,  such  as  hay, 


WAL 


W  A  T 


483 


and  the  like,    produce  these  bad 
effects  in  the  greatest  degree. 

2.  Waggons  are  better  for  the 
roads,  as  the  wheels  do  not  make 
so  deep  impressions  in  ^he  ground 
as  those  of  carts.  The  load  bear- 
ing equally  on  four  wheels,  each 
wheel  bears  but  half  so  much 
weight  as  one  wheel  of  a  cart. 
Consequently,  a  waggon  wheel 
presses  the  ground  with  but  half 
the  force  of  a  cart  wheel ;  and 
therefore  penetrates  to  but  half  the 
depth  ;  supposing  the  tire  in  both 
to  be  of  equal  breadth.  If  team- 
sters used  only  waggons  upon  our 
roads,  the  roads  would  soon  be 
found  to  be  greatly  mended,  as 
they  would  be  freed  from  those 
deep  ruts,  which  are  so  disagreea- 
ble and  dangerous  to  travellers. 

WALL,  the  principal  part  of  a 
building,  serving  both  to  enclose 
and  support  it. 

The  walls  with  which  farmers 
are  most  concerned  are  fences  of 
stone  upon  their  farms.  See  the 
article  Fence.  The  walls  of  cel- 
lars, even  in  the  poorest  farm 
houses,  ought  to  be  so  constructed 
as  to  keep  out  all  frost.  There- 
fore the  upper  half  of  the  wall 
should  be  laid  in  good  lime  mor- 
tar. This  will  render  banking  to 
keep  out  frost  unnecessary.  And 
banking  should  be  avoided,  as  it 
causes  the  sills  of  houses  to  decay. 
It  requires  yearly  attention  and  la- 
bour, and  gives  to  a  house  an  ill 
appearance. 

When  brick  walls  are  to  be  built 
for  houses,  &c.  particular  care 
should  be  taken  in  laying  the  bricks. 
In  summer  they  should  be  laid  as 
wet,  and  in  winter  as  dry  as  possi- 


ble, to  make  them  bind  the  better 
with  the  mortar.  In  summer,  ihey 
should  be  covered  up  as  fast  as 
they  are  laid,  to  prevent  the  wall 
from  drying  too  fast.  In  winter, 
they  should  be  well  covered  to 
protect  them  from  snow,  rain,  and 
frost,  which  are  all  hurtful  to  the 
cement.  But  in  the  coldest  part 
of  winter  mason  work  can  hardly 
be  performed  at  all  in  this  country. 
Walls  laid  in  this  season  are  not 
expected  to  be  durable. 

WARBLES,  small  hard  tumours 
on  the  saddle  part  of  a  horse's  back, 
occasioned  by  the  heat  of  the  sad- 
dle in  travelling.  They  are  usu- 
ally called  Saddle  Boils, 

A  hot  greasy  dish  clout  frequent- 
ly applied  will  sometimes  cure 
them.  W^hen  this  fails,  campho- 
rated spirit  of  wine  will  be  found 
more  ei}'<  ctual ;  especially  if  a  lit- 
tle of  the  spirit  of  sal  ammoniac 
be  added. 

WA  TKR,  a  simple,  transparent 
fluid,  which  becomes  solid  with  a 
certain  degree  of  cold. 

A  general  division  of  this  fluid  is 
into  salt  and  fresh.  But  accoidmg 
to  Dr.  Shaw,  it  seems  divisible  into 
as  many  diflferent  species,  as  the 
earth  is  into  strata  or  beds.  Thus 
there  are  mineral  waters,  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  according  to  the  mineral 
substances  through  which  they 
pass,  and  by  which  they  are  by  any 
means  impregnated.  Water  may 
therefore  be  as  compounded  a  body 
as  earth;  and  perhaps  neither  of 
them  can  any  where  be  found  per- 
fectly pure  or  unmixed. 

Water  is  of  infinite  use  in  all  the 
works  both  of  nature  and  art ;  as 
without  it  there  could  be  no  gene- 


484 


W  A  T 


WAT 


ration,  nutrition,  or  growth  in  any 
animal,  venerable,  or  mineral  bo- 
dies. Tlie  blood  could  not  flow  in 
the  veins,  the  sap  in  the  vessels  of 
vegeiables,  nor  the  particles  of  mi- 
nerals concrete  or  grow  together, 
without  ,  water.  Neither  could 
there  be  any  corruption,  fermenta- 
tion, or  dissolution  performed  with- 
out ;t.  i3ut  i  must  noi  attempt  to 
speak  of  all  its  uses,  being  limited 
by  rny  general  subject. 

Those  however  have  grossly  mis 
taken  the  matter,  who  have  sup- 
posed water  to  be  the  sole  food  by 
which  vegetables  are  nourished  ; 
though  it  must  be  allowed  to  be  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  their  nourish- 
ment arid  growth.  It  is  an  impor 
tant  agent  in  mixing  and  dissolving 
the  other  ii!grcdients  of  the  food  of 
plants;  gives  thcni  the  fermenta- 
tion that  is  necessary,  and  is  an  es- 
sentia! part  of  the  nutritive  steam 
that  enters  the  roots  and  other  parts 
of  ve-jetables.  And  the  purest  wa- 
ter contains  in  itself  many  earthy 
particles,  as  appears  by  the  crusts 
that  adhere  to  the  insides  of  vessels 
in  which  water  is  often  boiled. 

Nor  is  water  wholly  destitute  of 
salts  and  oils.  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  a  plant  will  live,  arid 
grow  for  some  time,  with  its  roots 
thrust  into  a  vessel  of  water.  For 
even  in  this  situation,  it  partakes 
of  every  necessary  ingredient  of  its 
natural  food,  though  not  in  the 
right  proportions. 

Water  not  only  serves  thus  as  a 
vehicle  to  the  food  of  plants,  but 
carries  with  it  where  it  runs  in 
streams  many  particles  of  ve^eta 
ble  mould,  &c.  which  enrich  tne 
soil.     After  heavy  rains,  it  is  found  j 


that  water  deposits  a  fertilizing  se- 
diment, which  changes  the  surface 
of  the  soil  to  a  dark  colour. 

W^atering  the  ground  also  pro- 
motes the  putrefaction  of  every 
substance,  whether  animal  or  ve- 
getable, contained  in  the  soil,  or 
lying  on  the  surface. 

Where  a  good  head  of  water  can 
be  made  without  too  great  an  ex- 
pense ;  or  where  a  brook,  or  part 
of  a  river,  can  be  so  diverted  from 
its  course,  as  to  be  made  to  spread 
its  waters  over  the  neighbouring 
grass  grounds,  it  should  be  attend- 
ed to,  as  a  matter  of  no  small  im- 
portance. But  the  water  should 
be  perfectly  under  command  ; 
otherwise  it  may  prove  rather  hurt- 
ful than  beneficial.  Too  much  of 
it  would  be  as  great  an  evil  as  too 
little. 

Particular  care  should  be  taken 
.  that  the  water  which  is  led  over 
grass  grounds,  be  only  such  as  is 
tit  to  nourish  plants,  which  chaly- 
beate waters,  or  springs  impreg- 
nated with  a  mineral  acid,  certainly 
are  not.  Such  water  is  rather  poi- 
sonous to  plants,  and  prevents  their 
growth. 

The  quantity  of  water  thrown 
over  the  land  sliould  be  rightly  pro- 
portioned ;  a  light  sandy  soil  will 
bear  more,  a  siiflf  soil  a  less  quan- 
tity, without  overcharging  the  ves- 
sels of  the  plants,  or  cooling  them 
too  much. 

The  channels  should  be  so  made 
that  the  water  may  be  communi- 
cated to  every  part,  excepting 
where  there  are  little  hollows  which 
are  naturally  wet.  The  main 
channel  should  be  broad,  and  its 
descent  but  just  enough  to  cause 


WAT 


W  A  T 


485 


the  water  to  run  ;  and  from  the 
main  channel,  a  great  number  of 
very  narrow  ones  should  be  cut, 
that  the  water  may  be  well  spread 
through  every  part  of  the  surface. 

Watering  the  ground  in  this  man- 
ner should  be  avoided  when  the  air 
is  extremely  hot ;  because  heat 
draws  the  water  too  hastily  into  the 
plants,  which  renders  them  weak. 
The  night  time  should  be  preferred 
to  the  day  for  letting  out  the  water, 
or  a  day  that  is  cool  and  cloudy 
may  be  chosen,  rather  than  one 
that  is  hot  and  dry. 

No  water  should  be  admitted  in 
the  spring,  till  after  the  ground 
which  has  been  hoven  by  the  frost 
is  well  settled.  But  afterwards, 
and  in  a  dry  spring,  watering  may 
be  plentifully  used,  till  the  grass  be- 
gins to  spring  up.  After  the  shoot- 
ing of  the  grass,  the  water  should 
be  administered  more  sparing- 
ly, or  not  at  all  if  the  weather 
proves  rainy.  And  when  the  grass 
comes  to  be  tall,  no  water  should 
be  applied,  but  in  case  of  necessity, 
as  when  a  drought  prevails,  which 
would  otherwise  shorten  the  crop  ; 
for  if  it  were  applied  at  this  time 
in  a  large  quantity,  the  grass  would 
be  lodged  ;  or  if  the  water  be  not 
clean,  it  will  foul  the  grass,  and 
give  the  hay  an  ill  taste. 

After  the  second  crop  of  hay  is 
taken  off,  water  may  be  thrown 
over  the  ground  in  plenty ;  for  the 
ground  is  then  very  dry,  and  the 
weather  so  cool,  that  vegetables 
will  not  be  injured  by  plentiful 
watering. 

Ground  that  is  thus  watered  will 
produce  plenty  of  grass,  unless  it 
should  happen   to   be   too  much 


chilled  by  watering ;  to  prevent 
which  it  should  have  a  sprinkling 
of  some  warm  compost,  soot,  or 
other  hot  dressing,  each  year,  in 
autumn. 

Care  should  be  always  taken  to 
leave  off  this  watering  before  the 
month  of  December,  when  strong 
frosts  are  expected ;  because  frost 
destroys  all  vegetables  much  more 
when  they  are  full  of  sap,  and 
where  the  soil  is  very  wet. 

When  you  wish  to  water  land 
which  is  above  the  level  of  an  ad- 
jacent stream,  an  engine  may  be 
used  to  raise  it  to  the  proper  height. 
They  who  are  willing  to  be  at  this 
expense  may  tind  descriptions  of 
Archimedes'*  watering  screw,  the 
Persian  wheel,  M.  Beltdor^s  wheel, 
and  an  engine  invented  by  M.  de  la 
Bay,  in  the  Complete  Farmer,  arti- 
cle Water» 

WATER  FURROWING,  draw- 
ing furrows  in  the  lowest  parts  of 
a  field  of  wheat,  or  other  winter 
grain,  as  soon  as  it  is  harrowed  in, 
in  order  to  draw  off  the  superflu- 
ous water,  that  none  may  stand 
on  the  surface  during  the  win- 
ter. 

This  piece  of  good  husbandry  is 
considered,  in  the  old  countries,  as 
indispensably  necessary  ;  unless 
when  a  field  is  on  such  a  declivity 
that  the  water  cannot  stand  on  it. 
For  if  water  stand  long  upon  corn, 
in  a  frosty  season,  or  almost  any 
season,  it  will  either  be  killed,  or 
so  stinted  in  its  growth,  that  it  will 
produce  nothing. 

If  this  practice  were  adopted  by 
my  countrymen,  the  labour  of  do- 
ing which  is  but  a  trifle,  I  am  per- 
suaded they  would  find  so  great  an 


486 


WE  A 


WE  A 


advantage  in  it,  that  they  would 
not  afterwards  incline  to  lay  it 
aside.  U  is  probable  it  might  pre- 
vent the  winter  killing  of  much 
grain,  an  evil  that  is  greatly  com- 
planied  of. 

WATERING,  applying  water 
to  plants  to  nourish  them. 

Vegetables  that  are  newly  trans- 
planted, as  they  have  their  roots 
more  or  less  diminished,  or  other- 
wi-.'^  injured,  often  need  watering 
till  they  have  taken  new  root.  But 
this  should  be  done  with  caution. 
If  a  di)  season  follow  the  trans- 
planting, le»  them  be  watered  if 
they  appt-ar  to  droop,  only  on 
evenings,  and  in  cloudy  weather, 
and  with  w.^ter  that  has  been  ex- 
posed, one  day  at  least,  to  the  shin- 
ing of  the  sun  ;  not  with  water  di- 
rectly from  a  well,  or  a  cold  spring, 
as  it  will  give  a  chill  to  the  plants. 
Only  a  small  quantity  should  be 
applied  at  once,  that  it  may  have 
an  effect  similar  to  that  of  a  re- 
freshing rain.  For  water,  applied 
too  plentifully,  sometimes  washes 
away  the  finest  of  the  mould  from 
the  roots  ;  or  makes  little  cavities 
about  them,  which  admit  too  much 
air. 

In  a  dry  season,  whole  gardens 
sometimes  need  watering ;  and  in 
doing  it  the  above  precautions  are 
to  bo  regarded.  They  are  happy 
who  have  a  piece  of  standing  wa- 
ter in  the  r  garden  or  a  rivulet  near 
at  hand,  from  whence  the  garden 
may  be  watered  without  much  la- 
bour. 

WEATHER.  The  state  or  con- 
dition of  the  atmosphere  with  re- 
gard to  heat,  cold,  wind,  rain,  frost, 
snow,  &c. 


Innumerable  advantages  would 
arise  to  the  husbandman  from  a 
foreknowledge  of  the  changes  of 
the  weather  ;  and  even  from  a  fore- 
knowledge of  the  general  charac- 
ters of  the  approaching  seasons.  la 
the  former  case,  he  would  be  able 
to  order  his  business  from  day  to 
day  in  the  best  manner,  and  so 
prevent  much  hurry,  perplexity  and 
loss ;  especially  in  the  seasons  of 
hay  making  and  harvesting ;  in  the 
latter,  he  would  be  happily  direct- 
ed in  his  choice  of  crops,  and  the 
best  methods  of  cultivating  them. 
And  as  this  knowledge  is  not  to  be 
obtained,  the  ability  to  make  very 
probable  conjectures  is  nextly  to 
be  coveted,  as  it  will  be  found  to 
answer  very  valuable  purposes. 

Virgil,  and  other  early  writers  on 
husbandry,  pointed  out  many  rules 
of  prognosticating  the  changes  of 
weather  in  their  own  countries. 
But  these  will  not  universally,  and 
pel  haps  not  generally,  apply  in 
other  regions.  Persons  ought 
therefore  to  be  careful  that  they 
do  not  lay  too  much  stress  upon 
them. 

Journals  of  the  weather,  winds, 
and  state  of  the  atmosphere,  should 
be  made  and  keptni  every  climate 
in  this  country  ;  from  the  compar- 
ing of  which  for  a  course  of  years, 
it  is  profitable  that  some  valuable 
prognostics  might  be  formed, 
which  have  not  yet  been  thought 
of. 

The  observations  made  in  one 
climate,  will  not  perfectly  answer 
for  another,  even  in  the  same  coun- 
try. In  some  parts  of  the  state  of 
Massachusetts,  for  instance,  a  south 
wind  in  a  summer  morning  forebodes 


WE  A 


WEA 


487 


a  hot  day,  and  in  other  parts  a  cool  | 
one ;  and  the  changes  of  weather  ' 
are  not  just  the  sanne  in  the  inari-  i 
time  as  in  the  inland  parts.  The  | 
latter  are  hotter  in  summer  and 
colder  in  winter  than  the  mari- 
times. 

That  our  farmers  may  enable 
themselves  to  form  judicious  prog- 
nostications, some  parts  of  knowl- 
edge, falsely  so  called,  ought  to  be 
unlearned,  or  exploded  ;  as  weeds 
must  be  extirpated  that  useful 
plants  may  be  nourished. 

Those  who  draw  their  prognos- 
tics from  the  motions  and  aspects 
of  the  celestial  bodies  are  certainly 
less  apt  to  attend  to  more  sure  ob- 
jects in  the  earth  and  atmosphere. 

If  any  celestial  influence  is  to 
be  much  regarded  in  this  case,  one 
would  think  it  ought  to  ])c  only 
that  of  the  earth's  satellite,  the 
moon,  because  of  its  nearness. 
That  she  influences  the  tides  is 
well  known ;  and  these  may  have 
a  small  influence  on  the  winds  and 
weather.  And  probably  vapours 
may  be  more  copiously  raised  when 
she  is  nearest  to  the  earth,  which 
aflfords  a  greater  probability  of  ap- 
proaching rain  or  snow. 

But  what  reason  can  there  be  as> 
signed,  for  supposing  that  her  place 
in  the  heavens  at  the  moment  of 
her  full,  change,  or  quartering,  can 
have  any  influence  on  our  atmos- 
phere ?  Or  that  the  weather  in  the 
latter  quarters,  should  be  governed 
by  that  in  her  former  quarters? 
These  things,  though  believed  by 
many,  have  never  been  confirmed 
by  any  set  of  accurate  observa- 
tions. The  few  that  1  have  made 
have  rather  tended  to  refute  them. 


Barometrical  observations  may 
be  of  some  real  use.  "  In  general, 
it  may  be  expected,  that  when  the 
mercury  rises  high,  a  few  days  of 
fair  weather  will  follow  ;  if  it  falls, 
rain  may  be  expected." 

Birds  of  passage  have  always 
been  supposed  to  indicate  the 
nearness  of  approaching  seasons, 
by  their  removing  to  different  cli- 
mates. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  wea- 
ther is  much  governed  by  winds. 
Rain  is  very  often  preceded,  and 
accompanied  by  a  south-east  wind, 
and  snow  by  a  wind  from  the 
north-east,  or  north  north-east : 
And  an  east  wind,  continued  twelve 
hours,  seldom  fails  to  bring  rain  ; 
and  yet  some  rain  often  times 
comes  from  every  other  quarter. 
When  the  winds  blow  from  any 
point  betwixt  north  and  west  the 
weather  is  expected  to  continue 
fair  and  dry. 

The  weather  is  oftener  unsettled 
about  the  times  of  the  equinoxes, 
than  at  other  seasons:  And  high 
winds  and  storms  are  more  to  be 
expected. 

Falling  weather  oftener  happens 
a  little  before  or  after  the  full  and 
change  of  the  moon  than  at  other 
times,  especially  if  she  happen  to- 
be  near  to  her  perigree,  at  the 
time  of  these  changes.  For  the 
attraction  of  vapours  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  is  then  greatest. 

The  redness  of  the  sky  at  the 
I  rising  of  the  sun,  has  ever  been  con- 
sidered as  a  sign  of  foul  weather  ap- 
proaching; but  it  is  far  from  being 
infallible. 

The  falling  of  heavy  dews  is  a 
sign  of  the  continuauee  of  fair 
weather. 


488 


WED 


WEE 


The  setting  of  the  sun  behind  a 
black,  water}  cloud,  betokens  ap- 
proaching ram. 

The  wading  of  the  sun,  as  it  is 
called  is  a  pretty  sure  sign  that  foul 
weather  is  very  near. 

When  the  disc  of  the  sun,  either 
at  rising  or  setting,  appears  very 
broad  and  dim,  the  atmosphere  is 
charged  with  plenty  of  vapour, 
which  will  soon  condense  and  fall 
upon  the  earth.  The  contrary 
happens  when  the  stm  appears 
brilliant,  small  and  dazzling,  at  ris- 
ing and  setting,  as  these  ap[)eaian- 
ces  indicate  a  dry  state  of  the  air. 
The  copious  evaporation  of  boiling 
water  is  a  pretty  sure  sign  of  fal- 
ling weather.  For  I  suppose  this 
arises  from  the  same  cause*  (whate- 
ver it  be)  as  the  increased  ascent  of 
vapours  in  general. 

The  wind  commonly  blows  from 
the  point  from  whence  meteors 
are  seen  to  shoot  in  the  night  pre- 
ceding. 

When  swine  are  busy  in  collect- 
ing sticks  and  straws,  foul  weather 
is  approaching. 

Many  more  signs*  of  changes  in 
the  weather  might  have  been  men- 
tioned :  But  I  study  brevity. 

WEDGE.  One  of  the  mechani- 
cal powers,  the  force  of  which  is 
extremely  great. 

The  wedge  is  a  triangular  prism, 
whose  basis  are  acute  angled  trian- 
gles. 

The  wedge  is  a  needful  imple- 
ment among  farmers,  for  the  cleav- 
ing of  their  wood  and  timber.  It 
should  be  made  of  a  soft  kind  of 
iron,  that  it  may  not  be  broken 
near  tiie  point,  by  driving  it  in  fros- 
ty weather,  or  by  forcing  it  into 


hard  knots.  The  head  should  be 
about  two  inches  thick,  and  the 
length  of  the  wedge  from  eight  to 
nine  inches. 

WEEDING.  The  operation  of 
destroying  weeds  among  useful 
plants,  or  of  freeing  from  v/eeds. 

There  are  several  methods  of 
doing  it.  Where  plants  in  beds, 
whether  sown  broad  cast  or  in 
rows,  are  young  and  small,  and 
are  infested  with  weeds,  the  weeds 
must  be  pulled  up  with  the  thumb 
and  finger;  or  else  cut  out  with  the 
weeding  hook.  When  weeding  is 
done  by  hand,  care  should  be  ta- 
ken that  the  roots  be  not  left  in  the 
ground.  Therefore  the  fingers  of 
the  weeder  should  go  into  the  soil 
more  or  less,  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  roots.  The  weeds 
may  be  saved  in  baskets,  and  thrown 
to  the  swine.  Where  the  plants 
are  larger,  the  weeds  may  be  kil- 
led by  a  hoe  with  a  sharp  edge, 
which  should  be  wider  or  narrow- 
er, according  to  the  distance  at 
which  the  plants  ought  to  stand 
from  each  other  after  hoeing.  But 
it  is  necessary  that  the  hoeing  be 
performed  in  dry  weather;  other- 
wise many  of  the  weeds  will  re- 
vive, and  grow  :  And  the  forenoon 
is  better  than  the  afternoon  for  this 
work,  because  a  dewy  night  com- 
ing on  before  they  are  withered, 
some  of  them  will  get  rooted  be- 
fore the  next  morning.  Weeders 
should  be  careful  that  they  tread 
upon  weeds  that  they  hoe  or  pull 
up,  as  little  as  possible  ;  because 
doing  this  will  close  the  earth 
about  them  and  prevent  their  dy- 
ing. 

When  small  plants  stand  in  rows 


WEE 


WEE 


489 


according  fo  the  drill  husbandry, 
the  plants  in  the  rows  must  he  once 
weeded,  and  thinned  as  in  gardens  ; 
but  the  weeds  in  the  intervals  are 
to  be  more  expeditiously  destroyed 
with  the  plough,  horse  hoe,  or  cul- 
tivator. 

WEEDS,  useless  or  noxious 
plants,  or  vegetables  not  to  be  cul- 
tivated. 

Weeds  infest  all  kinds  of  land 
more  or  less,  and  occasion  abun- 
dance of  labour  for  the  farmer, 
and  the  gardener,  so  much  that  we 
seldom  find  it  perfectly  accomplish- 
ed. 

Weeds  are  several  ways  hurtful 
to  the  crops  that  are  cultivated. 

1.  They  rob  other  plants  of  the 
food  that  should  nourish  them.  For 
they  require  as  much  nourishment 
from  the  earth  as  better  plants  do  ; 
and  in  general  they  are  fed  with 
the  same  kind  of  juices :  For  it  has 
been  proved,  that  the  food  of  all 
plants  is  nearly  the  same.  So  that 
wherever  weeds  are  suffered  to 
stand  and  grow  among  plants,  the 
crop  will  receive  proportionably 
the  less  quantity  of  nourishment 
from  the  earth.  It  will  also  re- 
ceive the  less  nourishnient  from 
the  air,  unless  the  weeds  are  of  a 
much  lower  stature  than  the  plants 
that  were  meant  to  be  cultivated, 
and  nearly  covered  by  the  plants. 

2.  Weeds  also  lessen  the  quan- 
tity of  pasture  for  plants  in  thr-  soil. 
For  their  roots  occupy  and  (ill  ma- 
ny of  those  interstices  in  the  soil, 
which  wou'd  have  been  occupi<-d 
by  the  roots  of  the  cultivated  plants. 
And  many  kinds  of  weeds  have 
such  a  multitude  of  strong  and  bind- 
ing roots,  that  they  render  the  soil 

62 


stiff  and  hard  ;  and  so  compact  that 
the  roots  of  tender  plants  cannot 
extend  themselves  in  it.  This  bad 
quality  is  possessed,  in  a  remarka- 
ble degree,  by  the  quitch  grass,  and 
by  some  other  weeds. 

3.  Weeds  prevent  plants  from 
tillering,  or  branching  out  from 
their  roots,  as  many  kinds,  and  par- 
ticularly the  farinaceous,  which 
are  the  most  valuable,  are  inclined 
to  do,  when  they  have  room.  But 
the  growing  of  a  multitude  of  weeds 
among  them  reduces  them  to  a 
crowded  situation;  the  consequence 
is,  that  they  shoot  up  only  single 
stalks,  by  which  means  the  crop  is 
greatly  diminished. 

4.  Weeds  deprive  plants  of  that 
free  circulation  of  air  about  them, 
which  is  necessary  to  their  being  in 
a  healthy  and  vigorous  state.  For 
want  of  this  they  run  up  weak,  re- 
main of  a  loose  and  spongy  contex- 
ture, and  bend  down  and  lodge  by 
their  own  weight,  unless  the  weeds 
happen  to  be  so  strong  as  to  hold 
them  up. 

5.  Weeds,  besides  the  general 
evil  of  taking  away  the  food  of 
plants,  rob  the  soil,  particularly  of 
its  moisture,  and  speedily  reduce 
it  to  such  a  dry  state  that  neither 
weeds  nor  other  plants  can  receive 
from  it  any  vegetable  food,  for 
want  of  that  proportion  of  moisture 
which  is  necessary  to  give  it  flui- 
dity. Accordingly  it  is  observa- 
ble that  the  abounding  of  weeds 
brings  on  an  early  appearance  of 
drought. 

La-tly,  some  weeds  of  the  creep- 
ing kind  twine  about  the  plants  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  their 
growth,  and  the  circulation  of  their 


490 


WEE 


WEE 


sap.  Others  overtop  them,  and 
shut  out  the  direct  influence  of  the 
sun,  and  further  oppress  them  with 
their  unwholesome  dripping  on 
them.  And  there  are  still  others, 
the  dodder  in  particular,  which 
draw  their  nourishment  directly 
out  of  the  bodies  of  plants,  by  strik- 
ing their  fibres  into  them,  and  cause 
them  to  languish. 

So  that,  on  the  whole,  the  mis- 
chiefs done  by  weeds  are  so  great 
and  many,  that  when  they  are  suf- 
fered to  grow  unmolested  among 
useful  plants,  whatever  culture  has 
been  given  to  the  soil  to  prepare  it 
for  a  crop  is  thrown  away ;  and  the 
seeds  that  are  sown  are  entirely 
wasted  and  lost. 

Weeds  may  be  divided  as  plants 
in  general  are,  into  annuals  and  pe- 
rennials ;  or,  as  Mr.  Dixson  has 
done  it.  into  those  which  are  propa- 
gated by  the  seed, and  those  that  are 
propogated  by  the  root.  But  1  shall 
pursue  a  method  which  is  different 
from  both,  and  which  better  suits 
my  present  inclination:  And  only 
consider  those  weeds  in  a  general 
way,  which  chiefly  infest  our  lands 
that  are  in  tillage,  and  those  that 
prevail  in  our  grass  land  ;  and  how 
to  prevent  the  existence,  or  preva- 
lence of  these  kinds  ;  and  the  best 
methods  of  preventing,  subduing 
and  destroying  them. 

1.  As  to  those  which  infest  land 
that  is  employed  in  tillage,  and 
which  are  very  numerous,  there 
are  several  ways  to  prevent  their 
existence  in  fields;  at  least,  to  pre- 
vent their  arising  in  such  plenty  as 
to  be  very  troublesome  or  detri- 
mental to  the  crops. 

The  first  thing  that  I  would  in- 


sist upon  is,  that  no  seeds  of  weeds 
should,  by  any  means,  be  carried 
into  the  fields.  And  that  this  evil 
may  be  avoided,  no  dung  nor  com- 
post, should  be  laid  upon  the  soil, 
until  it  has  undergone  such  fermen- 
tations in  heaps,  as  to  allow  oppor- 
tunity to  destroy  the  vegetative 
quality  of  all  the  seeds  that  are 
contained  in  it.  Therefore  all 
dunghills  intended  for  the  manur- 
ing of  sowed  fields,  should  be  shov- 
eled over  two  or  three  times  in  a 
summer;  by  means  of  which,  most 
or  all  of  the  seeds  contained  i;)  the 
heaps  will  vegetate,  and  be  destroy- 
ed. But  when  land  is  laid  down 
for  grass,  this  precaution  is  not 
necessary  :  Because  tillage  weeds 
will  not  flourish  in  grass  lands  ;  at 
least  not  so  much  as  to  do  any 
great  damage. 

But  when  there  is  a  necessity  of 
using  new  dung,  which  abounds 
with  the  seeds  of  weeds,  on  land 
to  be  continued  in  tillage,  let  it, 
if  possible,  be  applied  only  to  a 
hoed  crop,  in  the  tilling  of  which, 
the  weeds  will  be  destroyed  as  fast 
as  they  rise,  during  the  summer. 

Or,  if  low  ground  hay  has  been 
used  by  itself,  in  feeding  the  young 
part  of  the  stock  (as  indeed  it 
ought  always  to  be)  let  the  dung 
that  is  made  of  that  be  laid  on  the 
driest  parts  of  the  farm.  There 
will  be  no  danger  in  laying  it  on 
while  it  is  new  ;  for  if  the  seeds 
sprout  and  come  up,  they  will 
not  prosper,  as  the  soil  does  not 
suit  their  nature,  being  mostly  aqua- 
tics. 

As  to  other  manures,  such  as 
marie,  mud,  ashes,  lime,  soot,  sea 
weeds,  &;c.   these  having  no  seeds 


WEE 


WEE 


491 


in  them  that  will  grow  upon  land, 
there  is  no  danger  of  their  causing 
the  ground  to  become  weedy.  If 
they  do  this,  in  any  measure,  it 
must  be  only  by  vivifying  latent 
seeds  in  the  soil. 

Another  thing  which  is  indis- 
pensably necessary  to  prevent  the 
abounding  of  weeds,  is,  to  sufferno 
weeds,  neither  in  gardens  nor  in 
tillage  lands,  to  ripen  their  seeds 
in  autumn,  and  scatter  them  out 
upon  the  ground,  'i'he  practice  of 
sluggards  must  be  laid  aside  :  For 
as  a  aman  sozoelh,  so  shall  he  also 
reap.  U  weeds  are  thus  sown  on 
every  part  of  a  field,  it  is  no  won- 
der if  the  ground  be  filled  with 
them  in  the  ensuing  year:  Nothing 
short  of  a  miracle,  unless  it  be  want 
of  strength  in  the  soil  to  nourish 
them,  can  prevent  it.  The  pru- 
dent husbandman,  therefore,  be- 
fore the  seeds  of  the  weeds  are  ri- 
pened, will  go  over  his  grounds,  and 
destroy  all  the  weeds  that  appear. 
If  there  should  happen  to  be  a 
plenty  of  them,  let  them  be  piled 
in  heaps  in  the  borders  of  the 
fields,  and  a  little  earth  thrown  on 
them  ;  in  which  situation  they  will 
ferment  and  putrefy,  and  become 
good  heaps  of  manure,  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year. 

If  any  should  object  to  the  la- 
bour of  doing  this,  let  them  consi- 
der whether  it  will  not  save  them 
ten  times  as  much  labour  in  future, 
in  subduing  the  weeds,  after  the 
ground  is  filled  with  them,  besides 
procuring  them  the  advantage  of 
having  much  better  crops. 

Another  good  preventive  of  the 
increase  of  weeds,  is  burning  the 
stubble  as  it  stands  after  reaping. 


On  land  that  is  designed  to  be  sow- 
ed the  next  year,  this  is  a  good 
piece  of  husbandry  ;  for  it  will  des- 
troy so  many  of  the  seeds  of  weeds, 
as  to  prevent  the  ensuing  crop 
from  being  so  very  weedy  as  it 
otherwise  would  be  ;  at  the  same 
time,  it  will  destroy  many  insects, 
clean  the  ground,  and  render  it  fit- 
ter for  the  operations  of  tillage ;  not 
to  mention  how  much  the  ground 
will  be  fertilized  by  the  ashes  of 
the  stubble. 

But,  to  prevent  the  increase  of 
weeds,  as  well  as  to  answer  other 
good  purposes,  it  is  best  that  two 
broad  cast,  sowed  crops,  when  it 
can  be  otherwise  ordered,  should 
not  succeed  each  other.  Where 
a  hoed  crop  is  well  tilled  every 
other  year,  the  weeds  are  not  wont 
to  increase,  in  such  a  degree  as  to 
be  very  troublesome. 

Another  precaution,  and  which  has 
not  been  sufficiently  attended  to, 
is  taking  care  to  avoid  sowing  the 
seeds  of  weeds  with  grain  and 
other  crops.  A  thorough  cleaning 
of  the  seed  is  of  great  importance. 
This  may  be  accomplished  by  win- 
nowing, sifting,  swimming  and  re- 
peated washings.  But  the  seeds  of 
weeds  are  often  sowed,  after  they 
have  been  separated  from  grain  by 
winnowing.  This  will  be  the  case 
when  the  chaff  and  rubbish  at  the 
tail  of  the  sheet  is  thrown  upon  a 
dunghill,  which  is  to  be  removed 
and  applied  to  the  soil,  before  the 
seeds  contained  therein  have  bad 
opportunity  to  vegetate  and  get  des- 
troyed. 

If  a  farmer  begins  on  a  farm  that 
is  not  much  infested  with  weeds, 
and  will  carefully  observe  the  di- 


492 


W  E  E 


WEE 


rections  given  above,  I  think  he 
will  be  always  favoured  with  clean 
crops,  ami  that  weeds  will  never 
prevail  much  in  his  tillage  land. 

It  is  true,  that  some  seeds  may 
be  wafted  by  the  winds  from  other 
fields  into  his  enclosures.  The 
best  preventive  of  this  is  having 
close  fences.  But  those  seeds  to 
which  a  lij^jht  down  adheres,  are 
oftea  mounted  high  in  the  air  ;  so 
that  there  is  no  possibility  of  fenc- 
ing against  them.  Of  this  kind  are 
the  seeds  of  thistles,  &c.  However, 
they  seldom  tarry  in  the  places 
where  they  first  fall,  but  are  driven 
to  the  borders  of  fields. 

But  when,  by  means  of  a  negli- 
gent or  slovenly  culture,  lands  in 
tillage  are  become  weedy,  the  far- 
mer should  perfectly  know,  and 
spiritedly  practise,  the  most  effec- 
tual metliods  of  subduing  the 
weeds,  which  are  his  most  formi- 
dable enemies.  For  they  diminish 
the  husbandman's  crops,  more  than 
most  people  are  aware  of. 

The  most  effectual  way  of  de- 
stroying them  is,  by  a  good  sum- 
mer fallowings  alternately  ploui^h- 
iijg  and  harrowing  the  ground  in 
dry  weather,  as  often  as  the  weeds 
appear  in  plenty  on  the  surface. 
At  each  of  these  stirrings  a  large 
quantity  of  weeds  isde^tro}ed,  and 
converted  into  manure;  and  the 
seeds  of  another  crop  so  exposed 
to  the  air,  that  »hey  will  spring  up, 
and  at  the  next  stirring  of  the  soil 
be  destroyed.  A;id  if  these  opera- 
tions are  continued  until  no  more 
weeds  arise,  it  may  be  concluded 
that  the  ground  is  in  excellent  or- 
der for  a  crop.  It  is  not  only  clean- 
ed from  weeds,    but   greatly  en- 


riched :  And  it  will  not  be  liable 
to  be  infested  with  weeds,  to  any 
great  degree,  for  several  years 
after. 

Next  to  fallowing,  which  may  be 
thought  rather  expensive,  the  best 
way  to  get  the  better  of  weeds,  is 
to  employ  the  land  in  hoed  crops, 
for  two  or  three  years  in  succes- 
sion, not  omitting  autumnal  hand- 
weeding.  Or  a  crop  of  pease, 
sowed  thick,  or  any  crop  that  forms 
a  close  cover  to  the  surface,  may 
do  much  towards  subduing  the 
weeds.  The  few  weeds  that  ve- 
getate under  such  a  cover  are  so 
cramped  and  k<'pt  under,  as  to  be 
prevented  from  going  to  seed  ;  or 
at  least  from  bringing  their  seeds 
to  maturity. 

Extraordinary  deep  ploughing, 
or  trench  |)loughing,  has  been  re- 
commtMided  as  elFectual.  But  in 
this  practice,  care  should  be  taken 
to  avoid  turning  in  too  many  of  the 
seeds  of  weeds.  The  autumn, 
therefore,  is  not  the  right  time  for 
this,  but  rather  the  spring  or  sum- 
mer. For  if  many  seeds  are  thus 
buried,  the  next  deep  ploughing 
that  there  may  be  occasion  for, 
will  bring  them  again  up  to  the  air, 
and  cause  not  a  few  of  them  to 
vegetate,  though  it  should  happen 
to  be  not  till  many  >ears  after. 

As  deep  ploughing  destroys 
weeds,  or  rather  puts  them  out  of 
the  way,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  no- 
thing can  more  encourage  their 
growth  than  the  shallow  ploughing, 
which  is  commonly  given  for  sow- 
ed crops  in  this  country. 

But  if  all  other  methods  were  to 
prove  ineffectual  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  annual  weeds,  laying  tillage 


WEE 


WEE 


493 


land  down  to  grass,  and  sowing  it 
with  cleaned  grass  seeds,  will  not 
fail  to  subdue  these  weeds ;  the 
most  of  wliich  dept-tid  upon  til- 
lage to  promote  their  growth;  and 
the  rest  will  be  o\ert.ipped  and 
stifled  by  a  good  crop  of  grass. 
And  a  strong  sward  will  soon  be 
formed,  through  which  the  tender 
kinds  of  annual  weeds  will  not 
penetrate,  of  which  sort  the  most 
are,  that  are  found  in  land  that  i^ 
tilled.  Even  the  quitch  grass,  one 
of  the  most  vexatious  of  all  weeds, 
is  thus  either  destroyed  or  render- 
ed harmless  :  For  when  it  flour- 
ishes in  grass  ground,  it  makes  an 
excellent  hay. 

2.  The  weeds  that  appear  in 
grass  lands  in  this  country,  ma}  be 
divided  into  upland  wteds  and 
aquatics,  some  few  of  which  are 
annuals,  but  a  greater  number,  es- 
pecially of  those  that  are  most  no- 
ticed, are  perennials. 

Of  the  upland  weeds  those  whi^b 
have  proved  to  be  the  most  trou 
blesome  are  the  upright  crow  foot. 
Ranunculus,  commonly  kiiowti  b> 
the  name  yellow  weed;  ragweed, 
ragwort,  or  Roman  wormwood, 
Senecio  ;  the  greater  dais} .  ox  eye, 
or  piss  abed,  Chrysanthemum  ;  yar 
row,  dandelion,  dock,  thistles,  sor- 
rel and  John's  wort. 

Some  of  these,  particularly  the 
two  last,  and  the  daisy  and  rag- 
weed, are  conquered  by  a  plentiful 
manuring  of  ihe  g.'-ound  ;  for  w  here 
the  sand  is  rich  they  are  not  found 
to  flourish.  Pasturing  the  land 
with  sheep  is  said  to  be  fatal  to  the 
daisy,  and  the  crow  foot. 

But  the  most  etfectual  way  to 
destroy  these  weeds,  is  to  break  up 


the  land,   and    employ    it    in  til- 
lage. 

\Vhen  it  is  not  found  convenient 
to  take  this  method,  tlie  weeds  may 
either  be  dug  out  or  else  pulled  up 
by  hand,  which,  when  the  ground 
IS  moistened  by  rain,  may  be  easily 
done.  It  is  to  be.  remembered, 
(hat  this  should  be  done  at  or  be- 
fore midsummer,  that  none  of  their 
ripened  seeds,  or  an)  that  ma)  pos- 
s'lhly  vegetate,  may  be  scattered  on 
the  ground. 

The  aquatic  weeds,  such  as  flfigs, 
rushes,  and  the  like,  are  not  easily 
subdued  by  any  of  the  above,  nie- 
thous,  some  ot  which  have  often 
been  tried  in  vain.  DrHinmg  the 
land,  which  deprives  them  of  that 
degree  of  wetness  which  is  suita- 
ble to  their  nature,  is  an  iiifiilihle 
method,  and,  perhaps,  the  or.ly 
effectual  one,  of  destroving  thtni. 
But  limiiiji  (he  ground  at  the  same 
time,  renders  the  operation  more 
sadden  and  eifectual.  Or  ;f  lime 
cannot  be  had,  ashes  and  ^ool  are 
good  substitutes. 

But  the  mo*t  speedy -method  of 
getting  rid  of  thes.e  weeds  is,  dig- 
ging out  the  roots,  or  using  the 
land  in  tillage, 

VV' EEVIL,  an  insect  of  the  bee- 
(le  kind,  reseinbhng  the  INJa^biij;, 
with  a  long  sharp  point<  d  tiead,  to 
the  hinder  part  of  which  are  tixed 
two  antennas.  It  is  black,  and 
therefore  easily  distinguisticd  in 
any  corn  ;  but  its  principal  and  fa- 
vourite food  is  wheat,  of  win.  h, 
either  old  or  new,  it  devoui?  great 
quantities,  wiiho'it  however  com- 
municating any  bad  smell  to  it. 

Upon  thrusting  one's  hand  into 
a  heap  of   corn,  one  may   easily 


494 


WE  1 


WHE 


perceive  by  its  heat,  whether  it 
contains  many  of  these  insects, 
which  generally  lie  pretty  much 
collected  ;  and  the  particular  places 
where  they  are  most  numerous, 
feel  mucli  warmer  than  the  rest. 

This  observation  led  M.  Duha- 
mel  to  think,  that  a  considerable 
heat  is  probably  necessary  for  the 
hatching  of  their  eggs ;  and  that  in 
this  case,  even  if  they  should  live, 
Ihey  will  not  be  able  to  breed  in 
his  ventilating  granaries. 

To  prove  this  he  made  repeated 
experiments,  the  results  of  which 
made  it  evident  that  this  insect 
cannot  multiply  in  corn  that  retains 
a  proper  degree  of  coolness,  which 
it  may  be  made  to  do  by  frequent 
ventilating.  When  corn  is  sifted 
in  a  sieve  tine  enough  to  retain  the 
grain,  the  weevils  then  agitated 
shrink  up  their  legs,  and  are  in 
that  posture  so  much  smaller  than 
the  grain,  that  most  of  them  drop 
through  the  sieve. 

But  of  all  the  methods  M.  Du- 
hamel  tried,  that  which  he  prefer- 
red was,  to  dry  the  corn  on  a  stove, 
or  oven,  heated  to  eighty  or  ninety 
degrees  of  M.  de  Reaumur's  ther- 
mometer.    See  Insect. 

WEIGHT  OF  CATTLE,  hi 
the  Picture  of  London,  for  the  pre- 
sent year,  it  is  stated,  that  about 
the  year  1700,  the  average  weight 
of  oxen  killed  for  the  London  mar- 
ket, was  370  pounds  ;  of  calves,  50 
pounds;  of  sheep,  28  pounds;  and 
of  iambs,  1 8  pounds.  The  average 
weight  at  present  is — of  oxen,  800 
pounds;  calves,  140  pounds;  sheep, 
80  pounds;  and  lambs,  50  pounds. 
The  whole  value  of  butcher's 
moat,  as  sold  in  Smithfield,  is  about 
eight  millions  sterling. 


WHEAT,  Triticum,  the  most 
useful  of  all  farinaceous  plants,  the 
seeds  of  which  are  the  best  grain 
for  bread. 

The  different  species  of  wheat, 
according  to  Mr.  Miller,  are,  the 
winter  wheat,  without  awns,  or 
beards ;  the  summer,  or  spring 
wheat ;  grey  pollard,  or  duck  bill 
wheat,  with  long  beards ;  the  coue 
wheat,  so  named  for  the  shape  of 
the  ears,  which  resemble  a  cone  ; 
and  the  polonian  wheat.  Other 
kinds  he  supposes  to  be  only  varie- 
ties occasioned  by  culture  and  soil. 

The  Smyrna  wheat  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  all  other,  producing 
one  large  central  ear,  and  several 
smaller  lateral  ones  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  large  one.  This  suits 
a  rich  and  strong  soil,  as  there  is 
no  danger  of  its  being  over  fed.  It 
seems  to  be  belter  adapted  than 
any  other  species  of  wheat  to  the 
horse-hoeing  husbandry. 

The  only  species  or  varieties 
that  are  cultivated  in  this  country 
are,  the  winter  and  spring  wheat, 
the  bald  and  bearded,  the  red  and 
white,  and  the  Siberian  wheat, 
which  is  bald,  or  without  awns. 

About  a  bushel  and  a  half  of 
seed  is  a  sufficient  quantity  for  an 
acre.  Oftentimes  it  produces  very 
large  crops  from  a  less  quantity. 
The  larger  and  fuller  the  seed  is, 
the  greater  quantity  by  measure 
will  be  required  ;  the  smaller,  the 
less  quantity  :  For  the  number  of 
grains  is  to  be  regarded  more  than 
the  measure,  or  weight. 

Changing  the  seed  yearly,  or  at 
least  every  other  year,  is  proper, 
or  even  necessary  :  For  it  has  al- 
ways been  experienced,  that  the 


WHE 


WHE 


495 


iame  seed,  sown  several  years  in 
succession,  degenerates ;  so  that 
the  crops  continually  grow  worse. 
But  seed  should  not  only  be  shifted 
from  one  place  to  another,  but  also 
sown  on  a  soil  that  is  different  from 
that  on  which  it  grew.  It  should 
be  taken  from  a  stiff  soil  for  a  light 
one,  and  from  a  light  for  a  stiff 
one. 

As  seed  wheat  cannot  always  be 
procured  from  distant  countries  in 
season,  farmers  at  a  (ew  miles  dis- 
tance should  at  least  change  with 
each  other.  But  in  the  northerly 
parts  of  this  country,  bringing  seed 
from  the  southward  will  not  do 
well,  as  it  ripens  the  later, 

A  soil  of  good  loam,  well  warm- 
ed, and  stirred,  is  proper  for  wheat. 
But  other  soils,  well  prepared, 
sometimes  answer  well  enough. 
Wheat  succeeds  upon  the  strongest 
lands  well  tilled,  when  they  have 
been  drained,  and  laid  dry. 

The  way  of  preparing  the  soil 
for  a  crop  of  wheat  (I  mean  that 
which  has  been  most  practised  in 
the  old  countries  and  has  succeed- 
ed well  in  this)  is,  by  a  good  sum- 
mer fallowing.  Three  or  four 
ploughings,  and  as  many  harrow- 
ings,  at  proper  intervals,  will  bring 
almost  any  soil,  that  is  not  very 
stubborn,  into  a  good  tilth.  And 
if  it  be  thought  needful  to  apply 
any  manure  to  the  soil  before  sow- 
ing, let  it  be  old  dung  or  compost ; 
and  let  it  not  be  laid  on  till  just 
before  the  last  ploughing,  or  seed 
furrow,  as  it  is  called  ;  so  that  the 
corn  may  have  the  greatest  possi- 
ble benefit  of  the  steam  produced 
by  the  manure  in  the  soil. 

Where  summer  wheat  is  intend- 


ed to  be  sown,  the  ground  being 
previously  clear  of  weeds,  by  means 
of  a  hoed  crop  preceding,  one  good 
ploughing  in  autumn,  and  two  in 
the  spring,  may  be  sufficient. 

But  another  good  method  of 
preparing  the  land  for  a  wheat 
crop,  is  sowing  it  with  clover. 
After  it  has  borne  two  crops  of  clo- 
ver, it  will  be  in  excellent  order 
for  wheat.  Give  only  one  plough- 
ing, sow  the  seed  and  harrow  it  in. 

But  whether  you  sow  winter  or 
spring  wheat,  let  the  seed  be  al- 
ways well  washed  before  sowing. 
1  need  not  here  repeat  what  hag 
been  said  on  the  affair  of  steeping 
the  seed.     See  the  article  Smut. 

The  time  of  sowing  winter  wheat 
admits  of  some  latitude.  Some 
time  about  the  latter  part  of  Au- 
gust, or  beginning  of  September, 
is  to  be  chosen.  It  may  be  a  lit- 
tle later  or  earlier,  provided  the 
ground  have  the  right  degree  of 
moisture  for  tillage,  and  for  pro- 
moting vegetation.  The  latter 
should  be  carefully  attended  to, 
and  the  seeds  should  never  be 
sowed  in  ground  when  it  is  very 
dry.  Rather  than  do  this,  rain 
should  be  waited  for  as  much  as 
two  or  three  weeks. 

Wheat  that  is  sowed  in  autumn, 
a  clover  lay  excepted,  should,  in- 
stead of  harrowing,  be  covered  with 
a  shallow  furrow,  and  the  surface 
left  rough.  It  will  be  less  in  dan- 
ger of  being  killed  by  the  frost  in 
winter,  and  less  injured  by  drying 
winds  in  the  following  spring.  The 
furrows  should  be  left  without  har- 
rowing ;  for,  the  more  uneven  the 
ground  is,  the  more  the  soil  will  be 
pulverized  and    mellowed  by  the 


496 


WHE 


WHE 


frosf.  But  it  will  often  be  of  ad- 
vantage to  pass  a  roller  over  the 
ground  in  the  following  spring,  to 
close  the  earth  about  the  roots,  and 
prevent  the  earth  from  being  dried 
by  the  spring  winds,  to  too  great  a 
dej)th. 

Wheat  sown  in  the  spring  should 
be  only  covered  with  the  harrow, 
as  it  has  no  time  to  lose,  and  ought 
to  be  up  early.  For  the  same  rea- 
son it  should  be  sowed  as  early  as 
the  ground  can  be  got  into  the  right 
order  to  receive  it. 

If  weeds  arise  in  plenty  among 
the  wheat,  they  should  be  destroy- 
ed  in    the  spring ;    otherwise   the 
crop  will  he  much   robbed  of  its 
nourishment.     This  matter  has  not 
yet  been  sutHciently  attended  to  in 
this  country;  though  in  other  coun- 
tries, particularly  in  Scotland,  the 
people  make  as  much   account  of 
weeding  their    fields  of  grain,   as 
their  gardens.     This  should  by  all 
means    be    performed    before   the 
time  when  the  plants  begin  to  send 
out  their  ears  ;  because,  after  this, 
they  will   be  the  more  in  danger  of 
being    hurt    by    people's    passing 
among  them.    Especialy  the  wheat 
ought  not  to  be  touched  while  it  is 
in  blossom.     As  it  is  m  the  critical 
sea-^on  of  foecundation,  it  may  be 
very  detrimental  to  the  crop.   And 
if  the  weeds  be  not  taken  out  be- 
fore the  grain  is  become  large  and 
tall,  many  of  them  will  be  covered 
and   hidden   under  the   plants  ;  so 
that  only  the  largest  weeds  will  be 
pulled  out,  while  the  rest  are  suf- 
fered  to  stand    and    perfect  their 
seeds.     For    these    reasons,    Mr. 
Milhr   recommends    to   farmers  a 
practice  among  kitchen  gardeners, 


I  which  he  says  has  been  found  to  be 
of  great  benefit  to  crops,  and  has 
al?o  been  a  great  saving  to  them  in 
I  the  operation  of  destroying  weeds, 
I  which  is,  making  use  of  a  small  kind 
I  of  hoes  for  cleaning  the  wheat  early 
I  in  the  spring,  before  the  ground  is 
i  covered  with  the  blades  of  the 
corn.  By  this  instrument,  all  the 
weeds,  small  and  great,  will  be  cut 
up  ;  and  if  it  be  done  in  dry  wea- 
ther, will  die.  He  recommends  a 
second  hoeing  about  three  weeks 
after  the  first,  which  will  subdue 
those  weeds  which  happen  to  re- 
main alive.  And  at  the  time  of 
hoeing,  he  recommends  thinning 
the  plants,  where  they  happen  to 
stand  too  thick,  which  he  thinks 
will  do  much  to  prevent  the  lodg- 
ing of  the  corn,  and  render  it  less 
lialde  to  be  smutty.  Whether 
these  hoeings  will  greatly  increase 
the  crop  I  think  there  can  be  no 
reason  to  doubt,  unless  they  should 
cause  it  to  ripen  so  much  later  as 
to  expose  it  to  blight.  But  1  should 
not  expect  it  from  such  a  superfi- 
cial hoeing. 

'  Some  farmers  are  apt  to  think 
there  is  no  inconvenience  in  suf- 
fering sheep  to  feed  on  the  yoimg 
plants  of  winter  wheat,  in  autumn 
or  winter,  or  even  early  in  the 
spring.  But  who  can  rationally 
suppose,  that  the  blades  with  which 
nature  has  furnished  these  plants, 
arc  not  of  use,  to  draw  in  nourish- 
ment from  the  air  and  dews,  for  the 
increase  of  the  stalk  and  the  ear? 
In  order  to  be  satisfied  of  this,  the 
above  mentioned  writer  cut  off 
st'ime  plants  of  wheat  alternately, 
early  in  the  spring,  and  always 
found   the    stalks  of  these  plants 


WHE 


WHE 


497 


much  smaller  and  shorter,  and  the 
grain  poorer,  than  those  of  the  in- 
termediate plants  whose  blades 
were  not  cut. 

There  certainly  is  but  one  case 
in  which  it  can  be  right  that  winter 
grain,  whetfier  wheat  or  rye,  should 
be  fed  in  autumn ;  and  that  is, 
when,  by  being  sowed  very  early, 
it  is  in  danger  of  earing  before  win- 
ter; for  this  should  by  all  means 
be  prevented.  But  in  no  case 
should  a  beast  be  suffered  to  feed 
on  it  in  the  spring. 

"  Wheat  is  ripe  for  cutting  when 
the  straw  is  turned  yellow,  its  ears 
hang,  no  greenness  appears  in  the 
middle  of  them,  and  the  grain  is 
hard  when  bitten." 

The  farmers  in  England  cut  their 
wheat  greener  than  they  did  for- 
merly, because  they  find  it  makes 
a  rather  whiter  flour,  which  sells  at 
a  higher  price.  One  of  their  skil- 
ful farmers,  who  cuts  bis  wheat 
early,  says,  tfaat  he  found  upon  trial, 
his  wheat  early  reaped  was  heavier 
by  the  bushel,  than  the  same  wheat 
when  it  stood  till  it  was  thoroughly 
ripe.  This  might  be  owing  to  its 
greater  smoothness,  by  means  of 
which  it  lay  closer  in  the  bushel ; 
for  it  is  hardly  credible  that  the 
whole  crop  will  be  heavier  for  cut- 
ting it  green.  But  as  loss  by  shat- 
tering out  the  corn  is  thus  prevent- 
ed, it  may  be  a  balance  to  it  shrink- 
ing the  more,  as  I  think  it  certainly 
does.  The  prudent  farmer  must 
use  his  own  judgment  in  this  mat- 
ter. 

Wheat  and  other  grain  that  is 

lodged,  may,  and  ought  to  be,  cut 

the  earlier  :   For  after  the  straw  is 

broken  or  corrupted,  it  conveys  no 

63 


nourishment  to  the  grain,  or  as  bad 
as  none. 

The  ancients  reaped  their  corn, 
as  Pliny  says,  before  it  was  fully 
ripe.  And  it  is  certain  that  great 
inconveniences  arise  from  letting 
some  sorts  of  grain  stand  till  they 
come  to  their  utmost  maturity. 
The  chaff  and  straw  are  the  worse 
fodder.  And  if  such  corn  chance 
to  take  wet  in  harvesting,  it  suffers 
the  more  for  being  very  ripe.  But 
corn  cut  in  a  greener  state  will 
bear  a  good  deal  of  wet  without 
damage. 

When  corn  is  blighted,  it  should 
be  cut  the  sooner,  or  even  before 
it  is  half  ripe.  For  though  it 
ceases  to  receive  nourishment 
through  the  straw,  it  is  said  it  will 
improve  by  lying  in  the  ear,  and 
that  it  threshes  out  the  more  easily. 

One  acre  of  grain  is  a  large  day's 
work  for  the  reaper.  The  usual 
price  of  reaping  an  acre  in  this 
country,  has  been  a  bushel  of  the 
grain. 

From  three  to  four  quarters,  that 
is,  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-two 
bushels  of  wheat  on  an  acre,  is 
reckoned  in  England  to  be  a  good 
crop. 

To  prevent  loss  by  shedding,  the 
corn  which  is  laid  in  grips,  is  to  be 
bound  up  in  sheaves,  either  in  the 
cool  of  the  evening,  or  before  the 
dew  is  (juite  gone  off  in  the  morn- 
ing. And  it  should  never  be  re- 
moved either  into  the  shock,  the 
barn,  or  the  stack,  in  the  middle  of 
a  sunny  day,  but  rather  at  a  time 
when  the  slight  dew  is  just  sufficient 
to  prevent  its  shedding.  See  the 
article  Harvest. 

As  to  sowing  wheat  in  drills,  see 
New  Husbandry. 


498 


WHE 


WHE 


But  setting  of  wheat  is  reckoned 
bj  gome  of  the  English  as  a  great 
improvement  in  fiusbandry.  A 
Norfolk  farmer  one  year  set  fifty- 
seven  acres.  The  superiority  of 
his  crop,  both  in  quantity  and  qua- 
lity, was  so  great  that  it  induced 
him  the  following  year  to  set  three 
hundred  acres,  and  be  has  continu- 
ed in  the  practice  of  setting  ever 
since.  This  noble  experiment  was 
the  means  of  introducing  the  prac- 
tice in  the  vicinity,  and  to  a  con- 
siderable extent.  Though  the  set 
crops  appear  very  thin  during  au- 
tumn and  winter,  (he  plants  tiller  BiUd 
spread  prodigiously  in  the  spring. 
The  ears  and  the  urain  are  larger, 
and  specifically  heavier  per  bushel 
than  other  wheat. 

The  lands  on  which  this  method 
is  most  properous  are,  either  after 
clover  stubble,  or  on  which  trefoil 
and  grass  seed  were  sow  n  the  spring 
before  last.  These  grounds,  after 
the  usual  manuring,  are  once  turn- 
ed over  by  the  plough  in  an  ex- 
tended flag  or  turf,  ten  inches 
wide;  along  which  a  man,  who  is 
called  a  dibbler,  with  two  setting 
irons,  somewhat  bigger  than  ram- 
rods, but  considerably  bigger  at 
the  lower  end,  and  pointed  at  the 
extremity,  steps  backward  along 
the  turf,  and  makes  the  holes,  about 
four  inches  asunder  each  way,  ar.d 
an  inch  deep.  Into  these  holes 
the  droppers  drop  two  grains,  which 
is  quite  suflicient.  'J'hus  three 
pecks  of  grain  is  enough  for  mi 
acre.  The  regularity  of  its  rising 
gives  opportunity  for  weeding  or 
hand-hoeing. 

This  method  is  advantageous 
when  seed  corn  is  dear.  Sir  Thomas 


Bevor  found  the  produce  to  be  two 
bushels  per  acre  more  than  from 
sown  wheat,  having  much  less  small 
corn  mixed  with  it ;  and  it  fetches 
a  higher  price  three  pence  per 
bushf^l.  The  expense  of  dibbhng 
an  acre  is  10s. 

Another  new  method  of  cultiva- 
tion is,  propagating  wheat  by  di- 
viding and  transplanting  its  roots. 
"  On  the  second  of  J  une  1 766,  Mr#. 
C.  Miller  sowed  some  grains  of  the 
common  red  wheat;  and  on  the 
eighth  of  August  a  single  plant  was 
taken  up  and  separated  into  eigh- 
tef^n  parts,  and  each  part  planted 
separately.  These  plants  having 
pushed  out  several  side  shoots,  by 
about  the  middle  of  September, 
some  of  them  were  taken  up  and 
divided,  and  the  rest  of  them  be- 
tween that  time  and  the  middle  of 
October.  This  second  division 
produced  sixty-seven  plants.  These 
plants  remained  through  the  win- 
ter, and  another  division  of  them, 
made  between  the  middle  of  March 
and  the  middle  of  April,  produced 
five  hundred  plants.  They  were 
divided  no  further,  but  permitted 
to  remain.  The  plants  were  in 
general  stronger  than  any  wheat  in 
the  fields.  Some  of  them  pro- 
duced upwards  of  one  hundred  ears 
from  a  single  root.  Many  of  the 
ears  measured  seven  inches  in 
length,  and  contained  between  sixty 
and  seventy  grains. 

The  whole  number  of  ears, 
which,  by  this  process,  were  pro- 
duced from  one  grain  of  wheat, 
was  21,109;  which  yielded  three 
pecks  and  three  quarters  of  clear 
corn,  the  weight  of  which  was  47 
lb.  7  oz.  :  And  from  a  calculation 


WHE 


W  H  E 


499 


made  by  counting  the  nurtiber  of 
grains  in  an  ounce,  the  whole  num- 
ber of  grains  was  about  576,840." 
Encyclopedia. 

Though  this  method  is  curious, 
it  is  attended  with  so  much  work, 
that  few  or  none  will  be  disposed 
to  follow  Mr.  Miller's  example. 

For  about  thirty  years  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  year  1813,  few 
attempts  were  made  to  raise  wheat 
in  parts  adjacent  to  the  sea  coast 
in  Massachusetts ;  and  a  belief 
generally  prevailed,  that  it  could 
not  be  made  to  thrive  there,  owing 
to  peculiarity  of  climate  or  some 
other  inexplicable  cause.  Since 
that  time,  however,  it  has  been 
considerably  cultivated.  We  shall 
add  to  this  article  some  abridged 
statements  of  some  experiments, 
which  led  to  the  more  general  in- 
troduclion  of  that  kind  of  culture. 

Mr.  Dudley  Hardy  sowed,  on 
three  quarters  and  an  half  quarter 
of  an  acre  of  land,  in  Brighton,  near 
Boston,  twenty-eight  quarts  of 
spring  wheat  originally  from  Lon- 
donderry. The  land  the  preced- 
ing year  had  been  planted  with  In- 
dian corn.  It  was  ploughed  in  the 
fall ;  and  in  the  month  of  March, 
before  the  frost  was  all  out  of  the 
ground,  was  ploughed  over  again 
two  or  three  times,  and  then  har- 
rowed with  an  iron  tooth  harrow. 
The  grain  was  prepared  by  steep- 
ing it  in  ley  made  of  ashes  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  on  the  7th  of  April 
sowed,  and  harrowed  in  with  the 
same  harrow.  "  After  this,"  says 
Mr.  Hardy,  "  i  bruised  the  ground 
smooth  with  a  brush  harrow." 
The  twenty-eight  quarts  produced 
eighteen   bushels,    weighing  sixty 


pounds  a  bushel.  One  bushel, 
ground  and  boulted,  gave  fort^-six 
pounds  and  an  half  of  tlour.  Mr. 
Hardy  thniks.  that  spring  wheat 
should  be  sowed  in  the  month  of 
March,  if  the  frost  will  permit. — - 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  III.  p.  31. 

Mr.  J.  Lowell  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  a  trial  of  the  same 
kind  of  wheat. 

"  f  had  but  one  small  piece  of 
ground  in  a  proper  state  to  receive 
wheat.  It  measured  one  third  of 
an  acre.  The  soil  was  very  thin 
over  a  bed  of  gravel,  extremely 
subject  to  drought,  and  incapable, 
as  I  thought,  of  bearing  a  large 
crop  of  any  sort.  Potatoes  had 
been  cultivated  on  it  for  two  years 
preceding.  It  had  been  twice 
ploughed  the  fall  before,  after  the 
potatoes  were  dug.  In  the  spring, 
four  horse  cart  loads  of  horse  dung 
were  spread  upon  it  and  ploughed 
in.  On  the  seventh  day  of  April, 
I  sowed  upon  it  three  quarters  of  a 
bushel  of  Mr.  Hardy's  wheat.  This 
wheat  was  of  small  size,  and  rather 
shrivelled.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
same  known  and  cultivated  as  Lon- 
donderry wheat. 

"  The  crop  looked  extremely 
well;  none  of  it  was  blighted;  and 
on  the  second  of  August  it  was 
reaped.  It  weighed  from  fift^-six 
to  tifty-eight  pounds  the  bushel." — 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  III.  p.  216. 

The  same  publication,  pages 
217,218,  contains  the  experiments 
of  Hon.  J.  Quincy,  and  Hon.  P.  C. 
Brooks,  which,  though  somewhat 
less  successful  than  the  preceding, 
(Mr.  Quincy  having  raised  fifteen, 


500 


WHE 


WHE 


and  Mr.  Brooks  fourteen  bushels 
to  the  acre)  yet  as  the  grain  was 
of  good  quality,  and  free  from  blast 
or  smut,  establish  the  fact  that  the 
climate  of  Massachusetts  is  not  un- 
favourable to  the  cultivation  of 
wheat. 

Bezaleel  Taft,  Jun.  Esq.  of  Ox- 
bridge, likewise  states  in  substance, 
that  his  father,  about  fifteen  years 
since,  procured  a  bushel  of  spring 
wheat  from  Barry,  on  the  Onion 
river,  in  the  state  of  Vermont.  The 
produce  of  this  was  fifteen  bushels. 
He  continued  to  procure  his  seed 
from  that  quarter  for  several  years, 
but  at  length  sowed  the  seed  of  his 
own  growth  prepared  by  washing 
it  clean,  stirring  it  well  in  two  or 
three  changes  of  water.  After 
washing  it  was  soaked  about  ttvelve 
hours  in  a  weak  ley  ;  and  after 
turning  off  the  ley,  about  two  quarts 
of  slacked  lime  was  stirred  into  a 
bushel  of  wheat. 

The  ground  selected  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  wheat  was  such  as  would 
be  most  sure  to  produce  a  good 
crop  of  Indian  corn,  and  the  wheat 
was  sowed  as  early  in  the  spring  as 
the  soil  could  be  stirred  and  remain 
light. 

Five  pecks  of  seed  were  sowed 
to  an  acre,  and  the  crops  have  been 
from  twelve  to  twenty-two  bushels ; 
and  about  sixteen  upon  an  average 
to  an  acre. 

This  communication  was  dated 
the  19th  November,  1814,  and  the 
writer  says,  "  For  the  last  three 
years,  I  believe  this  town  has  pro- 
duced annually  about  a  thousand 
bushels,  and  the  last  season  we  had 
at  least  four  times  as  many  bushels 
of  wheat  as  of  rye  from  the  same 


numbers  of  acres,  in  the  Same 
state." 

The  writer  considers  wheat  as 
more  favourable  to  a  future  crop 
of  grass  than  rye  or  oats,  as  it 
shades  the  grass  less  ;  and  when 
the  crop  is  removed,  it  is  not  so 
apt  to  be  scorched,  having  been 
more  accustomed  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun.  In  that  quarter  of  the  coun- 
try, wheat  is  invariably  washed  be- 
fore it  is  sent  to  the  mill,  not  to 
free  it  from  smut  or  mildew,  but 
from  du.*t  which  adheres  to  it  in 
consequence  of  the  sandy  nature 
of  the  soil.  He  says,  that  "  an  ac- 
tive man  will  wash  ten  bushels  in 
two  or  three  hours.  Care  ought 
to  be  taken  not  to  have  it  remain 
longer  than  necessary  in  the  water. 
We  usually  dry  it  on  blankets  or 
sheets  in  the  sun.  Care  should 
likewise  be  taken  not  to  have  it 
get  too  dry,  as  the  flour  in  that 
case  is  not  so  nice.  One  day's  sun 
is  sufficient  to  dry  it  in  the  summer, 
and  two  in  the  fall.  If  suffered  to 
become  too  dry,  the  hull  or  bran 
is  brittle,  and  cuts  to  pieces  in 
grinding,  so  as  to  mix  with  the 
flour.  When  only  dried  sufficient 
to  prevent  its  clogging  in  the  mill, 
the  flour  separates  much  better 
from  the  bran,  and  is  far  preferable 
for  use." — Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Repository^  Vol.  III.  pp.  218. 
219,220. 

Mr.  John  Jenks  gives  a  state- 
ment of  his  experiment  relating  to 
the  same  subject.  His  ground  was 
two  acres,  and  seed  four  bushels. 
A  part  of  this  seed  was  soaked  in 
weak  ley,  and  part  in  sea  water, 
and  the  parcels  kept  separate. 
Both  were  soaked  eight  hours,  the 


WHE 


WHE 


SOI 


water  drained  off,  the  wheat  spread 
on  a  tight  floor,  lime  sprinkled  on 
it  and  raked  over,  until  it  was  all 
covered  with  the  lime  and  dry,  and 
appeared  all  over  as  white  as 
rice.  'Ihere  was  no  discernible 
difference  in  the  growth  ol 
the  grain  soaked  in  sea  water, 
and  that  soaked  in  ley.  One 
peck  of  his  seed  was  soaked  in 
weak  ley  only  an  hour,  and  then 
limed  and  sowed  by  itself  upon  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  adjoining  the 
land  already  sown,  part  of  the  two 
acres.  This  was  much  blighted, 
and  produced  little  in  comparison 
with  the  other  part  of  the  two  acres. 
The  produce  of  an  acre  and  three 
quarters,  which  was  sowed  with  the 
wheat  longest  soaked  was  forty-foui' 
bushels,  weighing  sixtj-two  pound? 
the  bushel  when  first  sowed.  The 
land  on  which  this  grew  was  a  good 
dark  rich  mould,  and  herds'-gras? 
and  clover  was  sowed  with  the 
wheat.  The  grass  was  well  grown, 
and  covered  the  ground  when  the 
wheat  was  reaped,  and  the  writer 
supposes  that  if  no  grass  had  been 
sown,  the  crop  of  wheat  might  have 
been  better. — Jigricullural  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  111.  p.  221. 

In  the  spring  of  1814,  Gorham 
Parsons,  Esq.  sowed  four  acres  and 
thirty-two  rods  with  four  bushels  ; 
ploughed  in  eight  loads  of  manure 
to  the  acre,  and  laid  it  down  with 
herds'-grass,  red-top,  and  red  clo- 
ver. It  produced  eighty-four  bush- 
els and  an  half  of  wheat,  besides  a 
good  crop  of  grass,  which  was 
mowed  in  September.  Mr.  Par- 
sons thinks,  that  his  crop  would 
have  been  better  had  double  the 
quantity  of  wheat  been  sown,  or 


two  bushels  to  the  acre. — Jigricul- 
lural Repository^  Vol.  111.  p.  271. 

In  1816  J,  Lowell,  Esq.  observes, 
that  "  I  selected  a  piece  of  land, 
measuring  nearly  three  quarters  of 
an  acre;  its  quality  is  but  indifferent, 
a  light  thin  soil  on  a  gravell}  base. 
It  had  been  leased  to  different  te- 
iianls  for  six  years,  and  was  very 
much  exhausted,  having  been  con- 
stantly in  tillage,  and  never  sur- 
charged with  manure. 

"  1  sowed  only  one  bushel  of 
wheat,  at  least  one  half  less  than  I 
should  have  sown;  it  was  steeped 
in  brine  for  three  days,  limed,  and 
sown  with  one  bushel  of  plaster  of 
Paris.  The  crop  was  sixteen  bush- 
els of  very  fair,  full  and  heavy 
wheat ;  that  is,  about  twenty  two 
bushels  to  the  acre." — Jigricullural 
Repository,  Vol.  IV.  272. 

Mr.  Justin  Ely  writes  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Society  as  follows  : — 

"  The  largest  crop  of  winter 
wheat  was  raised  in  Sprir.gfield  last 
summer  (1816)  that  is  known  ever 
(o  have  beert  raised  in  this  vicinity, 
and  perhaps  larger  than  was  ever 
before  raised  in  New-England. 

"  Four  acres  of  land,  one  of  the 
house-lots  in  Springfield-Street,  be- 
longing to  the  distillery  company, 
three  years  ago  last  spring  were 
English  mowing.  It  was  manured 
and  plouglied  up  and  planted  with 
Indian  corn,  and  dung  put  in  the 
hills.  The  crop  was  abundant. 
The  next  spring  it  was  covered 
with  very  rich  manure  from  the 
distillery,  and  hemp  seed  sowed 
thereon.  The  crop  was  large  and 
heavy.  The  land  was  then  plough- 
ed twice  and  sowed  with  the  bald 


S02 


WHE 


WHE 


wheat,  one  bushel  and  three  quarts 
to  the  acre.  The  produce  was 
two  hundred  bushels  of  good,  clean, 
heavy  wheat,  from  the  four  acres. 

"  About  half  an  acre  of  the  hemp 
was  not  pulled  with  the  other  hemp, 
but  was  suffered  to  stand  till  the 
hemp  seed  was  ripe,  whereby  the 
sowing  of  the  wheat,  on  that  part, 
was  delayed  too  late  in  the  season, 
which  diminished  the  crop  of  the 
wheat  on  that  part,  six  or  eight 
bushels,  as  supposed. 

"  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  peo- 
ple, that  the  unprecedented  cold 
and  draught  of  the  last  summer 
checked  and  retarded  vegetation  so 
far  as  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
the  crop  by  blasts  and  other  causes, 
and  that  if  the  last  summer  had 
been  as  warm  and  wet  as  usual, 
the  whole  crop  would  have  been 
blasted  and  lodged,  so  as  to  have 
been  wholly  ruined." 

For  further  experiments  relating 
to  the  culture  of  wheat,  see  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Repository^ 
Vol.  IV.  p.  195.  267.  278.  345. 
Vol.  V.  p.  65.  192.  265.  Vol.  VI. 
p.  239. 

Mr.  Payson  Williams,  of  Fitch- 
burgh,  Massachusetts,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  his  method  of 
raising  a  crop  of  spring  wheat,  be- 
ing twenty-eight  bushels  and  thirty 
quarts  on  one  acre  and  an  eighth 
part  of  an  acre,  for  which  he  re- 
ceived the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Society's  premium  of  forty 
dollars,  October  1819. 

The  land  on  which  the  wheat 
was  sown,  was  in  1818  planted  with 
potatoes,  (for  one  acre  of  which  I 
obtained  your  premium)  which,  af- 
ter harvesting,  was  ploughed  a  short 


time  before  the  setting  in  of  winter* 
In  the  spring  of  1819,  as  soon  as 
practicable,  (after  spreading  on  six 
load  of  fermented  manure)  it  was 
again  cross  ploughed — 26th  April 
sowed  on  the  furrows  two  bushels 
of  what  is  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Gilman  wheat,  (which   1  pro- 
cured of  the  Hon.  P.  C.  Brooks  of 
Boston)   on  one  acre  and  twenty 
square  rods,  and  cross-harrowed  the 
same,  following  the  harrow  at  the 
same  time   with  the  clover  seed, 
which  in  turn  was  cross-harrowed 
in.     The  wheat  before  sowmgwas 
washed    in   water    until    perfectly 
clean,  then   immersed  in  a  liquor, 
or  ley,  made  in  the  proportion  of 
four  pints  of  water  to  evei^y  pound 
of  wood  ashes,  then  add  one  pound 
of  unslacked  lime  to  every  bushel 
of  seed,  as  recommended  by  M.  Du 
Hamel.     When   the   wheat   plant 
was  out  of  ground  two  inches,  I 
sowed  on  a  part  of  the  field  plas- 
ter of  Paris,  at  the  rate  of  ten  bush- 
els to  the  acre,  which  I  never  have 
been  able  to  discover,  has  had  the 
least  effect,  (1  had  the  like  ill  suc- 
cess in  the  use  of  a  ton,  on  various 
parts  of  the  farm.)     The  amount 
of  the   wheat  by  actual   measure, 
was  twenty-eight  bushels  and  thirty 
quarts.     It  may  not   be  improper 
here  to  slate,  that  on  the  most  close 
examination,  1  could  not  discover 
one  kernel  of  smutty  grain  in  the 
whole  crop ;  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  ravages  of  the  grasshopper 
in  this  tield  (in  many  parts  of  which 
they  cut  off  one  fourth  part  of  the 
heads,  which  were  of  course  lost,) 
there   would   probably  have  been 
thirty  four  bushels.     I  esteem  this 
kind  of  wheat  a  valuable  acquisi- 


WHE 


WHE 


503 


lion  to  this  part  of  the  country. 
The  grain  weighing  sixty-two 
pounds  to  the  bushel,  and  yielding 
at  the  mills  in  this  quarter,  forty- 
five  pounds  of  flour,  in  quality 
equal,  I  think,  to  the  best  Balti- 
more."— Massachusetts  Agricultu- 
ral Repository^  Vol.  VI.  pp.  32,  3. 

WHEEL,  a  simple  machine, 
consisting  of  a  round  piece  of  mat- 
ter, revolving  on  an  axis.  It  is  one 
of  the  principal  mechanic  powers. 

As  the  farmer  has  much  occa- 
sion for  using  wheel  carriages, 
something  ought  to  be  said  of  wheels 
in  a  work  of  this  kind.  And  per- 
haps the  following  observations  may 
be  advantageous  to  those  who  have 
been  most  destitute  of  information. 

1 .  The  wheels  of  carriages  must 
be  exactly  round.  For  if  the  nave 
were  out  of  the  centre,  the  wheel 
in  turning  would  be  affected  in  the 
same  manner  upon  plain  ground, 
as  other  wheels  are  where  the 
ground  is  uneven  ;  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  draught  is  in  the  same 
manner  increased.  For  this  rea- 
son, wooden  wheels,  which  are  de- 
signed to  go  on  the  roads,  should 
always  be  shod  with  iron  ;  because 
those  which  are  not,  by  wearing 
faster  in  some  parts  of  the  rim  than 
in  others,  soon  lose  their  circular 
form,  and  become  harder  to  draw, 
jolting  up  and  down  on  the  most 
level  way. 

2.  The  felloes  or  the  rim,  must 
be  at  right  angles  with  the  naves, 
or  hubs,  notwithstanding  the  incli- 
nation of  the  spokes ;  for  other 
wise  the  wheels  will  not  move  re- 
gularly in  the  ruts,  but  form  a 
crooked  track  upon  the  ground, 
just  as  it  does  when  the  axis  is  too 


small  to  fill  the  hole,  or  boxes,  in 
the  nave.  This  is  as  really  detri- 
mental to  the  going  of  wheels  as 
their  being  out  of  round.  The 
spokes,  in  this  case,  will  not  be  all 
equally  inclined  to  the  nave,  and 
the  wheel  will  have  the  less 
strength,  and  will  be  more  liable  to 
be  broken  in  moving  upon  an  un- 
even place. 

3.  The  spokes  must  be  so  set  in 
the  nave  as  to  incline  outwards. 
This  would  be  needless  and  wrong, 
if  wheels  were  always  to  be  moved 
on  a  perfect  plane  ;  for  they  would 
bear  the  load  perpendicularly.  But 
as  wheels  must  olten  go  upon  un- 
even places,  and  fall  into  holes  and 
ruts,  and  as  the  wheel  that  is  low- 
est bears  a  greater  part  of  the  load 
than  the  other,  and  sometimes  al- 
most the  whole  of  it ;  it  is  necessary 
that  the  wheel  should  become  per- 
pendicular at  the  moment  of  its 
sinking  in  the  part  under  the  nave. 
Dishing  wheels  are  also  less 
liable  to  be  overset  than  perpen- 
dicular ones.  But  this  might  be 
prevented  by  using  a  longer  axle. 

4.  The  axletree  must  be  at  right 
angles  with  the  shaft,  or  tongue,  of 
a  cart  or  waggon.  Otherwise  it 
will  not  move  straight  forwards  in 
the  track,  or  directly  after  the  team, 
but  sideways.  But  the  axle  should 
be  so  set  in  the  naves,  that  the 
wheels  may  be  gathering  forward, 
as  it  is  called,  that  is,  that  the  fore 
parts  of  the  rims  may  be  a  little 
nearer  together  than  the  hinder 
parts.  Oth(  rwise  the  wheels  will 
not  so  easily  keep  in  the  ruts,  as 
will  appear  evidently  to  any  one 
that  takes  notice  of  their  going. 
And  the  axle  is  usually  so  inserted 


504 


WHE 


WHE 


into  the  naves,  that  the  wheels 
gather  at  the  bottom.  This  evi- 
dently gives  an  advantage  to  the 
axle  ;  as  the  wood,  in  fitting  it  to 
the  holes  of  the  naves,  is  not  cut 
across  the  grain  on  the  under  side, 
it  is  not  so  liable  to  be  br*  ken  by 
the  weight  of  the  load.  Whether 
there  be  any  other  advantage  in  it, 
I  do  not  deternfiuie.  But  it  is  cer- 
tain that,  in  this  case,  the  spokes 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  wheel, 
which  have  the  whole  pressure  of 
the  load,  will  be  the  nearer  to  a  per- 
pendicular situation,  while  on  level 
ground,  which  seems  to  be  some 
advantage.  But  the  lower  spokes 
ought  in  no  part  of  a  sidling  road 
to  lean  outwards.  For  this  will 
put  both  the  axle  and  the  wheel  to 
a  great  strain. 

5.  Hi^h  wheels  are  more  easily 
drawn  than  low  ones.  They  have 
less  resistance  from  friction,  sup 
posing  the  axle  to  be  of  the  same 
size  as  in  low  wheels,  which  ought 
to  be  supposed,  the  load  being  the 
same.  For  a  wheel  that  has  dou- 
ble the  circumference  of  another, 
will  make  but  one  turn  while  the 
other  makes  two ;  consequently  the 
first  will  have  but  half  so  much 
friction  to  overcome  as  the  second. 
High  wheels  have  also  the  advan- 
tage of  low  ones  in  surmounting 
obstacles,  as  every  spoke  acts  as  a 
lever,  in  moving  the  wheel  for 
ward,  and  as  a  longer  spoke  re- 
moves the  power  to  a  greater  dis- 
tance from  the  weight.  And  high 
wheels  easily  pass  over  holes  into 
which  small  ones  would  sink;  and 
the  impression  they  make  upon  soft 
ground  is  not  so  deep  as  that  which 
is  made  by  small  ones,  as  a  greater 


'  portion  of  their  rim  is  always  in 
contact  with  the  soil. 

It  is  objected,  that  a  cart  with 
high  wheels  is  more  apt  to  over- 
turn. This  inconvenience  might 
be  easily  removed,  by  fastening  the 
lower  timbers  of  the  cart  to  the 
under  side  of  the  axle,  as  in  some 
parts  of  this  country  has  been  prac- 
tised for  a  long  time,  particularly 
in  coal  carts. 

Another  objection  to  high  wheels 
is,  that  they  make  the  cattle  draw 
too  high.  This  may  receive  the 
same  answer  as  the  former.  Or 
they  may  be  made  to  draw  low,  by 
fixing  the  traces  to  arms  made  for 
the  purpose,  reaching  as  far  below 
the  axle  as  any  one  pleases. 

6.  The  fore  and  hinder  wheels 
of  a  waggon  should  be  of  equal 
height,  in  order  to  render  the 
draught  as  easy  as  possible,  as  Dr. 
Desaguliers  proved  by  experi- 
ments. 

7.  All  persons  who  use  the  same 
roads  should  place  their  wheels  at 
the  same  distances  from  each  other. 
For  he  who  does  not  observe  this 
caution,  but  makes  them  go  two  or 
three  inches  wider  or  narrower, 
will  find  that  he  must  carry  a  less 
load  than  others  do,  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  his  team. 

Lastly,  broader  rims  than  those 
which  are  in  common  use,  would 
be  more  conducive  to  the  goodness 
of  the  roads,  if  all  who  drive  teams 
in  the  same  roads  would  agree  to 
be  confined  to  the  same  breadth. 
For  the  broader  the  rim,  the  less 
the  wheels  will  sink  into  the  soil ; 
but  the  narrower  the  rim,  the 
deeper  ruts  will  be  made.  See 
the  article  Cart, 


W  H  I 


WHI 


50.:^ 


WHEEZING,  or  PURSIVE- 
NESS,  a  distemper  in  horses,  other- 
wise called  Broken  Wind,  in  which 
ihe  horse  makes  a  hissing  or  whist- 
ling sound  in  his  throat  in  breathing, 
and  has  a  greater  heaving  in  the 
danks  than  in  common  colds. 

This  disorder  is  commonly  caus- 
ed by  surfeiting,  violent  exercise 
when  the  belly  is  full,  or  by  being 
ridden  or  driven  itito  the  water  when 
he  is  hot  and  sweaty,  or  from  an  ob- 
stinate cold  not  well  cured. 

For  the  cure  of  this  disorder,  Dr. 
Braken  advises,  '  that  the  horse 
should  have  good  nourishment, 
much  corn  and  little  hay,  and  that 
every  day  the  water  given  him  be 
impregnated  with  half  an  ounce  of 
salt  petre,  and  two  drams  of  sal 
ammoniac'  Some  say  the  hay 
made  of  white  weed  will  cure  this 
<iistemper. 

WHEY,  the  serous  part  of  milk, 
or  that  which  remains  fluid  when 
the  curd  is  taken  for  cheese. 

Whey  is  an  important  liquor  for 
swine.  They  are  extremely  fond 
of  it,  and  it  conduces  much  to  their 
growth  and  fattening.  It  is  parti- 
cularly proper  for  sows  that  suckle 
pigs,  as  it  greatly  increases  their 
milk.  But  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  overfeed  swine  with  this  li- 
quor ;  for  it  has  often  happened, 
that  after  drinking  plentifully  of  it, 
especially  in  very  hot  weather,  they 
swell  up  and  die. 

For  a  method  of  making  vinegar 
from  whey,  see  vinegar. 

WHITE  SCOUR,  a  disease  with 
which  sheep  are  often  aifected,  and 
is  fatal  to  them  in  other  countries, 
though  I  have  not  known  it  to  be  so 
in  this. 

6.4 


"  The    following  medicine    has 
been  often  given  with  success,  pro- 
vided   the  sheep  are  at  the  same 
time  removed  into  a  dry  pasture. 
Take  a  pint  of  old  verjuice,  half 
a  pound  of  common  or  bay  salt, 
dried  well  before  the  fire,  pound- 
ed, and  sifted   through  a  sieve. 
Then  mix  the  verjuice   with  the 
salt  by  degrees  ;  and  add  half  o. 
pint  of  common  gin,   and  bottle 
it    up  for   use.      When  any  of 
your  sheep  are  seized  with  this 
disorder,  separate  them  from  the 
flock,    and    give   each  of  theni 
three  large  table  spoonfuls  of  the 
mixture  for  a  dose,  repeating  it 
two  days  after,  if  they  are  not 
better," — Complete  Fanner. 
WHITE  WEED,  has  a  five  cor- 
nered stalk.     The  leaves  are  jag- 
ged and  embrace   the  stalk.     Tlse 
flowers  are  discous,   large  and  ra- 
diated.    The  ray  is  white,  and  the 
disk  yellow ;    the    seeds   have    no 
down.     It  flowers  in  June,  and   is 
perennial  in  the  roots. 

When  this  weed  has  got  posses- 
sion of  the  ground,  no  good  grassv's 
grow  with  it ;  because,  pcrhapf-,  the 
roots  bind  the  soil  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  cramp  other  roots.  Or, 
being  a  strong  feeder,  it  deprives 
other  roots  of  their  food. 

When  it  is  in  its  green  state, 
neither  neat  cattle  nor  horses  will 
eat  it.  But  if  it  be  cut  while  in 
blossom,  and  well  dried  for  hay,  the 
cattle  will  eat  it  freely  in  winter, 
and  live  well  on  it.  The  crop 
however  is  always  thin  and  light. 
If  it  is  mowed  late,  or  not  well  cur- 
ed and  preserved,  the  hay  will  be 
of  very  little  value. 

Dunging  the  ground  is  an  enemy 


506 


W  I  L 


WIL 


to  this  weed  ;  and  it  is  said  that  pas- 
turing with  sheep  kills  it.  But  to 
conquer  it  effectually,  there  can  be 
no  better  way  than  to  use  the  land 
in  tillage,  for  hoed  crops,  several 
years  in  succession. 

WILLOW,  Salix,  called  also 
sallow  and  osier,  a  well  known  tree, 
of  which  there  are  nnany  species. 

Some  willows  may  be  propagat- 
ed to  great  advantage  for  tire 
wood,  as  they  arc  very  rapid  in 
their  growth. 

Other  kinds  have  twigs  that  are 
long  and  tough,  and  are  useful  for 
hoops,  basket  work,  &lc.  These 
are  commonly  kept  low  by  cutting ; 
when  this  is  neglected  they  grow 
into  large  trees. 

A  wild  shrubby  willow,  natural 
to  this  country,  is  common  in  our 
wet  lands.  This  is  called  white 
willow,  Sdlix  aibu,  and  in  medicine 
is  a  good  substitute  for  the  Cortex 
peruvianus. 

The  salix  viminaUs,  the  tough- 
est kind  of  willow,  has  not,  that  I 
know,  been  yet  propagated  in  this 
country.  The  weeping  willow,  so 
called,  has  been  imported  from  Eu- 
rope :  But  whether  it  prospers  I 
am  unable  to  say. 

No  more  than  two  sorts  of  for- 
eign willow  have  been  much  pro- 
pagated in  this  country,  a  yellovv 
and  a  green  sort.  The  former  yrows 
well,  even  in  a  soil  that  is  prf  tiy 
dry.  The  latter  flourishes  tinely 
in  a  wet  situation. 

Mr.  Miller  says,  "  all  sorts  of  wil- 
lows may  be  easily  propagated  by 
cuttings  or  sets,  either  in  the  spring 
or  autumn,  which  readily  take  root. 
Those  sorts  which  grow  to  be  large 
trees,  are  cultivated  for  their  tim- 


ber, so  are  generally  planted  from 
sets  which  are  about  seven  or  eight 
feet  long;  these  are  sharpened  at 
their  larger  end,  and  thrust  into 
the  ground  by  the  sides  of  ditches 
and  banks,  where  the  ground  is 
moist ;  in  which  places  they  make 
a  considerable  progress,  and  are  a 
great  improvement  to  such  estates, 
because  their  tops  will  be  fit  to  lop 
every  fifth  or  sixth  year.  This  is 
the  usual  method  now  practised  in 
most  parts  of  England,  where  the 
trees  are  cultivated,  as  they  are 
generally  intended  for  present  pro- 
fit. But  if  they  are  designed  for 
large  trees,  or  are  cultivated  for 
their  wood,  they  should  be  planted 
in  a  different  manner ;  for  those 
which  are  planted  from  sets  of  se- 
ven or  eight  feet  long,  always  send 
out  a  number  of  branches  toward 
the  top,  which  spread,  and  form 
large  heads  fit  for  lopping :  But 
their  principal  stem  never  advan- 
ces in  height ;  therefore,  where  re- 
gard is  paid  to  that  they  should  be 
propagated  by  short  young  branch- 
es, which  should  be  put  almost  their 
whole  length  in  the  ground,  leaving 
only  two,  or  at  most  but  three  buds 
out  of  the  ground.  And  when 
these  have  made  one  year's  shoot 
they  should  be  all  cut  off,  ex- 
cept one  of  the  strongest  and  best 
situated,  which  must  be  trained  up 
to  a  stem,  and  treated  in  the  same 
way  as  timber  frees.  If  these  are 
planted  with  such  a  design,  the  rows 
should  be  six  feet  asunder,  and  sets 
four  feet  distance  in  the  rows  :  By 
planting  them  so  close  they  will  na- 
turally draw  each  other  upward  ; 
and  when  they  are  grown  so  large 
as  to    cover  the  ground  and    meet, 


WIN 


WIN 


507 


they  should  be  gradually  thinned, 
so  as  at  the  last  to  leave  every 
other  row,  and  the  plants  in  the 
rows,  about  eight  feet  asunder.  If 
they  are  so  treated,  the  trees  will 
grow  to  a  large  size,  and  rise  with 
upright  stems  to  the  height  of  forty 
feet  or  more. 

"  When  these  cuttings  are  plant- 
ed, it  is  usual  to  sharpen  those 
ends  to  a  point,  which  are  put  into 
the  ground^  for  the  better  thrust- 
ing of  them  in  ;  but  the  best  way  is 
to  cut  them  horizontally,  just  be- 
low the  bud  or  e^e,  and  to  make 
holes  with  an  iron  in  the  ground 
where  each  cutting  is  to  be  plant- 
ed, and  when  they  are  put  in,  the 
ground  should  be  pressed  close 
about  the  cuttings  with  the  heel, 
to  settle  it,  and  prevent  the  air  from 
penetrating  to  the  cuttings. 

"  The  after  care  must  be  to  keep 
them  clear  from  weeds  the  two  first 
seasons,  by  which  time  they  will 
have  acquired  so  much  strength,  as 
to  overpower  and  keep  down  the 
weeds  :  They  will  also  require  some 
trimming  in  winter,  to  take  ofTany 
lateral  shoots,  which,  if  suffered  to 
grow,  would  retard  their  upright 
progress." 

WIND  GALL,  "a  flatulent 
swelling,  which  yields  to  the  pres- 
sure of  the  finger,  and  recovers  its 
shape  on.the  removal  (hereof.  The 
tumour  is  visible  to  the  eye,  and 
often  seated  on  both  sides  of  the 
back  sinew,  above  the  fetlocks,  on 
the  fore  legs  ;  but  most  frequently 
on  the  hind  legs;  though  they  are 
met  with  in  various  parts  of  the 
body,  wherever  membranes  can  be 
.so  separated,  that  a  quantity  of  air 
and  scrosilies  may  be  included 
within  their  duplicatures. 


"  When  they  appear  near  the 
joints  and  tendons,  they  are  gener- 
ally caused  by  strains,  or  bruises  on 
the  sinews,  or  the  sheath  that  co- 
vers them ;  which,  by  being  over- 
stretched, have  some  of  their  fibres 
ruptured  ;  whence  probably  may 
ooze  out  that  fluid  which  is  com- 
monly found  with  the  included  air; 
though  where  these  swellings  shew 
themselves  in  the  interstices  of 
large  muscles,  which  appear  blown 
up  like  bladders,  air  alone  is  the 
chief  fluid;  and  these  may  sately 
be  opened,  and  treated  as  a  com- 
mon wound. 

"  On  the  (irst  appearance  of  wind 
galls  their  cure  should  be  attempt- 
ed by  restringents  and  bondage, 
for  which  puipose  let  the  swelling 
be  bathed  twice  a  day  with  vine- 
gar, or  verjuice  alone,  or  let  the 
part  be  fomented  wiih  a  decoction 
of  oak  bark,  pomegranate,  and 
alum  boiled  in  verjuice,  binding 
over  it,  with  a  roller,  a  woollen 
cloth  soaked  in  the  same.  Some 
for  this  purpose  use  red  wine  lees, 
others  curriers'  shaviuijs  wetted 
with  the  same,  bracing  tlie  part  up 
with  a  firm  bandage. 

"  If  this  method,  after  a  proper 
trial,  should  not  be  found  to  suc- 
ceed, authors  have  advised  that  the 
swelling  be  pierced  with  an  awl,  or 
opened  with  a  knife  ;  but  mild  blis- 
tering is  in  general  preferred  to 
these  methods;  the  included  fluids 
being  thereby  drawn  off,  the  im- 
pacted air  dispersed,  and  the  tu- 
mour gradually  diminished.  A  lit- 
tle of  the  blistering  ointment  should 
be  laid  on  every  other  day  for  a 
week,  which  brings  on  a  plentiful 
discharge,  but  generally  in  a  few 


508 


W  I  xN 


WITS 


days  is  dried  up,  when  (he  horse  j 
may  be  put  (o  his  usual  work,  and 
the  blistering  ointment  renewed  in 
that  rriaoner  once  a  month  or  of- 
tener,  as  the  horse  can  be  spared 
from  business,  till  the  cure  is  com- 
pleted. This  is  the  only  method 
to  prevent  scars,  which  firing  of 
course  leaves  behind,  and  unless 
skilfully  executed,  too  often  like- 
wise a  fulness  of  the  joint,  with  stiff- 
ness. The  mild  blistering  oint- 
ment, where  the  sublimate  is  left 
out,  is  the  properest  for  this  pur- 
}X)se."- — BartleOs  Farriery,  page 
27G. 

^VINE,  a  general  name  given  to 
any  brisk  and  cordial  liquor  drawn 
from  vegetable  bodies,  and  fer- 
inented  ;  but  it  is  the  more  appro- 
priate name  of  the  juice  of  the 
grape. 

My  general  design,  will  permit 
me  only  to  give  an  abstract  of  the 
making  and  management  of  wines, 
as  practised  in  France. 

The  wine  presses  that  are  used 
m  that  cout)try  are  similar  to  the 
screw  presses  that  we  use  in  mak- 
ing cider,  hut  of  more  nice  and  ex- 
quisite workmanship. 

"  In  order  to  make  good  wines, 
the  grapes  of  the  same  vine  must  be 
gathered  at  different  times.  The 
hiBt  gathering  should  be  the  ripest 
clusters,  cut  close  to  the  fruit,  to 
avoid  the  sharpness  and  austerity 
of  the  stalk,  and  all  rotten  and 
green  grapes  should  be  taken  away 
from  the  branches. 

"  The  second  gathering  is  some 
time  after  the  first,  when  all  that 
are  ripened  are  taken.  The  third 
and  last  gathering  will  coiisist  of 
the  refuse  of  the  two  former;  but 


no  rotten  grapes  should    be  admit- 
ted in  either. 

"  A  method  of  making  wine  in 
the  greatest  perfection  is,  strip  the 
grapes  from  the  stems,  before  they 
go  into  the  vat.  Wine  thus  made 
is  the  mellowest,  best  coloured, 
soundest,  and  fittest  for  keeping. 

"  The  wine  of  black  grapes  may 
be  made  of  almost  any  colour;  and 
the  French  make  all  their  wines, 
both  white  and  red,  from  black 
grapes. 

"They  who  make  white  wine  go 
into  the  vineyard  in  a  damp  misty  or 
dewy  morning,  with  a  sufficient 
number  of  hands  to  gather  a  whole 
pressing  of  grapes  in  a  fe'v  hours, 
beginning  very  early  that  they  may 
not  be  belated.  They  cut  off  the 
best  bunches,  lay  them  gently  in 
hand  baskets,  in  which  they  carry 
them  to  the  panniers,  and  in  the 
panniers  on  gentle  beasts  to  the 
press,  taking  eare  not  to  tumble  nor 
bruise  them.  The  dew  increases 
the  quantity  of  the  wine,  but  ren- 
ders it  weaker.  When  the  heat  is 
not  great,  the  vintagers  continue 
their  work  till  eleven  o'clock,  oth- 
erwise they  leave  off  at  nine  be- 
cause of  a  hot  sun. 

"  As  soon  as  the  grapes  arrive 
they  are  thrown  into  the  press,  and 
the  first  pressing  is  given  without 
delay.  The  wine  that  runs  from 
this  pressing  is  the  most  delicate  of 
any,  but  not  the  strongest. 

"  After  this  first  pressing,  which 
is  gentle  for  fear  of  discolouring  the 
liquor,  the  press  is  raised,  (ho  scat- 
tering grapes  are  laid  upon  the 
cake,  and  the  second  pressing  is 
given.  The  press  is  screwed  down 
with    "roatcr    forc^  than    before  1: 


WIN 


W  I  N 


509 


and  this  second  running  is  but  little 
infeiior  to  the  first,  in  flavour  or  co- 
Jour.  It  has  the  advantage  in  this, 
that  it  has  a  stronger  body,  and  will 
keep  a  longer  time.  Sometimes 
they  mix  the  wine  of  the  tirst  and 
second  pressings. 

"  After  the  two  first  pressings, 
the  sides  of  the  cake  of  grapes  are 
cut  down  perpendicularly,  with  a 
steel  spade,  so  far  as  they  exceed 
the  breadth  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  press,  which  is  let  down  upon 
the  cake.  The  grapes  that  are  cut 
off  are  laid  on  the  top  of  the  cake, 
and  tlje  third  pressing,  commonly 
called  the  first  cutting,  is  given. 
The  juices  of  this  first  cutting  are 
excellent. 

"  A  fourth  pressing,  a  fifth,  &c. 
which  are  called  a  second  and  third 
cutting,  &c.  are  afterwards  given, 
the  sides  of  the  cake  being  cut 
ddwn  and  laid  up  each  time,  till 
the  grapes  cease  to  yield  anymore 
juice. 

"  The  liquor  of  the  cuttings  be- 
comes gradually  more  red,  because 
the  press  becomes  more  forcible 
on  the  skin  of  the  grapes,  particles 
from  which   render  the  wine  red. 

"The  wines  of  these  did'crent 
cuttings  (as  the  latter  pressings  are 
called.)  are  collected  separately, 
and  afterwards  mixed  according  as 
they  contain  more  or  less  of  the 
quality  that  is  wanted. 

"  The  pressings  for  white  wine 
r-hould  be  performed  as  quick  as 
possible  one  after  another,  that  the 
grapes  may  not  have  time  to  heat, 
nor  the  iiquor  remain  long  upon  the 
murk.  Particular  attention  is  paid 
to  this  for  the  two  first  runnings, 
because  fJr:.ev  arc  thetine«t  wine. 


"  Of  the  same  black  grapes,  the 
black  morillons,  the  pineaus,  and 
the  auvernats,  of  which  white  wine 
is  made  in  Champaign,  red  wine  is 
made  in  Burgundy. 

"  As  much  as  the  heat  of  the  sun 
is  avoided  by  the  vintagers  who 
make  white  wine,  so  mneh  it  is 
sought  after  and  chosen  by  those 
who  make  red  wine.  These  gather 
their  grapes  when  the  sun  shines 
hottest ;  because  its  action  on  the 
outside  of  the  berries  has  more  ef- 
fect than  several  days  steepiiig  in 
the  vat.  as  the  grapes  then  ferment 
very  speedily.  Tiie  other  cau- 
tions in  gathering  grapes  for  white 
wine  arc  observed  here. 

"  Some  express  the  juice  of  these 
grapes  in  the  open  air,  in  the  vine- 
yard, or  near  it,  by  throwing  the 
bunches  into  large  tubs,  and  there 
mashing  and  bruising  them  to  pie- 
ces with  sticks,  or  putting  children 
into  the  tub?,  to  tread  out  the  juice. 
Others  carry  them  home,  observ- 
ing not  to  bruise  them  by  the  way, 
and  put  them  in  a  vat,  in  which 
they  are  trodden  and  mashed.  This 
is  repeated,  in  either  case,  till  the 
vessel  is  full ;  ^fter  which  the  bro- 
ken grapes  lie  in  the  liquor  more  or 
less  time,  according  to  the  heat  of 
the  weather,  the  flavour  of  the 
must,  and  the  degree  of  colour  in- 
tended to  be  given  to  the  wine. 
During  this  time,  the  whole  is 
frequently  stirred  together,  the 
better  to  raise  a  fermentation,  and 
tinge  the  liquor  with  a  due  degree 
of  red. 

"  Some  say  the  grapes  should  lie 
in  the  liquor  forty-eight  hours, 
while  others  talk  of  letting thcni  in- 
fuse seven  or  eight  days,  or  longer. 


10 


WIN 


WIN 


But  the  authors  of  the  Maison  Rus- 
tique  say  that  the  duration  of  the 
infusion  of  the  husks  should  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  heat  of  the  wea- 
ther, the  quality  of  the  grapes,  and 
the  intended  colour  of  the  wine. 
For  the  Coulange  wine  four  hours 
only  are  allowed.  The  wine  is  apt 
to  contract  a  roughness  from  the 
stalks,  if  it  remains  too  long  on 
them  ;  and  too  much  fermenting  of 
the  must  renders  the  wine  harsh 
and  coarse,  depriving  it  of  its  most 
volatile  parts.  Others  make  it  a 
rule  not  to  draw  off  their  must  till 
its  head  begins  to  fall ;  but  this  is 
evdently  wrong,  because  a  great 
part  of  the  most  active  spirits  of  the 
liquor  is  thus  evaporated. 

"  Indeed,  for  thicker,  heavier 
and  coarser  wines  than  those  of 
Burgundy  and  Orleans,  which  are 
chiefly  intended  above ;  ssuch,  for 
example,  as  the  Bourdeaux  claret, 
a  whole  day  is  frequently  allowed 
for  steeping  of  the  husks,  and  some- 
times more,  before  the  press  is  re- 
curred to. 

"  When  the  must  has  fermented 
upon  the  husks  in  the  tubs  or  vats, 
as  long  as  is  thought  proper,  it  is 
poured  or  drawn  off,  strained,  and 
put  into  casks.  Afterwards  the 
murk,  that  is,  the  remainder  of  the 
grapes  at  the  bottom  of  the  tub  or 
vat,  is  collected  together,  and  put 
into  the  press,  and  pressed  three  or 
four  times,  till  it  is  perfectly  dry, 
the  sides  being  cut  down  each  time, 
as  in  making  white  wine.  The  li- 
quor thus  obtained,  especially  if 
the  press  be  screwed  so  tight  as  to 
crack  the  seeds  of  the  grapes,  has 
a  stronger  body  than  the  former 
running,  but  not  any  part  of  its  tine, 


high  and  delicate  flavour.  Some, 
however,  mix  a  little  of  it  with 
their  other  wines,  to  strengthen 
them,  and  make  them  keep  the 
better. 

"  Others,  from  a  spirit  of  econo- 
my, pour  as  much  water  as  they 
think  proper  upon  the  murk  in  the 
vat,  immediately  after  the  must 
has  been  drawn  off.  They  do  it 
without  delay,  lest  the  murk  should 
turn  sour,  as  it  is  apt  to  do.  Then 
they  stir  it  about,  and  leave  it  upon 
the  murk,  a  longer  or  shorter  time, 
according  to  the  heat  of  the  wea- 
ther, till  they  find  it  pretty  high- 
coloured,  and  judge  that  it  has  in- 
corporated all  the  remaining  parti- 
cles and  spirit  of  the  wine.  They 
then  draw  this  water  off  into  ano- 
ther vessel,  and  carry  the  remain- 
ing murk  to  the  press,  where  they 
squeeze  it  till  no  moisture  remains 
in  it.  The  liquor  thus  expressed  is 
mixed  with  that  which  was  drawn 
off  before,  and  is  then  barrelled. 
This  is  chiefly  intended  for  com- 
mon use,  or  rather  for  servants  ; 
but  it  will  keep  no  longer  than 
during  the  following  winter,  though 
it  is  brisk  and  pleasant  enough 
while  it  keeps  good. 

"Another  use  the  French  make 
of  the  murk,  is,  to  mend  such  of 
their  wines,  whether  old  or  new,  as 
are  deficient  in  colour  or  strength. 
They  turn  them  out  ofthe  casks  into 
the  vat  immediately  after  the  must 
has  been  drawn  off,  stir  the  murk 
up  so  as  to  mix  it  thoroughly  with 
the  wine,  and  let  it  stand  twenty- 
four  hours  if  it  be  new  wine,  and 
twelve  hours  if  it  be  old.  When 
they  find  it  has  taken  a  sufficient 
degree  of  colour,  and  that  it  is  not 


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511 


sweet  to  the  taste,  but  agreeable  to 
drink;  they  draw  it  off;  barrel  it 
up  separately,  that  they  may  know 
it  again,  and  put  the  remaining 
murk  to  the  press. 

"  The  white  unripened  grapes, 
that  were  rejected  at  the  former 
gatherings,  are  to  hang  on  the  vines 
till  the  latter  end  of  October,  or 
beginning  of  November,  that  they 
may  be  a  little  bitten  by  the  frost. 
They  are  then  gathered,  and  a  wine 
is  made  of  them,  which  is  sold  quite 
warm  from  the  vat,  and  does  well 
enough  to  mix  with  a  coarse  red 
wine. 

"  When  the  murk  has  undergone 
the  utmost  dint  of  pressing,  it  will 
be  as  hard  as  a  stone  ;  but  even 
then  it  will  yield,  when  diluted  with 
water,  fermented  and  distilled,  a 
spirit  for  medical  and  domestic 
uses. 

"  In  several  parts  of  Germany, 
where  the  grapes  seldom  come  to 
full  maturity,  the  makers  of  wine 
have  iron  stoves  in  their  wine  cel- 
lars, and  keep  a  constant  fire  in 
them  during  the  time  of  their  fer- 
mentation. This,  by  heightening 
the  fermentation,  ripens  and  melio- 
rates the  wines,  and  renders  them 
more  palatable.  Exposmg  the 
casks  to  the  sun  will  have  the  same 
effect  on  wines  that  are  too  acid  to 
ferment  sufKciently. 

"  As  the  wines  of  the  last  gather- 
ing are  backward  in  fermenting, 
the  people  of  Champaign  and  Bur- 
gundy, after  their  wines  have  been 
drawn  off  from  their  first  lees,  three 
weeks  after  being  first  put  up, 
practise  rolling  them  backwards 
and  forwards.  Tiiey  do  this  five 
or  six  times  a  day,  for  four  or  five 


days  successively ;  then  two  or 
three  times  a  day  for  three  or  four 
days ;  afterwards  twice  a  day  for  four 
days ;  then  once  a  day  for  about  a 
week  ;  and  afterwards  once  in  four 
or  five  days.  If  the  grapes  were 
pressed  very  green,  rolling  in  this 
manner  is  continued,  in  all,  for 
about  six  weeks.  But  if  they  were 
tolerably  ripe,  rolling  once  in  four 
or  five  da^s,  for  about  a  month  or 
six  weeks,  is  found  to  be  sufficient. 
This  rolling  supplies  the  defect  of 
the  first  fermentation. 

"  New  wines  will  generally  fer- 
ment of  themselves,  in  a  few  days 
after  they  have  been  put  into  casks. 
Those  that  do  not  may  be  helped, 
by  putting  into  them  a  little  of  the 
froth,  or  yeast,  which  works  from 
the  others.  The  finest  wines  will 
work  the  soonest,  and  the  fermen- 
tation will  continue  for  about  ten 
or  twelve  days,  according  to  the 
sort  of  wine,  and  the  season  of  the 
year. 

"  While  the  wine  ferments  the 
bung  hole  of  the  casks  must  be  left 
open,  or  only  covered  with  a  thin 
linen  cloth,  to  prevent  any  dirt 
from  falling  in  ;  and  this  cloth 
should  be  laid  hollow,  so  that  the 
froth  arising  from  the  fermentation 
may  work  off. 

"  When  the  fermentation  is 
abated,  which  is  known  by  the 
froth's  ceasing  to  arise  so  fast  as 
before,  the  bung  may  be  closed 
down,  after  filling  up  the  cask  with 
liquor  to  within  two  inches  of  the 
top,  and  a  vent  hole  should  be 
opened  and  left,  to  carry  off  what- 
;  ever  may  be  thrown  up  by  any  sub- 
sequent fermentation.  This  filling 
up  of  the  cask  should  be  regularly 


512 


WIN 


W  I  K 


performed,  every  two  days,  for 
about  twelve  days ;  for  the  fer- 
mentation will  continue  a  conside- 
rable time  in  some  degree  :  And  if 
the  casks  be  not  kept  so  full  as  that 
the  foulness  thrown  up  by  the  fer- 
m.entation  may  be  carried  off  at  tl)e 
vent  hole,  it  will  fall  back  again 
into  the  wine  and  prevent  its  be- 
coming clear.  Afterwards  it  must 
be  filled  to  within  an  inch  of  the 
bung,  every  fifth  or  sixth  day  for  a 
month  :  After  this,  once  a  fortnight 
for  three  months. 

"  Though  the  fermentation  will 
be  over  in  a  shorter  time,  yet  the 
casks  must  be  filled  up  once  a 
month,  so  long  as  they  remain  in 
the  cellar.  For  as  the  wine  will 
insensibly  waste  in  them,  it  will 
grow  flat  and  heavy,  if  it  be  not 
constantly  kept  filled  up.  They 
should  be  filled  up  with  a  wine  of 
the  same  kind,  kept  in  some  small 
vessel,  or  in  bottles,  for  this  pur- 
pose ;  and  the  vent  holes  must  be 
stopped  when  the  fermentation  is 
over. 

"  The  first  drawing  ofT  from  the 
lees  is  done  about  the  middle  of 
December.  The  casks  should 
stand  without  the  least  shaking  or 
other  disturbance,  till  the  middle 
of  February,  when  it  will  be  right 
to  draw  the  liquor  off  again  into 
other  casks.  If  tiie  quantity  of  lees 
is  then  found  to  be  so  considerable 
as  to  endanger  their  contracting  a 
putrid  taint,  by  remaining  too  long 
mixed  with  the  wine,  it  may  be  ad- 
visable to  draw  it  off  again,  after  a 
proper  interval  of  time  :  Or  some- 
times it  may  be  necessary  to  repeat 
the  racking  many  limes.  But  in 
racking,  though  care  should  be  ta- 


ken to  keep  the  casks  full,  wines  of 
dissimilar  qualities  should  not  be 
mixed. 

"  The  lees  of  several  casks  that 
have  been  racked  off  may  be  col- 
lected together,  and  when  the 
thicker  part  has  subsided,  a  spirit 
may  be  drawn  from  the  thinner. 

"  When  wine  is  to  be  transport- 
ed, and  thereby  necessarily  expos- 
ed to  a  warm.er  air,  brandy  is  often 
added,  to  check  the  propensity  to  a 
new  fermentation.  It  is  also  some- 
times done  to  give  strength  to  the 
wine  ;  but  the  practice  is  not  to  be 
recommended,  unless  applied  be- 
fore the  fermentation  is  completed, 

"  It  is  necessary  for  the  preser- 
vation of  some  wines,  wl.ich  are 
apt  to  be  on  the  fret,  to  fumigate 
the  casks  with  burning  brimstone. 
This  resists  fermentation.  But  the 
colour  of  red  wines  is  said  to  be 
destroyed  by  it.  The  colour  of 
wine  is  frequently  artificial,  A 
deep  yellow  is  made  by  burnt  su- 
gar :  A  deep  red,  which  is  not  na- 
tural to  any  wine,  is  almost  always 
made  by  red  woods,  elderberries, 
bilberries,  &c. 

"  Turbid  wines  are  fined  by  a 
mixture  of  the  whites  and  shells  of 
eggs,  powdered  alabaster,  and  isin- 
glass. The  shells  and  alabaster 
may  correct  a  small  degree  of  aci- 
dity. Isinglass  alone  will  fine  it  in 
a  few  days. 

"  If  wine  is  grown  very  sour,  the 
best  way  of  correcting  it,  so  as  to 
preserve  the  spirit  and  flavour,  is, 
adding  a  quantity  of  salt  of  tartar,, 
sufficient  to  neutralize  the  acid, 
ju?t  before  the  wine  is  used. 

"  If  it  be  intended  that  wine 
should  not  iVoth.  the  l>C3t  time  fbi 


W  IN 


WIN 


513 


drawing  it  off,  whether  into  bottles 
or  casks,  is  when  the  weather  is 
extremely  fair  and  clear,  the  ba- 
rometer high,  and  the  wind  nor- 
therly ;  because  the  air  is  then 
coolest,  and  the  wine  laast  apt  to 
be  upon  the  fret. 

Raisin  Witie  is  a  wine  made  from 
raisins  steeped  in  water. 

"  Take  thirty  gallons  of  soft  wa- 
ter, either  rain  or  river  water,  in 
as  clear  a  state  as  possible.  Put 
it  into  a  vessel  at  least  one  ihird 
bigger  than  will  contain  that  quan- 
tity ;  and  then  add  to  it  one  hun- 
dred weight  of  Malaga  raisins  pick- 
ed from  the  stalks.  Mix  the  whole 
well  together,  that  the  raisins  may 
not  remain  in  clotted  lumps  :  And 
then  cover  it  partly,  but  nut  entire- 
ly, with  a  linen  cloth;  and  let  it 
stand  in  a  warm  place,  if  the  sea- 
son be  not  hot.  It  will  soon  fer- 
ment, and  must  be  well  stirred 
about,  twice  in  four  and  twenty 
hours,  for  twelve  or  fourteen  days. 
It  must  then  be  examined  by  the 
taste,  to  try  if  the  sweetness  be 
nearly  gone  off;  and  if  that  be 
found  so,  and  the  fermentation  be 
greatly  abated,  which  will  be  per 
ceived  by  the  raisins  lying  quietly 
at  the  bottom,  the  fluid  must  be 
strained  off,  and  pressed  out  of  the 
raisins,  first  by  hand,  and  after- 
wards by  a  press,  if  it  can  be  easily 
procured.  But,  instead  of  a  press, 
two  boards  may  be  used,  with  the 
assistance  of  a  large  weight,  or 
other  strong  force,  which  mu?t  be 
continued  as  long  as  any  fluid  can 
be  made  to  drop  from  the  mass. 
The  fluid  being  thus  separated  from 
the  skins  of  the  raisins,  must  be 
put  into  a  good  sound  wine  cask, 
65 


well  dried  and  warmed,  together 
with  eight  pounds  of  Lisbon  sugar, 
and  a  little  yeast.  But  some  part 
of  the  liquor  must  be  kept  out,  to 
be  added  from  time  to  time,  as  the 
abatement  of  the  fermentation,  that 
will  come  on  again,  may  admit, 
without  the  wine  rising  out  of  the 
cask.  In  this  state  it  must  con- 
tinue for  a  month,  with  the  bung- 
hole  open  :  And  then,  the  whole  of 
the  liquor  kept  out  having  been 
now  put  into  the  vessel,  it  must  be 
closely  stopped  up,  so  that  no  air 
may  enter:  And  in  this  state  it 
must  be  kept  a  year,  or  longer; 
then  bottled  off. 

"  The  wine  may  be  drunk,  and 
will  be  very  good,  at  the  end  of  a 
year  and  a  half:  But  it  will  be 
much  better,  if  kept  longer,  and 
will  improve  for  four  or  five  years. 
When  it  has  a  proper  age,  it  will 
equal  any  of  the  strong  cordial  fo- 
reign wines  ;  and  may,  by  the  ad- 
dition of  proper  substances  to  fla- 
vour and  colour  it,  be  made  to  re- 
semble them." 

"  This  is  the  most  perfect  kind 
of  what  may  be  called  artificial 
wine ;  but  others  may  be  made 
cheaper.  Expense  may  be  saved 
two  ways:  One  is,  substituting  su- 
gar for  raisins,  leaving  out  four 
pounds  of  raisins  for  one  pound  of 
sugar  added.  Or  the  proportion 
of  sugar  and  raisins,  and  a  propor- 
tion of  clean  malt  spirit  added, 
when  the  bung  of  the  cask  is  clos- 
ed up. 

"  Any  other  kind  of  large  raisins 
may  be  used,  instead  of  the  Mala- 
ga. The  thinner  the  skins  are, 
and  the  sweeter  tbe  pulp,  thQ 
stronger  the  wine  will  be." 


514 


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WIN 


"  To  make  Birch  Wine,  After 
collecting  the  sap  of  the  birch,  it 
is  to  be  made  into  wine  before  any 
fermentation  takes  place  ;  a  pint 
of  honey,  or  a  pound  of  sugar,  is 
to  be  added  to  every  gallon  of  the 
sap,  the  whole  to  be  well  stirred 
up,  and  then  boiled  for  about  an 
hour,  with  a  few  cloves  and  a  lit- 
tle lemon  peel ;  during  which  the 
scum  is  to  be  carefully  taken  off. 
When  cool,  a  few  spoonfuls  of  new 
ale  or  yeast  is  to  be  added,  to  in- 
duce a  due  degree  of  fermenta- 
tion ;  and  after  this  has  ceased,  or 
nearly  so,  the  liquor  is  to  be  bot- 
tled and  put  away  in  a  cool  place 
in  the  cellar,  for  use  ;  though  no 
doubt  it  becomes  improved  by  age. 

"  When  properly  made,  the  li- 
quor becomes  so  strong  that  it  fre- 
quently bursts  the  bottles  unless 
they  are  placed  in  spring-water. 
Stone  bottles  are  said  to  be  the  best 
for  containing  the  liquor,  as  they 
are  stronger  than  glass." — Far- 
mer's Assistant. 

Mr.  Cooper  gives  the  following 
directions  for  making  wine  of  cider, 
and  other  ingredients. 

"  Take  cider  of  the  best  running 
of  the  cheese,  and  of  the  best  qua- 
lity, and  add  to  it  as  much  honey 
as  will  make  the  liquor  bear  an 
egg ;  strain  the  liquor  through  a 
cloth  as  you  pour  it  into  the  cask  ; 
till  the  cask  full,  with  the  addition 
of  two  gallons  of  French  brandy  to 
a  barrel ;  set  it  away  in  a  cool 
place,  with  the  bung-hole  open  to 
ferment ;  as  the  fermentation  pro- 
ceeds, it  will  throw  out  considera- 
ble froth  and  filth  ;  keep  tilling  it 
frequently  with  more  of  the  same 
kind  of  liquor,  kept  for  the  purpose, 


until  the  fermentation  has  nearly 
subsided;  then  put  in  the  bungj 
but  not  tightly,  in  order  that  the 
liquor  may  have  some  further  vent, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  fermentation 
ceases,  clase  up  the  vessel.  The 
next  spring  rack  off  the  liquor  into 
a  new  clean  cask  ;  and  in  order  to 
clarify  it,  Mr.  Cooper  directs  a 
mixture  of  sweet  milk,  the  whites 
oi  eggs  and  clean  sand  to  be  beat 
up,  and  well  stirred  into  the  cask." 

The  Farmer^ s  Assistant  observes, 
that  "  it  is  believed  that  about  a 
quart  of  sweet  milk  to  a  barrel 
well  stirred  and  mixed  with  the  li- 
quor as  it  is  poured  in,  will  answer 
equally  well,  and  perhaps  better. 
This  operation  alone  will  not  only 
clarify  liquors,  but,  by  repeating  it 
several  times,  the  highest  coloured 
wines  may  be  nearly  or  quite  di- 
vested of  all  their  colour.  After 
the  liquor  has  been  thus  clarified, 
let  it  be  drawn  off  again  into  bot- 
i'les,  or  into  fresh  clean  casks,  and 
kept  in  a  cool  cellar  for  use.  Mr. 
Cooper  says  that  his  liquor,  thus 
prepared,  has  often  been  taken,  by 
good  judges  of  wine,  for  the  real 
juice  of  the  grape  ;  and  has  been 
pronounced  by  them  superior  to 
most  of  the  wines  in  use.  Age, 
however,  is  essential  in  perfecting 
this  kind  of  wine,  as  well  as  all 
others." 

WINNOWING,  clearing  corn 
from  its  chaff  by  wind. 

WINNOWING  MACHINES. 
The  invention  of  winnowing  ma- 
chines was  first  brought  from  China 
to  Holland,  and  was  introduced  in- 
to Scotland  more  than  a  century 
since,  by  Andrew  Fletcher,  of  Sal- 
ton.     Threshing  mills  have,  gene- 


WIN 


WO  A 


315 


rally,  a  set  of  fanners  attached  to 
tbem.  From  the  inequality  of  mo- 
tion, however,  attendant  on  those 
machines,  it  is  thought  best  in 
general  to  have  them  separate.  A 
simple  winnowing  machine,  in- 
vented by  John  James,  3d.  is  men- 
tioned as  belonging  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Society,  and 
deposited  in  their  hall  at  Brighton. 

WINTER,  one  of  the  four  quar- 
ters of  the  year. 

According  to  some,  winter  be- 
gins at  the  time  when  the  sun's  dis- 
tance from  the  zenith  of  the  place 
is  greatest,  and  ends  at  the  vernal 
equinox.  But  it  is  more  usually 
considered  as  including  December, 
January,  and  February.  Notwith- 
standing the  cold  of  winter,  it  is 
proved  by  astronomers,  that  the 
sun  is  nearer  to  the  earth  in  win- 
ter than  in  summer.  The  reason 
of  the  cold  is  the  increased  obli- 
quity of  the  rays  of  the  sun,  toge- 
ther with  the  increased  length  of 
the  nights. 

Winter  is  the  season  when  the 
days  are  shortest :  But  the  short- 
ness of  the  days  is  little  regretted 
by  our  farmers,  as  they  have  then 
the  most  leisure,  or  are  least  hur- 
ried in  their  business.  For,  in  this 
country,  the  ground  is  so  continu- 
ally frozen  in  winter,  that  none  of 
the  operations  of  tillage  can  be 
performed.  The  good  husband- 
man, however,  is  not  idle ;  his 
year's  stock  of  wood  is  to  be 
procured,  and  his  stock  must 
be  daily  and  carefully  tended  : 
Stones  which  have  been  piled  may 
in  the  easiest  manner  be  removed 
on  sleds  to  the  places  where  they 
are  wanted,  for  fencing  or  other 


uses.  Such  of  the  produce  of  his 
farm  as  he  can  spare  may  be  car- 
ried to  market ;  which  may  be  more 
easily  done  than  at  any  other  sea- 
son.    See  the  article  Employment, 

WINTER  GRAIN,  see  the  arti- 
cles Wheat  and  Rye. 

WITHE,  a  twig  or  shoot  of  tough 
wood,  used  instead  of  a  rope,  to 
tie  things  together,  &c. 

Young  shoots  of  walnut  wood 
are  proper  for  withes ;  those  of 
birch,  and  of  some  kinds  of  willow, 
answer  well  enough.  Withes  in 
fences  will  last  only  two  years  at 
the  longest ;  and  some  of  them  are 
apt  to  fail  sooner.  Those  which 
are  cut  in  autumn,  after  the  leaves 
are  fallen,  will  last  considerably 
longer  than  those  which  are  cut  in 
the  spring  or  summer.  If  they  lie 
for  a  day  or  two  exposed  to  the 
sun,  after  they  are  cut,  they  grow 
tougher,  and  are  more  easily  twist- 
ed. Steeping  them  in  salt  water 
will  render  them  more  durable. 

WOAD,  called  by  botanists  Isa- 
lis  saliva,  vel  latifolia.  The  leaves 
of  this  plant  are  cut  off  in  their  full 
sap,  sweated  in  heaps,  and  ground 
to  a  paste,  made  up  into  balls  and 
dried,  to  be  used  in  dying  blue. 

The  following  description  of 
woad,  and  the  manner  of  cultivat- 
ing it,  are  from  Miller's  Gardener's 
Dictionary. 

The  common  woad,  {Isatis  Tine- 
toria,)  is  a  biennial  plant,  with  a 
fusiform,  fibrous  root.  Stem  up- 
right, round,  smooth,  woody  at 
bottom,  branched  at  top.  Root- 
leaves  ovate  lanceolate,  on  long 
foot-stalks,  down  which  they  run  a 
little.  Stem-leaves  alternate,  quite 
entire,  embracing,    smooth,  from 


316 


WOA 


W  O  A 


two  to  three  inches  long,  and 
scarcely  half  an  inch  in  breadtli. 
These  are  sometimes  very  slightly 
tooth  letted ;  and  a  (cw  hairs  are 
sometimes  found  both  on  the  stem 
and  leaves.  Flowers  small,  ter- 
minating the  stem  and  branches  in 
a  close  raceme.  Both  corolla  and 
calyx  yellow ;  petals  notched  at 
the  end.  Seed  vessels  on  slender 
peduncles,  hanging  down.  Chest- 
nut-coloured or  dark  brown  and 
shining  when  ripe,  of  an  oblong 
elliptic  form,  near  half  an  inch 
long  and  two  lines  wide,  compress 
ed  at  top  and  on  the  sides  into  a 
sharp  edge,  swelling  like  a  convex 
lens  in  the  middle,  with  a  straight 
longitudinal  suture  on  each  side, 
one  celled,  two  valved,  but  hardly 
opening  spontaneously  ;  valves  of 
spongy  substance  like  cork,  and 
boat-shaped. 

Seed  smooth,  striated  a  little, 
two  lines  long,  and  three  quarters 
of  a  line  wide,  yellow,  or  brownish 
yellow  when  ripe  ;  it  has  only  a 
single  membranaceous  coat.  Em- 
bryo curved,  yellowish.  Cotyle- 
dons ovate,  fleshy,  plano-convex. 

Mr.  Miller  thus  describes  the 
cultivated  plant,  which  however 
differs  little  from  the  wild  one  ex- 
cept in  luxuriance.  The  lower 
leaves  are  of  an  oblong  oval  tigure, 
and  pretty  thick  consistence,  when 
growing  in  a  proper  soil  ;  they  are 
narrow  at  their  base,  but  brond 
above,  and  end  in  obtuse  roundish 
points;  are  entire  on  their  edges, 
and  of  a  lucid  green.  The  stalks 
rise  near  four  feet  high,  dividing 
into  several  branches,  with  arrow- 
shaped  leaves  sitting  close ;  the 
ends  of  the  branches  are  terminated 


by  small  yellow  flowers,  in  very 
close  clusters.  The  pods  are  shap- 
ed like  a  bird's  tongue,  haU  aninch 
long,  and  one  eighth  of  an  inch 
wide,  turning  back  when  ripe.  It 
flowers  in  July,  and  the  seeds  ripen 
the  beginning  of  September. 

A  tine  blue  colour  is  obtained 
from  woad.  It  is  also  the  basis  of 
black  and  many  other  colours. 

As  the  goodness  of  woad  consists 
in  the  size  and  fulness  of  the  leaves, 
the  only  method  to  obtain  this  is  to 
sow  the  seed  upon  ground  at  a 
proper  season  and  allow  the  plants 
proper  room  to  grow,  as  also  to 
keep  them  clear  from  weeds.  The 
method  practised  by  some  of  the 
most  skilful  gardeners  in  the  cul- 
ture of  spinach,  would  be  a  great 
improvement  to  this  plant,  for  some 
of  them  have  improved  the  round- 
leaved  spinach  so  much  by  culture, 
as  to  have  the  leaves  more  than 
six  times  the  size  they  were  for- 
merly;  and  their  fatness  has  been 
in  the  same  proportion,  upon  the 
same  land,  which  has  been  eflfected 
by  thinning  the  plants  when  young, 
and  keeping  the  ground  constantly 
free  from  weeds. 

A  hazel  loam,  whose  parts  will 
easily  separate,  is  the  best  soil  for 
woad.  The  ground  should  be 
ploughed  and  laid  in  narrow  high 
ridges  just  before  winter  ; — it 
should  be  ploughed  again  in  the 
spring  ;  a  third  time  in  June  ;  and 
lastly  towards  the  end  of  July  or 
early  in  August.  In  the  intervals 
between  each  ploughing,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  harrow  the  soil,  so 
that  all  weeds  may  be  destroyed. 

Woad  is  sown  in  England  early 
in  August,  and  generally  broadcast. 


wo  A 


WOL 


.517 


though  the  drill-husbandry  is  the 
most  advantageous.  At  the  end  of 
two  or  three  weeks,  the  plants  must 
be  hoed  at  the  distance  of  at  least 
six  inches  ;  after  which  they  will 
require  no  further  attention,  ex- 
cept a  careful  weeding  in  October, 
and  particularly  in  the  month  of 
March. 

The  proper  time  for  gathering 
the  leaves  is  determined  by  their 
full  growth,  and  the  first  change  of 
colour  at  their  points ;  they  are  cut 
with  an  edged  tool,  and  collected 
into  baskets  by  women  and  chil- 
dren. If  the  land  be  good  three  or 
four  successive  crops  may  be  taken ; 
but  the  two  first  are  the  finest. 
After  the  leaves  are  gathered  they 
are  submitted  to  the  action  of  mills, 
similar  to  those  employed  in  grind- 
ing oak  bark ;  and  in  which  they 
are  reduced  to  a  kind  of  pulp. 
The  woad  is  then  laid  in  small 
heaps,  which  are  closely  and 
smoothly  pressed  down.  As  often 
as  the  crust  formed  on  the  outside 
cracks  or  breaks  it  is  again  closed, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  colouring 
matter.  In  this  state  it  remains 
for  a  fortnight ;  at  the  expiration 
of  which  the  heaps  are  broken  up  ; 
the  external  part  is  worked  into  a 
mass,  and  the  whole  is  formed  into 
oval  balls,  either  by  the  hand  or 
by  the  means  of  moulds.  The 
balls  are  now  exposed  to  the  sun 
under  shelter;  when  perfectly  dry 
they  are  ready  for  sale.  Such  is 
the  process  which  woad  undergoes 
before  it  becomes  fit  for  dying  blue 
colours.  But  Mr.  Astrue  is  of 
opinion,  that  if  this  vegetable  were 
cured  in  the  same  manner  as  indi- 
go, it  would  produce  a  colour  of 


equal  lustre  to  that  obtained  from 
such  an  expensive  drug.  Dam- 
bourney  directs  to  boil  the  fresh 
leaves  of  woad  with  diluted  bul- 
lock's blood,  or  more  effectually 
with  caustic  soap-boiler's  ley  ;  in 
this  simple  manner,  a  dark  gr(;en 
decoction  of  a  bluish  shade  will 
be  obtained ;  and  after  clarifying 
the  liquor,  it  will  forni  a  blue  pre- 
cipitate ;  which  dissolved  in  oil  of 
vitriol,  and  properly  diluted,  im- 
parts a  beautiful  colour  to  woollen 
cloth.  Farther,  even  the  leaves, 
in  a  state  of  fermentation,  with 
pure  water  on  adding  a  small  por- 
tion of  caustic  alkaline  ley,  afford 
a  fine  blue  sediment,  resembling 
the  true  indigo. 

[This  useful  article  abounds  in 
the  Western  States,  and  also  in 
Pennsylvania,  according  to  the  re- 
port of  an  experienced  native  of 
Great  Britain,  who  is  settled  near 
the  head  of  Ohio,  in  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania.  It  appears 
that  the  farina  is  much  richer  than 
that  in  England ;  and  that  instead 
of  two  crops,  which  are  obtained 
in  England,  five  are  yielded  in  the 

United     States.] Massachusetts 

Agrictdtural  Repository,  Vol.  Ill, 
p."  136—139.  See  likewise  the 
same  work.  Vol.  IV.  p.  289 — 298. 

WOLF,  a  wild  beast  of  the  dog 
kind. 

This  animal  is  very  fierce,  equal 
in  size  to  a  large  mastiff,  and  has 
much  the  same  appearance. 

Wolves  are  gregarious,  go  in 
droves,  and  surprize  the  nightly 
traveller  with  their  hideous  yelling. 
No  beast  of  prey  in  this  country  is 
more  formidable  \  they  sometimes 
attack  men. 


518 


WOO 


W  O  0 


New-England,  even  from  its  first 
settlement,  has  been  much  infested 
with  wolves.  And,  notwithstand- 
ing the  bounties  that  have  been 
given  by  government  for  destroy- 
ing them,  the  settlements  bordering 
on  the  wilderness  are  still  subject 
to  their  mischievous  incursions  ;  so 
that  there  is  little  safety  for  sheep 
in  these  situations.  Almost  whole 
flocks  in  a  night  are  sometimes  de- 
stroyed by  them.  This  exposure 
to  wolves  is  equal  to  a  heavy  tax 
upon  ourfirontier  plantations. 

To  secure  the  sheep  from  this 
enemy,  it  is  necessary  that  they  be 
pastured  in  the  open  fields  by  day, 
and  housed  in  strong  places  every 
night :  And  even  these  precautions 
do  not  always  prove  effectual. 

Some  say,  that  smearing  the 
heads  of  sheep  with  a  composition 
of  tar  and  gunpowder  will  prevent 
their  being  attacked  by  the  wolves ; 
but  I  cannot  certify  this  from  my 
own  experience. 

WOOD,  a  solid  substance,  of 
which  the  trunks  and  limbs  of  trees, 
as  well  as  their  roots,  consist. 

"  The  wood  is  all  that  part  of  a 
tree  included  between  the  bark  and 
the  pith." 

Dr.  Grew  has  discovered,  by  the 
assistance  of  the  microscope,  that 
what  we  call  wood,  notwithstand- 
ing its  hardness  and  solidity,  is  only 
an  assemblage  of  minute  pipes,  or 
hollow  fibres,  some  of  which  rise 
from  the  root  upwards,  and  are  dis- 
posed in  form  of  a  circle;  and  the 
others,  which  he  calls  insertions, 
tend  horizontally  from  the  surface 
to  the  centre  •,  so  that  they  cross 
each  other,  and  are  interwoven  Uke 
the  threads  of  a  weaver's  web. 


Each  year's  growth  in  wood  is 
marked  by  circles  visible  to  the 
naked  eye,  by  counting  of  which 
circles  the  age  of  a  tree  is  known. 

WOOD  LAND,  ground  covered 
with  wood,  or  trees.  They  are 
mostly  designed  for  fuel  and  tim- 
ber. In  felling  them,  care  should 
be  taken  to  injure  the  young  growth 
as  little  as  possible.  Fire  wood, 
as  well  as  timber,  should  be  felled, 
when  the  sap  is  down.  Otherwise 
it  will  hiss  and  fry  upon  the  fire, 
and  not  burn  freely,  although  it 
should  be  ever  so  long  dried.  To 
thicken  a  forest,  or  to  increase  the 
number  of  trees  in  a  wood  lot,  it 
should  be  well  fenced,  and  no  cat- 
tle be  permitted  to  be  in  it.  And 
something  may  be  done,  if  needful, 
by  layers  and  cuttings. 

The  practice  of  the  popu- 
lous nations  of  Europe,  whose 
forests  have  been  cut  off  centu- 
ries ago,  and  who  are  compelled 
to  resort  to  measures  of  the  strict- 
est economy,  to  supply  them- 
selves with  fuel,  ought  to  have 
great  weight  with  us.  France,  in 
an  especial  manner,  ought  to  be 
looked  up  to  for  wise  lessons  on 
this  subject.  Her  vast  and  thickly 
settled  population,  her  numerous 
manufactures,  her  poverty  in  mi- 
neral coal,  the  eminence,  which 
she  has  attained  in  all  economical 
arts,  entitle  her  to  great  respect. 
It  is  the  practice  of  the  French 
people  not  to  cut  off  their  woods 
oftener  than  once  in  twenty  or 
twenty-five  years,  and  by  law,  when 
they  are  cut  over,  the  owner  is 
obliged  to  cut  the  whole  smooth, 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  few 
trees,  which  the  officers  of  the  go- 


woo 


woo 


519 


vernment  had  marked  to  be  spared 
for  larger  growth — without  giving 
any  opinion,  as  to  the  propriety  of 
the  direct  interference  of  the  go- 
vernment on  such  a  topic,  we  should 
say  that  the  example  proves  that 
in  the  opinion  of  the  French  scien- 
tific and  practical  men,  it  is  expe- 
dient, when  wood  lands  are  cut, 
thai  they  should  be  cut  smooth,  in 
order  that  the  new  growth  might 
start  together,  not  overshaded  by 
other  trees  of  larger  growth.  We 
have  no  favourable  opinion  of  the 
utility  of  cutting  down  trees  in  a 
scattered  manner,  as  they  appear 
to  fail,  and  still  less  of  planting 
acorns  in  thinner  spots  of  the  forest. 
The  growth  thus  produced  must 
remain  forever  feeble. 

WOOL,  the  covering  of  sheep. 

Each  fleece  consists  of  wool  of 
several    different    qualities.     The 
English  and  French  usually  divide 
wool  into  three  principal  sorts;   1.  j 
that  of  the  neck  and  back,  which  : 
they  call  mother  wool ;   2.  that  of  j 
the  tails  and  legs ;    3.  that  of  the  j 
breast  and  belly.     These  different  i 
kinds  should  not  be  mixed  in  spin- 
ning. 

The  two  best  qualities  in  wool 
are  length  and  fineness. 

To  improve  the  wool  of  our 
flocks,  no  lambs  should  be  kept  for 
breeders,  but  such  as  bear  the  best 
wool;  and  fine  wooUed  rams  should 
be  procured  from  distant  places, 
or  from  foreign  countries. 

It  will  also  conduce  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  wool,  if  the  sheep 
are  kept  in  dry  pastures,  upon  short 
and  sweet  grass  in  the  summer, 
and  upon  the  best  hay  in  the  win- 
ter.   Great  care  should   also  be 


taken  lo  prevent  their  being  over- 
heated, either  by  obliging  them  to 
feed  in  the  hottest  part  of  hot  days 
in  summer,  or  by  housing  them  in 
too  hot,  small,  and  close  places,  at 
any  season.  They  should  also  be 
kept,  as  much  as  possible,  from 
fouling  their  fleeces,  by  lying  on 
their  excrements,  without  litter. 

The  Spanish  wool  is  preferred 
to  any  other  that  is  produced  in 
Europe.  A  writer  in  that  country 
says,  "  There  are  two  kinds  of 
sheep  in  Spain,  namely,  the  coarse 
wooUed  sheep,  which  remain  all 
their  lives  in  their  native  country, 
and  which  are  housed  every  night 
in  winter ;  and  the  fine  woolled 
sheep,  which  are  all  their  lives  in 
the  open  air,  which  travel  at  the 
end  of  every  summer  from  the  cool 
mountains  of  the  northern  parts  of 
Spain,  to  feed  all  the  winter  on 
the  southern  warm  plains  of  Anda- 
lusia, Manca,  and  Estremadura.  It 
has  appeared  from  very  accurate 
calculations,  that  there  are  not 
fewer  than  five  millions  of  the  fine 
woolled  sheep  in  Spain.  Special 
ordinances,  privileges,  and  immu- 
nities, are  issued  for  the  better  pre- 
servation and  government  of  the 
sheep,  which  are  und,er  the  care  of 
twenty-five  thousand  men.  These 
sheep  pass  the  summer  in  the  cool 
mountains  of  Leo,  Old  Castile,  Cu- 
enqa,  and  Arragon.  The  first  thing 
the  shepherd  does  when  the  flock 
returns  from  the  south  to  its  sum- 
mer downs,  is,  to  give  the  sheep  as 
much  salt  as  they  will  eat.  Every 
owner  allows  his  flock  of  a  thou- 
sand sheep  twenty-five  quintals  of 
salt,  which  the  flock  eat  in  about 
five  months.     They  eat   none  in 


520 


WOO 


woo 


their  journey,  nor  in  winter.  Fi  om 
the  territory  called  the  Montana, 
at  the  extremity  of  Old  Castile, 
from  whence  they  set  out,  to  Estre- 
madura,  is  one  hundredtifly  leagues, 
which  they  march  in  less  than  forty 
days.  As  soon  as  April  comes,  the 
sheep  express,  by  various  uneasy 
motions,  a  strong  desire  to  return 
to  their  summer  habitations.  The 
sheep  of  Estremadura,  which  never 
travel,  have  coarse,  long,  hairy 
wool.  The  itinerant  sheep  have 
short,  silky,  white  wool ;  the  fine- 
ness of  which  is  owing  to  the  ani- 
mal's passing  its  life  in  the  open 
air,  of  equal  temperature  ;  for  it  is 
not  colder  in  Andalusia  or  Estre- 
niadura  in  winter,  than  it  is  in 
Montana  or  Molina  in  summer." 
The  sheep,  by  these  judicious  re- 
movals, are  grazing  both  in  sum- 
mer and  winter,  and  are  never  ex- 
posed to  extreme  heats  or  colds. 
Next  to  this  management  insular 
situations  in  temperate  climates 
are  the  best  places  for  the  constant 
feeding  of  sheep,  where  the  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold  are  not  so 
great  as  on  a  continent  in  the  same 
latitude. 

Although  we  are  accustomed  to 
consider  wool  as  the  exclusive  pro- 
duction of  the  sheep,  and  as  cha- 
racteristic of  that  species  of  ani- 
mal, yet  there  are  sheep,  vvhich  are 
as  destitute  of  wool  as  a  deer,  or  a 
grey  hound.  Sheep  of  this  kind 
are  found  in  Tartary  Africa,  the 
East  Indies,  and  the  Chinese  Em- 
pire. There  are  likewise  animals, 
which  yield  a  fur  in  many  respects 
resembling  wool,  and  which  is  used 
for  the  same  purposes,  such  as  the 
goat,  the   camel,  the  dromedary. 


and  the  vicuna  of  South  Ameri- 
ca. 

The  covering  with  which  Provi- 
dence, always  attentive  to  the 
wants  of  his  creatures,  has  furnish- 
ed most  quadrupeds  is  adapted  to 
the  climate  which  they  inhabit. 
In  those  where  a  heavy  coat  would 
be  an  incumbrance  we  find  even 
the  sheep  destitute  of  its  usual 
fleece.  On  the  other  hand,  from 
latitudes  where  the  rigours  of  win- 
ter are  very  severe  we  import 
those  furs,  which  contribute  to  the 
comfort  and  elegance  of  our  own 
attire. 

The  amelioration  of  flocks  of 
sheep  has  always  been  closely  con- 
nected with  the  progress  of  the  arts, 
and  of  civilization,  for  we  uniform- 
ly find  in  countries  where  these 
have  flourished,  a  race  of  sheep, 
which  yield  wool  much  superior  to 
that  we  find  all  around  them. 

The  particular  shape  of  the  fila- 
ment is  most  probably  determined 
by  that  of  the  pore  in  the  skin, 
through  which  it  is  protruded.  In 
some  families  of  sheep  we  observe 
the  pile  perfectly  round  and  even, 
like  a  very  nicely  drawn  wire,  and 
in  others  it  is  uniformly  flat  and 
smooth,  like  a  small  bar  of  finely 
polished  steel.  This  diflerence  is 
frequently  discovered  by  inspec- 
tion alone,  but  becomes  more  ob- 
vious if  one  end  of  the  filament  be 
held  fast  while  the  other  is  rolled 
round  its  own  axis  between  the 
fingers.  It  then  reflects  the  rays  of 
light,  if  it  be  flat  in  the  same  way 
that  the  metallic  shreds,  which  we 
obtain  from  gold  and  silver  lace, 
do  when  they  are  treated  in  a  si- 
milar    manner,     and    concerning 


woo 


woo 


521 


whose  shape  we  can  have  no  rea- 
sonable doubt. 

Another  topic  which  deserves  at- 
tention is  a  substance  intimately 
blended  with  the  pile  of  the  fleece, 
which  on  account  of  its  ^^eliowness 
and  consistency  is  denomniated  the 
yolk.  The  best  breeds  of  sheep 
produce  this  in  the  greatest  abun- 
dance. Those  parts  of  the  sheep 
which  produce  yolk  most  copiously 
furnish  the  best  wool.  M.  Vau- 
quelin,  who  has  submitted  this  yolk 
to  chemical  analysis,  declares  that 
the  greater  part  of  it  is  a  soap  with 
a  base  of  potash,  and  that  the  re- 
maining portion  consists  of  salt  in  a 
state  of  combination  with  other 
substances. 

The  manner  in  which  this  yolk 
acts  upon  wool  is  unknown.  The 
most  plausible  conjecture  appears 
to  be  that  it  is  a  secretion,  exuding 
from  the  skin,  which  by  mingling 
with  the  pile  renders  it  soft,  plia- 
ble and  healthy,  in  the  same  way 
as  oil  does  a  thoug  of  leather. 

It  would  be  vain  to  undertake  to 
point  out  any  particular  kind  of 
wool,  which,  in  all  circumstances 
might  be  considered  as  best,  as  this 
would  depend  on  the  kind  of  manu- 
facture contemplated,  but  whether 
the  wool  be  long  or  short  of  a  coar- 
ser or  finer  pile,  it  will  be  good  or 
bad  in  proportion  to  the  quantity 
of  sound  and  healthy  yolk  in  which 
it  is  produced.  I 

The  breed  of  the   sheep   is  the  ! 
basis  upon  which  all  improvements  i 
of   the    flock    must    be   founded.  { 
Though  English  and  Spanish  sheep 
have  degenerated,   when  exported 
to  other  chmates  it  is  said  that  the 
deterioration  has  been  the  conse- 
66 


quence  of  the  intermixture  of  blood 
with  sheep  of  an  inferior  quality. 
Mr.  Lackner  says,  "  the  sheep  of 
England,  when  transported  to  Ja- 
maica, )^ield  the  same  kind  of  '  bur- 
ly fleece,'  as  they  did  at  home, 
and  if  prevented  from  mingling 
their  breed  with  the  native  stock 
their  offspring  afford  a  wool  exact- 
ly similar  to  what  they  would  have 
done  in  this  climate." 

The  mode  of  washing  sheep 
sometirnes  practiced  where  water 
is  scarce  and  the  shepherd  careless 
instead  of  separating  from  the  fleece 
all  ttie  sand,  clay  and  other  dirt  with 
which  it  is  incumbered,  supplies  it 
with  a  still  larger  proportion.  They 
are  too  often  washed  in  muddy 
pools,  or  small  rivulets  of  water, 
which  are  rendered  turbid  by  the 
process,  or  driven  along  dusty  roads, 
or  lodged  in  sandy  or  dusty  places. 
Sheep  too  are  often  allowed  to  car- 
ry about  them  loads  of  their  own 
excrement,  and  thus  impeaching 
ihe  humanity  as  well  as  the  clean- 
liness of  their  owners.  What  are 
called  the  tag  locks  should  be  care- 
fully cut  away,  and  the  sheep  should 
be  kept  in  clean  dry  pastures  after 
having  been  washed  before  shear- 
ing. 

Graziers  may  increase  the  length 
of  their  staple  by  various  means. 
The  management  of  the  breed  is 
not  only  the  most  natural  and  easy 
method,  but  that  also  which  is  most 
Ui-ually  adopted.  Its  effects  are 
more  permanent  than  others  which 
are  sometimes  resorted  to,  but  less 
pure  from  deleterious  influences ; 
for  it  is  not  unfrequently  observed, 
that  the  ram  communicating  to  his 
offspring  an    increased  length  of 


522 


WOO 


woo 


staple,  gives  to  it  also  a  coarser 
pile.  Feeding  the  sheep  upon  the 
richer  grasses,  upon  turnips  and 
oil  cake,  thus  forcing  both  the  car- 
case and  the  fleece,  seems  to  be  a 
method  of  increasing  the  wool  free 
from  contaminating  influence,  but 
requires  the  animal  to  be  constant- 
ly supported,  even  to  the  point  of 
luxurious  feeding ;  and  the  effects 
of  the  system  remain  no  longer 
than  it  is  continued.  Another  me- 
thod is  to  keep  the  wool  upon  the 
back  of  the  sheep  two  who^e  years ; 
which  requires  care  that  the  ani- 
mal be  not  injured  by  cold,  or  by 
hunger,  while  the  sheep  is  growing. 

The  softness  of  the  piie  is  an 
essential  quality  of  the  fleece  ; 
and  this  depends  very  much  on  the 
breed  of  sheep,  and  the  quantity 
of  yolk,  which  they  constantly  af- 
ford. Mr.  Luccock  says,  that  "The 
Spaniard  is  so  thoroughly  aware  of 
the  value  of  this  property  and  the 
means  to  promote  it,  that  he  not 
only  attends  with  peculiar  care  tP 
the  breed  which  travels  to  tlie 
mountains,  but  before  shearing  en- 
closes the  sheep  in  sudatories,  in 
order  to  saturate  and  soften  the 
pile  with  the  yolk."  The  softest 
pile  is  collected,  if  the  breed  be 
similar  from  flocks,  which  have 
been  kept  in  good  condition,  upon 
loamy  soils,  and  into  whose  fleeces 
no  particles  of  absorbent  earth 
have  been  admitted.  Lime  or 
chalk,  it  is  said,  will  injure  fleeces 
1i)y  absorbing  or  altering  the  quality 
of  the  yolk. 

"  Formerly,"  says  an  English 
writer,  ''the  manufacturer  in  show- 
ing his  cloth  was  more  anxious  to 
exhibit  the  fineness  of  the  thread 


than  prove  the  softness  of  the  pile. 
For  this  purpose  he  used  to  scrape 
off  the  pile  from  a  small  part  of  the 
cloth  to  display  the  smallness  and 
regularity  of  the  spinning  :  since 
he  has  been  enabled  by  machinery 
to  spin  a  small  even  thread  with 
great  facility,  the  practice  is  dis- 
continued. Cloth  is  now  finished 
without  that  hard,  shining  surface, 
which  was  given  to  it  a  few  years 
since  by  hot-pressing,  which  pre- 
vented the  softness  of  the  pile  from 
being  felt.  By  the  present  mode 
of  cold  pressing,  the  softness  of  the 
pile  becomes  immediately  percep- 
tible to  the  touch,  and  is  consider- 
ed as  one  of  the  most  distinguish- 
ing and  essential  qualities  of  a  good 
cloth.  It  may  be  affirmed,  that 
taking  two  packs  of  sorted  wool  of 
the  same  apparent  fineness,  one 
possessing  in  an  eminent  degree 
the  soft  quality,  the  other  of  the 
hard  kind,  the  former  will,  with  the 
same  expense  to  the  manufacturer, 
make  a  cloth,  the  value  of  which 
shall  exceed  the  latter  full  twenty- 
five  per  cent." 

Housing  the  sheep  at  night,  and 
providing  for  them  a  shelter  during 
the  day  from  the  rain  and  sun  pre- 
serves and  improves  the  wool,  and 
conduces  to  the  health  of  the  ani- 
mal ;  and  in  proportion  to  the  re- 
gularity of  the  temperature  in  which 
sheep  are  kept,  and  to  the  regular 
supply  of  nourishment  which  they 
receive,  will  the  hair  or  fibre  of 
the  wool  preserve  a  regular  degree 
of  fineness. 

M.  Monge  gives  the  following 
account  of  that  extraordinary  pro- 
perty in  wool,  called  the  felting 
quality. 


woo 


WOR 


523 


"  The  felting  of  wool  or  hair,  is 
an  effect  resulting  from  the  exter- 
nal conformation  of  their  fibres, 
which  appear  to  be  formed  either 
of  small  lamina  placed  over  each 
other,  in  a  slanting  direction  from 
the  root  towards  the  end  or  point 
of  each  fibre,  like  the  scales  offish 
lying  one  over  the  other  in  succes- 
sion from  the  head  to  the  tail;  or 
of  zones  placed  one  upon  another, 
as  in  the  horns  of  animals  ;  from 
which  structure  each  fibre,  if  drawn 
from  its  root  towards  its  point,  will 
pass  smoothly  through  the  fingers, 
but  if  it  be  drawn  in  a  contrary  di 
rection  from  the  point  towards  the 
root,  a  sensible  resistance  and  tre- 
mulous motion  will  be  felt  by  the 
fingerst  This  peculiar  conforma- 
tion disposes  the  fibres  to  catch  hold 
of  each  other ;  and  as  they  cannot 
recede  when  acted  upon  by  other 
bodies,  they  naturally  advance  by 
a  progressive  motion  from  the  root 
towards  the  end." — See  Ann*  de 
Chymie,  tom.  VI.  p.  300,  &c. 

The  hairs  of  wool,  when  card- 
ed and  spun,  are  laid  in  every  di- 
rection, and  when  they  are  com- 
pressed and  agitated,  this  disposi- 
tion to  catch  each  other,  and  move 
from  the  point  to  the  root,  must  in- 
evitably bring  the  whole  mass  clo- 
ser together.  This  is  the  case  when 
cloth  is  fulled  or  milled,  by  which 
it  is  shortened  both  in  length  and 
breadth.  Not  being  perfectly  sa- 
tisfied with  the  account  given  by 
M.  Monge,  1  adopted  a  very  sim- 
ple experiment  to  ascertain  its 
truth.  1  took  a  staple  of  coarse 
wool,  of  considerable  length,  with 
the  hairs  lying  regularly  in  one  di- 
rection.   At  the  distance  of  an  inch 


from  each  end,  I  made  a  tight  liga- 
ture with  a  thread.  I  measured 
the  middle  of  the  staple  between 
each  end,  and  then  proceeded  to 
mill  it,  by  compressing  it  in  my 
hand  in  a  solution  of  soap  and  warm 
water.  I  continued  the  operation 
until  each  end  of  the  staple  beyond 
the  thread  was  felted  into  a  hard 
knob,  or  button,  which  could  not 
be  separated  by  the  fingers.  The 
middle  of  the  staple  remained  un- 
felted,  the  hairs  quite  distinct  from 
each  other;  and  it  was  not  in  the 
least  shortened  in  the  process,  ei- 
ther in  the  wet  state  or  when  dried. 
In  the  middle  part  of  the  staple, 
between  the  two  threads,  the  hairs 
were  kept  in  the  same  direction 
by  being  tied,  and  could  not  acquire 
the  retrograde  motion,  or  adiiere 
by  the  surfaces  catching  hold  of 
each  other.  The  hairs  at  the  end 
of  the  staple  being  at  liberty  to 
double  and  move  in  different  di- 
rections, were  soon  felted  together 
into  a  smooth  and  round  knob,  in 
which  the  ends  or  points  of  the 
wool  were  entirely  buried. 

See  Hints  to  Wool  Growers, 
Agricultural  Repository,  Vol.  IV. 
page  57.  Likewise  a  paper  on 
"  British  Wool,"  &c.  in  the  same 
work,  vol.  IV.  page  145,  and  Luc- 
cock's  Essay  on  Wool, 

WORMS,  a  well  known  species 
of  insects. 

Fields  and  gardens  are  often  in- 
fested by  worms.  The  best  anti- 
dotes are,  dressings  of  sea-manures, 
wetting  the  ground  with  sea-water. 
Soot,  lime,  and  ashes  sprinkled  on 
the  ground,  oppose  their  ravages. 
The  refuse  brine  of  salted  meat, 
or  water  in  which  walnut  leaves 


524 


wou 


wou 


have  beeen  steeped  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  sprinkled  on  gardens,  will 
subdue  the  worms.  The  water  of 
salt  springs  may  be  used  with  great 
advantage  by  those  who  are  near 
them.  Those  who  are  remote 
from  them,  and  from  the  sea,  ma} 
use  salt  and  water,  and  such  other 
antidotes  as  they  can  most  easily 
procure. 

When  worms  breed  in  horses,  it 
arises  from  weak  digestion,  or  a 
vitiated  appetite.  To  cure  a  horse 
of  hots  : 

"  Take  quicksilver  two  drams ;  Ve- 
nice turpentine  half  an  ounce  ; 
rub  the  quicksilver  till  no  glisten- 
ing appears;  then  take  an  ounce 
of  aloes,  a  dram  of  grated  gin- 
ger, thirty  drops  of  oil  of  savin, 
and  syrup  of  buckthorn  enough 
to  make  the  whole  into  a  ball. 
"One  of  these  balls  may  be  given 
every  six  days,  with  the  usual  pre- 
cautions with  regard  to  mercurial 
physic  :  And  the  following  powders 
intermediately. 

"  Take  powdered  tin  and  ^ithiops 
mineral,  of  each  an  ounce;  and 
give  it  every  night  in  a  mash,  or 
in  his  corn. 

"  These  medicines,  or  any  of  the 
various  preparations  of  antimony 
and  mercury,  should  be  continued 
several  weeks  together,  in  order  to 
free  the  animal  entirely  from  these 
vermin." — BartlcOs  Farrieri/. 

WOUND,  a  hurt  given  by  vio- 
lence. 

"  In  all  fresh  wounds  made  by 
cutting  instruments,  there  is  no- 
thing more  required  than  bringing 
the  lips  of  the  wound  into  contact 
by  sutuie  or  bandage,  provided  the 
part  will  allow  of  it ;  for  on  wounds 


of  the  hips,  or  other  prominent 
parts,  and  across  some  ol  the  large 
muscles,  the  stitches  are  apt  to 
burst  on  the  horse's  lying  down  and 
rising  up  in  the  stall.  In  such 
cases,  the  lips  should  not  be  brought 
close  together.  One  stitch  is  siitfi- 
cient  for  a  wound  two  inches 
long ;  but  in  large  wounds  may  be 
at  an  inch  or  more  distance  ;  and 
if  the  wound  is  deep  in  the  mus- 
cles, care  should  be  taken  to  pass 
the  needles  proportionably  deep, 
otherwise  the  wound  will  not  unite 
properly  at  the  bottom. 

"  Should  the  wound  bleed  much 
from  an  artery  divided,  the  tirst 
step  should  be  to  secure  it,  by  pass- 
ing a  crooked  needle  underneath, 
and  tying  it  up  with  a  waxed  thread. 
If  the  artery  cannot  be  got  at  this 
way,  apply  a  button  of  lint  or  tow 
to  the  mouth  of  the  bleeding  ves- 
sel, dipped  in  a  strong  solution  of 
blue  vitriol,  styptic  water,  oil  of 
vitriol,  or  hot  oil  of  turpentine, 
powdered  vitriol,  or  colcothar,  &c. 
and  remember  always  to  apply  it 
close  to  the  mouth  of  the  bleeding 
vessels,  and  take  care  that  it  is 
kept  there  by  proper  compress  and 
bandage,  till  an  eschar  is  formed  ; 
otherwise  it  will  elude  your  expec- 
tations, and  frequently  alarm  you 
with  fresh  bleedings. 

"  In  a  healthy  and  sound  consti- 
tution, nature  furnishes  the  best 
balsam,  and  performs  herself  the 
cure,  which  is  so  often  attributed 
to  medicine.  When  it  is  other- 
wise, and  the  blood  is  deprived  of 
its  balsamic  state,  as  will  appear 
from  the  aspect  of  the  wound,  and 
its  manner  of  healing,  it  must  be 
rectitied  by  proper  internal  mcdi- 


YEA 


YEL 


525 


cines,  before  a  good  foundation  for 
healing  can  be  laid  by  any  exter- 
nal applications. 

"  The  lips  of  the  wound  being 
brought  together  by  the  needle  or 
bandage,  it  needs  only  to  be  cover- 
ed with  rags  dipped  in  brandy,  or  a 
pledget  of  tow  spread  with  the 
wound  ointment,  and  the  wounded 
part  kept  as  much  as  possible  from 
motion. 

"  Remember  to  dress  all  the 
wounds  of  the  joints,  tendons,  and 
membranous  parts,  with  terebin 
thinate  medicines  :  To  which  may 
be  added  honey  and  tincture  of 
myrrh  ;  and  avoid  all  greasy  ap- 
plications whatever.  Fomentations 
and  poultices  are  also  generall} 
here  of  great  use  ;  the  former  thiri 
and  attenuate  the  impacted  fluids, 
greatly  promote  a  free  perspiration 
of  the  limb,  and  facilitate  the  un 
loading  the  surcharge  of  the  ves- 
sels, by  quickening  the  motion  of 
the  fluids ;  while  the  latter,  by  re- 
laxing the  vessels,  abate  their  ten 
sion,  and  relieve  the  obstruction 
by  promoting  digestion." — Bart- 
let^s  Farriery. 


Y. 

YARD,  a  measure  of  three  feet. 

YARD,  a  small  enclosure  for 
cattle.     See  the  article  Barn  Yard. 

YEAR,  the  time  the  sun  takes 
to  go  through  the  twelve  signs  of 
the  zodiac. 

YEAST.      Dr.   Mease    recom 
mends  yeast  made  after  the  follow- 
ing  recipe,   as  preferable   to  any 
other  kittd. 

Boil  twelve  clean  washed,  mid- 


dle sized  potatoes ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  boil,  in  another  vessel,  a 
handful  of  hops  in  a  quart  of  wa- 
ter ;  peel  and  mash  the  potatoes 
in  a  marble  mortar,  pour  part  of 
the  hop  water  while  hot  upon  the 
potatoes,  mix  them  well,  and  pass 
them  through  a  sieve  ;  then  add  the 
remainder  of  the  hop-water,  and 
half  a  tea  cup  full  of  honey,  beat  all 
well,  and  add  a  small  portion  of 
leaven  to  bring  on  the  fermenta- 
tion. Put  the  whole  in  a  stone 
jug,  and  set  it  by  the  fire,  (in  the 
winter.)  All  the  utensils  must  be 
scalded  every  time  they  are  used, 
and  washed  perfectly  clean.  One 
tea  cup  full  of  the  above  potatoe 
yeast  will  answer  for  two  quarts  of 
flour.  In  summer  the  yeast  ought 
to  be  made  every  second  day. — 
Domestic  Encyclopedia. 

YELLOW  WEED,  meadow 
crow  foot,  Ranunculus. 

This  weed  is  known  in  England 
by  the  names,  king  cob,  king  cup, 
gold  cups,  gold  knobs,  butter  cups, 
and  butter  flowers.  The  flowers, 
which  appear  in  June,  and  are  of  a 
bright  yellow  colour,  give  our  mow- 
ing lands  and  pastures  a  very  gay 
appearance.  It  is  of  a  very  hot 
and  acrid  nature,  and  is  eaten  in  its 
green  state  by  neither  neat  cattle 
nor  horses.  Therefore,  the  opinion 
of  its  increasing  the  yellowness  of 
butter  in  summer  is  groundless. 
See  the  article  Weeds.  This  weed, 
when  dried,  is  so  good  fodder,  that 
hungry  cattle  seldom  leave  any 
part  of  it. 

YELLOWS,  a  disease  incident 
to  horses  and  neat  cattle,  more 
properly  called  the  jaundice.  The 
vulgar  name  of  this  disease  in  neat 


526 


YEL 


YEL 


cattle  is,    the  Overflowing  of  the 
Gall,     See  that  article. 

Horses  are  frequently  subject  to 
this  distemper,  which  is  known  hy 
a  dusky  yellowness  of  the  eyes  : 
The  inside  of  the  mouth  and  lips, 
the  tongue  and  bars  of  the  roof  of 
the  mouth  looking  also  yellow. 
The  creature  is  dull,  and  refuses 
all  manner  of  food  ;  the  fever  is 
slow,  yet  both  that  and  the  yellow- 
ness increase  together.  The  dung; 
is  often  hard  and  dry,  of  a  pale 
yellow,  or  light  pale  green.  His 
urine  is  commonly  of  a  dark  dirty^ 
brown  colour;  and  when  it  has 
settled  some  time  on  the  pave- 
ment, it  looks  red  like  blood.  He 
stales  with  some  pain  and  difficulty, 
and  if  the  distemper  is  not  checked, 
soon  grows  delirious  and  frantic. 
The  off  side  of  the  belly  is  some 
times  hard  and  distended  ;  and  in 
old  horses,  when  the  liver  has  been 
long  diseased,  the  cure  is  scarce 
practicable,  and  ends  fatally  with 
a  wasting  diarrhoea  :  But  when  the 
distemper  is  recent,  and  in  young 
horses,  there  is  no  fear  of  a  reco- 
very, if  the  following  directions 
are  observed. 

'First  of  all  bleed  plentifully,  and 
give  the  laxative  clyster,  as  hor- 
ses are  apt  to  be  very  costive  in 
this  distemper ;  and  the  next  day 
give  him  this  purge  : 
Take  of  Indian  rhubarb  powdered, 
one  ounce  and  a  half;    safTron 
two  drams,  succotrine  aloes  six 
drams,    syrup    of    buckthorn   a 
sufficient  quantity. 
"  If  the  rhubarb  should  be  found 
too  expensive,  omit  it,  and  add  the 
same  quantity  of  cream  of  tartar, 
and  half  an  ounce  of  Castile  soap, 


with   four   drams   more   of   aloes, 

This  may  be  repeated  two  or  three 

times,    giving    intermediately    the 

following  balls  and  drink  : 

Take  of  ^Etbiops  mineral  half  an 

ounce  ;    millepedes     the    same 

quantity,  Castile  soap  one  ounce  ; 

make  into  a  ball,  and  give  one 

every  day,    and  wash    it  down 

with  a  pint  of  this  decoction  : 

Take  madder  root  and  turmeric, 

of  each  four  ounces ;    burdock 

root  sliced,  half  a  pound;  Monk's 

rhubarb  four  ounces ;    liquorice 

sliced    two   ounces :    Boil  in  a 

gallon  of  forge   water  to  three 

quarts  ;   strain  ofT  and  sweeten 

with  honey. 

"Balls  of  Castile  soap  and  tur- 
meric may  be  given  also  for  this 
purpose,  to  the  quantity  of  three 
or  four  ounces  a  day,  and  will  in 
most  recent  cases  succeed. 

"  By  these  means  the  distemper 
generally  abates  in  a  week,  which 
may  be  discovered  by  an  alteration 
in  the  horse's  eyes  and  mouth  ;  but 
the  medicines  must  be  continued 
till  the  yellowness  is  entirely  re- 
moved. Should  the  distemper 
prove  obstinate,  and  not  submit  to 
this  treatment,  you  must  try  more 
potent  remedies,  viz.  mercurial 
physic,  repeated  two  or  three  times 
at  proper  intervals  ;  and  then  the 
following  balls  : 

Take  salt  of  tartar  two  ounces,  cin- 
nabar of  antimony  four  ounces, 
live  millepedes  and  filings  of 
steel,  of  each  four  ounces,  Cas- 
tile or  Venice  soap  half  a  pound  : 
Make  into  balls  of  the  size  of 
pullets'  eggs,  and  give  one  night 
and  morning,  with  a  pint  of  the 
above  drink. 


YOA 


YO  A 


527 


"  It, will  be  proper,  on  his  reco- 
very, to  give  him  two  or  three 
mild  purges,  and,  if  a  full  fat  horse, 
to  put  in  a  rowel." — Bartlet''s  Far- 
riery. 

YEOMAN,  the  addition  of  the 
first  or  highest  degree  among  the 
plebeians  of  England.  The  yeo- 
men are  properly  freeholders,  who 
cultivate  their  own  lands. 

YEST,  or  YEAST,  or  BARM, 
a  head  or  sciim  rising  upon  beer, 
or  ale,  while  it  is  working  or  fer- 
menting in  the  vat. 

It  is  used  as  a  leaven  or  ferment 
by  the  bakers,  serving  to  swell  or 
puff  up  their  dough,  which  renders 
the  bread  lighter,  softer,  and  more 
wholesome,  as  well  as  more  pala- 
table. But  when  there  is  too  much 
yest  in  bread,    it   gives  it  a  bad 

YEW  TREE,  the  name  of  a 
tree,  well  known  and  common  in 
England.  Mr.  Miller  says,  it  grows 
naturally  also  in  North  America. 

Yew  trees  may  be  easily  propa- 
gated by  sowing  the  seeds  in  beds, 
and  removing  the  young  plants  into 
nurseries,  as  many  other  trees  are 
managed.  It  is  an  evergreen, 
and  a  tonsile  tree,  that  may  be  ea- 
sily cut  and  pruned  into  any  form 
that  is  desired.  The  trees  grow 
slowly,  but  sometimes  come  to  be 
large  trees ;  and  their  timber  is 
highly  valued  for  various  uses. 

YOAK,  or  YOKE,    a  wooden 


instrument,  with  which  oxen  are 
coupled  together  by  their  necks, 
and  by  which  they  draw. 

The  parts  of  a  yoke  are  the  cross 
tree,  which  should  be  made  of 
white  maple,  the  bows,  and  the 
staple  and  ring. 

The  cross  tree  should  be  of  a 
crooked  form,  that  the  oxen  may 
draw  partly  by  the  bows  ;  for  if  it 
were  straight  the  bows  would  not 
press  their  shoulders  at  all. 

If  one  of  the  oxen  be  stronger 
than  the  other,  as  it  commonly 
happens,  the  staple  should  not  be 
inserted  in  the  centre,  but  a  little 
nearer  to  the  bow  of  the  stronger 
ox. 

Short  yokes  are  best  for  the  ease 
of  drawing :  But  if  the  oxen  learn 
to  crowd,  or  to  draw  from  each 
other,  they  should  be  put  to  work 
in  a  long  yoke  till  they  are  cured 
of  such  ill  habits. 

The  bows  should  be  made  of  the 
toughest  of  wood,  and  that  which 
is  very  strong  and  stiff  when  sea- 
soned, such  as  hickory  or  white 
oak,  and  be  well  fitted  to  their 
necks.  And  a  bow  should  be  large, 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diame- 
ter for  large  oxen,  not  only  for 
strength,  but  because  it  will  be  ea- 
sier to  the  ox. 

The  principal  use  of  the  ring  is, 
to  receive  the  end  of  the  tongue  of 
a  cart  or  sled.  This  gives  the  oxen 
command  of  the  carriage. 


THE  END. 


^x^ 


A. 

Page 

Pagfe 

Page     Cattle 

tj7     Drought 

113 

Agricdlture 

Chaff 

73     Dung 

117 

1     Change  of  Crops 

73     Dunghills 

122 

Agricultural  Societies 

2    Change  of  Seeds 

75     Dutch  Hoe 

123 

Air 

3     Charcoal 

78     Dyke 

123 

Anticor 

4     Charlock 

78 

Ants 

6     Chee<;e 

79                         E. 

Apples 

7    Chick  Weed 

83 

Apple  Tree 

8     Churn 

83     Earth 

124 

Ashes 

9     Cider 

84     Kffluvia 

125 

Asparagus 

10     Clay 

86     Elder 

125 

Axe 

12     Clay-Soil 

86     Elfshot 

125 

Clearing  of  Land 

88     Elm 

,    125 

B. 

Climate 

90     Employment 

125 

Clog 

90     Enclosure 

126 

Barley 

13     Clover 

90     Ewes 

126 

Barn 

16    Cole  Seed 

94     Experience 

126 

Barn  Yard 

17    Composition  for  Tr( 

ees  95     Experiments 

127 

Beans 

19     Composts 

97 

Beer 

20    Corn-.sheller 

99                        F. 

Bees 

2.'.     Cotton 

99 

Beet 

39     Cow 

100     Faggot 

128 

Bird  Grass 

44     Cow  House 

101     Fan 

128 

Blasting  of  Stones 

44     Cradle 

102     Fallowing 

129 

Blood 

44     Cream 

102     False  Quarter 

131 

Bog 

44     Cucumber 

103     Farcy 

132 

Botts 

45    Currant 

104     Farm 

133 

Browse 

4.')    Custom 

105     Farmer 

133 

Buck  Wheat 

46     Cuttings 

105     Fence 

134 

Bull 

46     Cyon 

105     Fermentation 

135 

Burning  the  Soil 

47 

Fern 

136 

Burnet 

48                          D. 

Fish 

137 

Burnt  Clay 

48 

Flail 

138 

Bushes 

48     Dairy 

106     Flax 

138 

Butter 

49     Dairy-Room 

106     Flaxbrake 

146 

Darnel 

108     Flooding 

146 

C. 

Dibble 

108     Flour 

147 

Ditch 

108     Foal 

148 

Cabbage 

52    Ditching 

108     Fodder 

149 

Calf 

54     Divisions  of  a  Farm 

109     Foddering 

150 

Canker 

56     Door  Dung 

109     Fog 

153 

Canker-Worm 

58     Drain 

110     Folding  of  Land 

153 

Carrot 

62    Dray 

113     Food  of  Plants 

154 

Cart 

65    Dressing 

113     Forest 

154 

Caterpillar 

66    Drill  Husbandry 

114     Foundering 

160 

67 


530 


INDEX. 


Page 

Page 

Page 

Freezing 

Ifil 

Indian  Corn 

21.') 

Mould 

275 

Friiu  Trees 

161 

Inoculating      or  } 
budding            ) 

227 

Mould  Board 

275 

Fnrroiv 

164 

Mow 

275 

Furrowing 

164 

Insect 

228 

Mowing 

£76 

Interval 

236 

Mowing  Ground 

277 

G. 

Mud 

280 

K. 

Mulberry 

282 

Garden 

164 

Mulch 

282 

Garrlening 

16.-) 

Kale 

236 

Murrain 

282 

Garget 

166 

Kalendar 

236 

Gigs 

166 

Kali 

238 

N. 

Glanders 

166 

Kalmia 

238 

Goose 

167 

Kid 

238 

Nave 

283 

Grafting 

168 

Kiln 

238 

Navel  Gall 

283 

Grain 

169 

Kitchen  Garden 

238 

Nettle 

233 

Granary 

169 

New  Husbandry 

284 

Grass 

169 

L. 

Nursery 

290 

Gravel 

176 

Nut  Tree 

291 

Grease 

176 

Lambs 

239 

Nympha 

292 

Green-Dressing 

177 

Lainpas 

240 

Greens 

178 

Land 

240 

O. 

Green  Scouring 

178 

Larch 

240 

Gripes 

178 

Layers 

24! 

Oak 

293 

Grove 

178 

Leaves 

241 

Oats 

296 

Guinea  Corn 

180 

Lees 

242 

Onion 

298 

Lime 

243 

Orchard 

301 

H. 

Limestone 

245 

Ore  Weed 

304 

Harrow 

180 

Loam 
Locust  Tree 

246 
247 

Overflowing  of  the  } 
Gall                       ^ 

307 

Harrowing 

182 

Out-Houses 

307 

Harvest 

184 

M. 

Ox 

307 

Hatchel 

186 

Oyster  Shells 

309 

Hay 

187 

Madder 

248 

Hay- Hook 

187 

iM  a  landers 

249 

P. 

Hay -making 

187 

Malt 

249 

Hedges 

191 

Malt  Dust 

250 

Pale 

309 

Hemp 

193 

Mangel  Wurtzel 

250 

Pan 

309 

Herds'-Grass 

196 

Manure 

250 

Panax 

311 

Hide  Bound 

196 

Maple 

262 

Paring 

312 

Hoe 

197 

Mare 

263 

Parsnip 

312 

Hoeing 

198 

Marking  of  Cattle 

263 

Pasture 

314 

Hogsty 

200 

Marie 

264 

Peach  Tree 

316 

Hop 

201 

Marsh 

266 

Pear  Tree 

31S 

Horn  Distemper 

204 

Mattock 

267 

Pease 

320 

Horse 

204 

Meadow 

267 

Peat 

323 

Horse-hoe 

208 

Measles 

268 

Perry 

325 

Horse-shoeing 

209 

Meat 

268 

Perspiration  of  ) 
Plants               ( 
Plants 

Hurdle 

209 

Melon 

269 

325 

Hurts 

210 

Metheglin 

269 

326 

Mice 

269 

Plaster  of  Paris 

327 

I. 

Mildew 

270 

Plough 

330 

Milk 

272 

Ploiigl.fing 

332 

Improvement 

210 

Millet 

273 

Ploughing  Hori-  ^ 
zontally            ^ 
Plum  Tree 

Inarching 

213 

Moles 

274 

340 

Increase 

213 

Moss 

274 

341 

INDEX. 


531 


Page 

Page 

Page 

Poll  Evil 

341 

Slough 

391 

Tiller 

455 

Pond 

343 

Sluice 

391 

Tilth 

455 

Potatoe 

344 

Smut 

392 

Timber 

455 

Poultry 

352 

Snead 

399 

Timothy  Grass 

456 

Prong  [Joe 

352 

Snow 

399 

Tobacco 

456 

Pumpkins 

353 

Soil 

400 

Top  Dressing 

458 

Soiling 

403 

Transplanting 

459 

Q. 

Soot 

409 

Tree 

461 

Sowing 

410 

Trowel 

461 

Quaking  Meadow 

353 

Spade 

414 

Tumour 

461 

Quince  Tree 

353 

Spavin 

414 

Turf 

462 

Quincunx  Order 

354 

Spaying 

415 

Turkey 

463 

Quitch  Grass 

354 

Spelt 

415 

Turnip 

463 

Spiky  roller 

415 

Turnip  Cabbage 

472 

R. 

Spring 

416 

Spring  Grain 

417 

V. 

Rack 

354 

Springe 

417 

Radish 

354 

Spur 

417 

Vetch 

474 

Rain 

355 

Stable 

418 

Vine 

474 

Rats 

356 

Stack 

419 

Vinegar 

479 

Rice 

356 

Staggers 

4l9 

Vives 

480 

Reed 

357 

Stallion 

421 

Ridgling 

357 

Steamboiler 

422 

U, 

Roller 

357 

Stercorary 

422 

Rolling 

358 

Stock 

426 

Ulcer 

480 

Root 

360 

Stones 

430 

Urine 

482 

Rot 

362 

Stocking  or  Shockin 

,g43l 

Rotation  of  Crops 

362 

Stover 

432 

W, 

Rowel 

3G4 

Strain 

432 

Ruuuet 

365 

Strangles 

433 

Waggon 

482 

Rush 

366 

Strawberry 

4:'i 

Wall 

483 

Rust 

366 

Straw  Cutter 

435 

Warbles 

483 

Ruta  Baga 

468 

String  Halt 

435 

Water 

483 

Rye 

366 

Stubble 

436 

Water  Furrowing 

485 

Rye  Grass 

368 

Slump 

437 

Watering 

486 

Sty 

438 

Weather 

486 

S. 

Sucker 

438 

Wedge 

488 

Sunflower 

438 

Weeding 

488 

Sainfoin 

368 

Surfeit 

439 

Weeds 

489 

Salt 

369 

Swamp 

440 

Weevil 

493 

Salting  of  Meat 

371 

Sward 

440 

Weight  of  Cattle 

494 

Sand 

372 

Swarth 

442 

Wheat 

494 

Sandy  Soil 

374 

Swine 

442 

Wheel 

503 

Scratches 

375 

Wheezing  in  Horses    505 

Sea-Water 

376 

T. 

Whey 

505 

Seeds 

377 

White  Scour 

505 

Seeding 

379 

Tail  Sickness 

449 

White  Weed 

505 

Seedling 

379 

Team 

a.w 

Willow 

506 

Scminatiou 

379 

Tease! 

451 

Windgall 

507 

Shade 

379 

Tether 

451 

Wine 

508 

Shed 

380 

Thatch 

451 

Winnowing 

5i4 

Sheep 

380 

Thill  Horse 

451 

Winnowing  Machines  514 

Shells 

389 

Thistle 

151 

Winter 

515 

Sithe 

390 

Thrashing 

452 

Winter  Grain 

515 

Sled 

390 

Tike 

454 

Withe 

515 

Slips 

390 

Tillage 

454 

Woad 

515 

532 


INDEX 


Wolf 

5)7 

Wood 

518 

Wood  Land 

5  IS 

Yard 

Wool 

518 

Year 

Worms 

523 

Yeast 

Wound 

524 

Page 

I'flge 

Yellow  Weed 

526 

Yellows 

525 

525 

Yeoman 

527 

525 

Yew  I'ree 

527 

525 

Yoak 

527 

ERRATA. 

Page  47,  1st  column,  24  from  the  top,  for  "farms,"  read /orwM. 

Page  53,  2(1  column,  line  6  from  the  bottom,  for  "  latter,"  rend  former. 

Page  62,  1st  column,  top  line  for  "  these,"  read  there. 

Page  171,  1st  column,  line  15  from  the  bottom  for  "  but,"  read  best. 

Page  214,  2d  column,  line  14  from  the  bottom,  for  "  saving,"  read  sowing. 

Page  222,  2d  column,  line  12  from  the  top,  for  "  changeable,"  read  chargeable. 

Page  301,  2d  column,  line  15  from  the  top,  for  "  stopping,"  read  sloping. 

Page  304,  1st  column,  line  4  from  the  bottom,  for  "  tar,"  read  tan. 

Page  327,  1st  column,  line  22  from  the  top,  after  "  gradually,"  add  increases. 

Page  332,  1st  column,  line  5  from  the  bottom,  for  "  care,"  read  case. 

Page  383,  2d  column,  line  12  from  the  bottom  for  "  ege,"  read  eye. 

Page  439,  1st  column,  line  10  from  the  bottom,  for  "  thresher,"  read  threshed. 

Page  462,  2d  column,  line  15  from  the  top,  for  "  sublime,"  read  sublimate. 

Page  4?0,  2d  column,  line  17  from  the  top,  for  "  proved,"  read  moved. 

Page  471,  1st  column,  line  28  from  the  top  for  "  cherished,"  read  checked. 


